Saturday, August 01, 2009

Iraq: On Ground Updates - August 01, 2009

On Ground Updates - Iraq
Transportation Soldiers Help Move Cargo During Drawdown

Saturday, August 01, 2009

CONTINGENCY OPERATION BASE ADDER, Iraq - As coalition forces prepare for one of the biggest logistical challenges since the Vietnam War, military planners continue examining the best ways to move the mountains of equipment accumulated in Iraq since 2003.
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During a recent conference at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, senior logisticians travelled from around the world to discuss the ongoing drawdown of forces and equipment in Iraq and the repositioning of assets to Afghanistan. One of the key issues they addressed were the shipping containers scattered around the country, and the thousands more Coalition forces would need for drawdown operations.
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Enter the 368th Seaport Operations Detachment, who manages the Empty Control Collection Point and the Transship Point Container Yard here.
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"All containers leaving Iraq go through this yard," said 1st Lt. Jevon E. Taylor, the detachment commander for the 368th SOD. "To get the troops out of Iraq, you have to get the equipment out, and that includes getting the containers out."
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According to a recent Army report, 31 million items must be moved; including 100,000 pieces of rolling stock and 34,000 tons of ammunition, and most of it will be shipped out of Iraq in a steel shipping container.
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All empty shipping containers from across Iraq are collected at the Empty Control Collection Point (ECCP) here, where they're inspected for serviceability and then dispatched to units which request them.
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Once shipping containers are filled, they're shipped back to the Transship Point (TSP) Container Yard here before they continue to Kuwait for retrograde shipment to the United States. All of it is a part of the process for the responsible drawdown of forces in Iraq, Taylor said.
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"We would be wasting money having empty, leased containers lying around [Iraq], not being used," he said.
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Each week the transportation cargo yard receives approximately 135 shipping containers, enough to fill 15 National Football League fields. The yard also ships out approximately 108 shipping containers to Kuwait each week.
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"The goal is to get the containers that have been here for years, and are not needed, and move it out of Iraq [with retrograde equipment]," said Taylor, a native of Virginia Beach, Va. "The first month we were here, we doubled the amount of containers we downloaded off the trucks."
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The 368th SOD also inspects shipping containers to determine if they are seaworthy, Taylor said. If repairs are needed, and if Mobile Repair Teams cannot fix the shipping container here, they're sent to the Container Repair Yard at Joint Base Balad.
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The 53 Soldiers in the 368th SOD realize they are part of a bigger picture, said Sgt. 1st Class Jermaine A. Taylor, senior noncommissioned officer for the 368th SOD. It is not just about receiving, moving and shipping containers out of Iraq, it's about drawing down forces in Iraq, he said.
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"What our unit is doing now will allow for a smoother transition when it comes to the final days of the withdrawal," Taylor said. "Basically, if we were not conducting this mission, it would make it very difficult to get the troops and equipment out of Iraq in a reasonable time."
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"It's all about being prepared and thinking ahead," he said.

Above article taken from the DIVDS website - 3rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) - Story by Spc. Kiyoshi Freeman
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Stay safe over there, Jimmy & Company!
We are thinking of you all back here at home…
AubreyJ………

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