Heidi Shyu and Gen. Dennis Via visited the 18th CSSB retrograde yard in Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan

Photo By Spc. Isaac Adams | The Commanding General of the Army Materiel Command, Gen. Dennis Via, and the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, Honorable Heidi Shyu visited the Kandahar Airfield Retrosort Yard, on Jan. 16.  

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AFGHANISTAN

01.16.2013

Story by Spc. Isaac Adams 

18th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – The Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, Heidi Shyu and the Commanding General of the Army Materiel Command, Gen. Dennis Via visited the Kandahar Airfield Retrosort Yard, today.

Via is the senior logistician in the U.S. Army and has a professional interest in the operations of the CMRE and the logistical processes of the yard.

The Central Command Materiel Recovery Element, 593rd Sustainment Brigade, commanded by Col. Douglas McBride, functions in Afghanistan to retrograde or redistribute U.S. government property among other missions.

The 18th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, commanded by Lt. Col. Michelle Letcher, has operational control over retrograde sort yards and forward retrograde elements all over Afghanistan to facilitate the retrograde and redistribution operations.

The Kandahar Airfield Retrosort Yard, is operated under the 18th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, the 247th Quartermaster Supply Company and the 289th Quartermaster Supply Company.
After greeting Shyu and Via, the senior leadership of the 593rd SB and 18th CSSB led them through the main processes of the yard and explained how the pieces fit together into the other CENTCOM Materiel Retrograde Elements.

The Commander of the 18th CSSB, Lt. Col. Michelle Letcher took the lead and explained the footprint of the 18th CSSB within the country of Afghanistan.

The 18th CSSB is spread throughout Afghanistan in order to provide materiel recovery and retrograde support to the units on the battlefield. The 18th CSSB governs three strategic retrosort yards in Afghanistan: the KAF RSY, in the south, the Bagram Airfield RSY in the east, and the Camp Pratt RSY in the North. The three retrosort yards are vital facilities in the reduction of excess materiel in Afghanistan.

Chief Warrant Officer Sulaiman Bah, the Retrograde Support Officer-in-Charge for the 18th CSSB, led Via and Shyu on a short tour through the yard, explaining the operation along the way.

“Some of this stuff is heading back to the [Sierra Army] Depot [in California], and the depot will supply the SSAs (supply support activity warehouses) which in turn will supply other army unit as their customers.” explained Bah. “So what we did; we have come up with a QA/QC (quality assurance and quality control) process where the item is match up with the information in the system, and once the item is physically inspected it is wrapped for shipment to the depot.”

“What all of you do, is all about the future so it’s very important work, so if you need anything you just need to let us know.” Gen. Via said in a closing statement. “You know the processes on the ground and you’re doing the work, so you’ve got to let us know what you need to get it done, because [what you are doing here] will impact the readiness of our army after the war is over, so we cannot afford to not do this right.”

• Date Taken: 01.16.2013
• Date Posted: 02.16.2013 09:52
• Story ID: 102121
• Location: KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AF