Responsible Drawdown Rehearsal of Concept Drill

Photo By Command Sgt. Maj. Anthony L Taylor | A Soldier with the 299th Forward Support Battalion unloads equipment during the download stage of the operation that procedes a unit's move into theater. Cargo ships are used to transport equipment from a port in the U.S. to the Middle East.  

IRAQ

05.21.2009

Story by Staff Sgt. Jarod Perkioniemi 

20th Public Affairs Detachment

On May 20, U.S. Army Central Command and the 1st Theater Sustainment Command hosted a Rehearsal of Concept Drill with numerous key leaders to discuss the Responsible Drawdown of service members and equipment from Iraq.

Some of the visitors included general officers from CENTCOM, Multi-National Forces - Iraq, U.S. Forces Command, U.S. Forces Afghanistan and many others.

President Obama has directed that U.S. forces in Iraq will change mission by Aug. 31, 2010. The new mission will complete the transition from combat and counterinsurgency activities to a more limited set of tasks: training and assisting the Iraqi security forces, providing force protection for U.S. military and civilian personnel and facilities, and conducted targeted counterterrorism operations.

"The president dictates strategic policy and it's our obligation to execute," said Brig. Gen. Mark J. MacCarley, 1TSC, deputy commanding general. "Within the outline of what the president wants to do, it's our obligation to align our forces and bring those forces and resources to bear on this big challenge of getting everything out of Iraq to hit that 2010 deadline."

From an eagle eye view, the Responsible Drawdown may not seem like a tough task, but the planning, coordination, collaboration and execution that goes into a mission of this magnitude can only be successful with proper planning by key leaders and swift execution of those enacting the plan.

"The best benefit of the ROC Drill was the fact that we had key planners, leaders and commanders of the units who will be supported and supporting this Responsible Drawdown," said MacCarley.

The operation includes moving the majority of servicemembers and thousands of pieces of equipment out of Iraq, at the same time ensuring that the service members currently stationed in Iraq still receive the best gear and equipment for their daily missions.

"We're still continuing to bring things in," said Col. Judith Lemire, 1TSC, support operations officer. "We are not stopping our commitment to the Soldier to provide him or her the best equipment that's available."

Through CENTCOM and the U.S. Ambassadors in the region, the U.S. has been able to reassure countries in the region of its commitment to stability in Iraq and the greater region. In addition, the U.S. is working hand-in-hand with Iraqi leadership to discuss the details of the Responsible Drawdown as Iraqi security forces increase to take the lead in security of the country.

For commands like USARCENT and 1TSC, the terms retrograde and redeployment are nothing new. USARCENT and 1TSC routinely handle the mission of retrograding equipment and redeploying servicemembers through the theater of operation.

"This is nothing new, we've been doing this for a long time," explained Lemire. "What we understand is that [this] mission will be broader in scope, larger in scale and as such we need to solidify our processes' and we need to have common views across the [commands]."

Key leaders know there will be multiple challenges to a successful drawdown in Iraq. Moving personnel and equipment out of a combat zone, while missions are still being conducted is a very difficult task, one that will require commanders in Iraq making the tough decisions of when it's appropriate to begin drawdown.

"The war-fighters engaged in the fight, while they transition to the Iraqi forces, set the pace for how and when we're going to drawdown," said Lemire.

"We have to bring our plan forward to the war-fighter and get the war-fighters concurrence, because it's the war-fighter who is going to dictate the when, where, what we move, how we do it and at what time, subject to the strategic guidance given by the president," added MacCarley.

In addition to moving personnel and equipment out of Iraq, USARCENT and 1TSC also are engaged in ensuring servicemembers heading to Afghanistan have everything they need to complete the mission there. Though the Responsible Drawdown was not initially tied to troop requirements in Afghanistan, the escalating situation there adds new dimensions and challenges to the overall operation.

"It's a challenge because it's different from anything we've experienced in the past," said MacCarley. "We're drawing down substantial number of forces and equipment out of Iraq, at the same time we're still under fire in Iraq. [In addition,] we're fighting a campaign that's becoming more intense and more important to our nation's security in Afghanistan."

Discussing the plan to move personnel and equipment to Afghanistan to ensure that service members received the proper equipment was a key topic during the ROC Drill.

"While we address Responsible Drawdown [in Iraq], we still have a war to fight in Afghanistan," said MacCarley. "While we drawdown in Iraq, those vehicles and weapon systems will move over to Afghanistan to support our great warriors in Afghanistan."

The ROC Drill was viewed as a success and another positive step in the preparation and planning of the Responsible Drawdown. Though their work is far from done, the key leaders left the ROC Drill knowing events like this will continue to set the overall mission for success.

"We turn to that ROC Drill as the beginning and an integral part of the planning process so that we can [formulate] a plan," said MacCarley. "First we plan based upon the guidance we get from the President, from CENTCOM and from the war-fighters, then we check that plan and test it against all the elements, parties and units that have a piece of the responsibility of accomplishing this Responsible Drawdown; and that again is why we have a ROC Drill, everyone in that same room asking real hard questions trying to figure out if our plan will survive first contact."

• Date Taken: 05.21.2009
• Date Posted: 05.21.2009 11:21
• Story ID: 33901
• Location: IQ