Photo By Joan Williams | In Kandahar, Afghanistan, DLA’s expeditionary disposition team loads cargo onto a...... read more read more
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Meeting the growing demand for supplies in Afghanistan is an “exciting responsibility” that DLA employees, both deployed and back home at the agency’s primarily-level field activities, have worked together to achieve, he said.
“You don’t have the advantage of the big logistics base in Kuwait right next door, so everything has to be moved over considerable distances that frequently have been disrupted by insurgent activities or other variables, so it’s a huge challenge,” the director said, “But I’d also say that I’ve been very, very pleased with the level of support we have provided.”
The agency has already met unparalleled demands for housing units known as relocatable buildings and such construction material as lumber, generators, lighting and plumbing material, showers, toilets and water-well drilling kits. It’s also supplied force-protection items like concertina wire, sandbags and bastions.
In July, DLA deployed its expeditionary distribution team of 42 military and civilian employees to receive, store and issue DLA material from Kandahar. Having an in-theater depot allows DLA to forward stock items already in high demand and reduce delivery times from about two weeks or more to just hours or days.
“So we have this buffer of inventory, if you will, that’s already on the ground in Kandahar that can support the requirements of the operating forces and, instead of flying in sustainment, we can resupply this depot by ground,” Thompson said.
The forward stock has reduced DLA’s need for strategic airlift by about 33 percent, he added. Plans are under way to transition the expeditionary depot into a more enduring facility over the next year and involve the construction of a $20 million warehouse.
While continuing to sustain forces and equipment, Thompson said, he expects DLA to expand disposition services for troops in such locations as Kandahar and Camp Leatherneck.
“Because of all of the challenges of expanding the bases at Kandahar, Leatherneck and elsewhere, it’s been challenging to get these facilities brought online,” he said. “We’ve accelerating these efforts, and that’s been very well received by the units that need this type of support.”
The disposal of unneeded equipment in Iraq has been a huge success, he added, and has contributed to the successful drawdown of forces there.
Thompson also pointed to DLA’s success in maintaining an above-90-percent readiness level of the new all-terrain Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle.
“It’s been a direct result of extraordinary efforts on the part of hundreds of DLA team members, deployed to Iraq and back here in the continental United States, purchasing the supplies and coordinating the shipment of materials forward,” he said.
Asked about his observations during an August visit with DLA members throughout Afghanistan, Thompson added, “There is tremendous teamwork going on between U.S. Forces Afghanistan, the actual forces on the ground, and DLA. Regardless of where I visited, I saw absolutely aligned focus on supporting the warfighter.”
| Date Taken: | 09.08.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 09.09.2010 08:37 |
| Story ID: | 55948 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 153 |
| Downloads: | 5 |
This work, DLA to step up distribution, disposal in Afghanistan, by Beth Reece, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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