Photo By Strategic Communications DLA | Bill Kelly (left), the DLA Disposition Services local site chief, explains the...... read more read more
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BAGRAM, Afghanistan - Army Maj. Gen Kenneth Dowd, commander of 1st Theater Sustainment Command, visited a Defense Logistics Agency site at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, March 19 to learn about current operations, including how people serving on the expeditionary disposition remediation team there are working to serve warfighters.
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Ron Hoak, the DLA support team detachment commander at Bagram, said Dowd was able to watch DLA Disposition Services personnel perform the demilitarization of battle-damaged and battle-loss wheeled armored vehicles, the shredding of miscellaneous damaged and obsolete electronics, and staging areas for scrap metal awaiting sale and pickup by local scrap contractors.
“Dowd understands the capabilities that forward positioned disposition yards bring to commanders in the [area of responsibility] because of his earlier role in planning the Iraq drawdown,” Hoak said.
During his visit, Dowd asked for an update on the status of the service members serving on the expeditionary teams. Army Maj. James Eichenberg, the team’s officer in charge, told the general that the team members were following the same pattern used successfully in Iraq. He described how team members travel to forward operating bases and combat outposts to assist warfighters with identifying and sorting items for retrograde and unserviceable material and equipment. He said a key part of the support was helping warfighters differentiate between things requiring demilitarization and items that could be immediately sold as scrap without further processing.
The expeditionary teams “are in high demand in Afghanistan,” Hoak said, as forward commanders begin planning and preparing for eventual drawdowns and closures of outposts and bases or transfer of the sites to Afghan forces. The general was told that teams in Afghanistan have about 34 people overall with around 11 working from Bagram.
DLA Disposition Services’ chief Bill Kelly at the Bagram yard explained the demilitarization process for wheeled armored vehicles to the general. As is done elsewhere, Kelly pointed out, agency employees at Bagram provide oversight as contractors use cutting torches to reduce non-repairable wheeled armored vehicles into pieces of metal no larger than 14 by 16 inches prior to selling the scrap metal to scrap contractors. Proceeds from the sales of scrap metal are returned to the U.S. Treasury.
According to Hoak’s statistics, the Bagram site processes an average of 3 million pounds of scrap monthly. He said he expects that volume to increase in coming months as theater retrograde operations reach planned levels.
| Date Taken: | 03.19.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 03.26.2012 12:20 |
| Story ID: | 85793 |
| Location: | BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF |
| Web Views: | 201 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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