Photo By Brea DuBose | FORT CARSON, Colo. — Army vehicles turned-in by units sit in a fenced MDRS parking...... read more read more
FORT CARSON, Colo. – Units from across the 4th Infantry Division are scrubbing their property books and turning in surplus equipment in support of the Army’s Rapid Removal of Excess initiative.
Starting Jan. 1 and running through the end of February, Fort Carson is in an R2E focused window, where units can pause training to surge excess equipment turn-in. The III Armored Corps at Fort Cavazos, Texas, selected the six-week window as the division’s prime timeframe to turn in as much surplus equipment as possible to the Fort Carson Modernization Displacement and Repair Site.
Accounting for factors such as battle rhythm, training requirements and upcoming deployments, the designated window allows the 4th Inf. Div. to focus on property inventory and turn-in. R2E enables Army units across the globe to turn in equipment as-is, instead of the traditional Army regulatory “10-20” maintenance standard. This means that units can return legacy, broken or end-of-life equipment like box fans, computer monitors and tactical vehicles to their MDRS without the prolonged hassle of maintenance.
David Burton, MDRS lead from the Army Field Support Battalion-Carson, noted units typically have limited time to turn in excess equipment because they are often focused on or preparing for the mission.
“You can’t turn in the equipment when you’re training,” Burton said. “You can’t turn in equipment when you’re [deployed].”
Although the 4th Inf. Div. is Fort Carson MDRS’s largest client, other units across the installation can still turn in equipment during the window. MDRS uses R2E focused windows to plan for large-scale turn-ins and works to accommodate other units.
Forecasting is important because it allows MDRS to predict and allocate storage space within their facilities based on gear shipment timelines, Burton said. With a warehouse full of equipment and daily appointments, planning is how his team stays on track.
“It never stops. It’s a constant churn everyday of repairing, shipping and receiving,” he said.
Since its inception in 2021, MDRS facilities have served as a centralized hub that helps relieve the responsibilities of maintenance and shipping from unit commanders. More recently, the process has become more efficient since MDRS began implementing the R2E rules to its process.
“R2E allows units to turn in excess equipment as-is which leads to a rapid reduction of excess equipment in their formations and reduces the burdens of storage, maintenance and accountability,” said Anthony Watson, MDRS accountable officer. “These rules will be in place until the Army has determined its goal to remove excess equipment from units is complete.”
Before the implementation of R2E, units had to ensure equipment conditions met specific standards prior to turn-in. Now, units only need to follow the instructions on a proposed sourcing directive to alleviate their property books. The PSD is a document provided to units and MDRS from the Army that outlines every detail of property turn-in to include where it goes, turn-in deadline and condition requirements. Often MDRS will repair unserviceable equipment as directed by the PSD and maintain accountability of the equipment until it reaches its new destination. After transferring items to MDRS, units are no longer responsible for the custody or maintenance of that property.
Burton said the quick and simplified process is a gamechanger for Army units.
“When we take old and broken equipment from our units, it automatically opens space up for them to start receiving new equipment,” he said. “They can re-fit and rearm faster.”
Since Jan. 1 units across Fort Carson have turned-in over 365 pieces of equipment, with a projection of 6,901 pieces scheduled for turn-in by the end of the year.
MDRS sends equipment to other units and facilities outside of Fort Carson and is responsible for equipment logistical planning, accountability, transportation and, if necessary, repairs before and or after shipment. There are 13 MDRSs across the Army that work towards enabling mission readiness through efficient divestiture.
| Date Taken: | 02.20.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.21.2025 10:31 |
| Story ID: | 491211 |
| Location: | FORT CARSON, COLORADO, US |
| Web Views: | 27 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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