Camp Arifjan uniform program

Photo By Sgt. Lindsay Mackie | Cpl. Horace Roach, 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 34th Infantry Division, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, removes discarded uniforms from a collection container in Zone 6. The uniforms will be redistributed by the Supply Section of the 1/34th BSTB. The Uniform Collection Program has saved more than $660,000 by recycling and redistributing discarded uniforms.  

CAMP ARIFJAN, KUWAIT

12.18.2011

Story by Sgt. Lindsay Mackie 

1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 34th Red Bull Infantry Division

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait - Cpl. Horace Roach, supply specialist, B Troop, 1/150th, from the West Virginia National Guard, has been running the Uniform Collection Program for Zone 6 at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, since August. Roach is attached to 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 34th Infantry Division, which is based in Bloomington, Minn. The 1/34th BSTB are deployed in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, as the Camp Command Cell in Zone 6 in support of Operation New Dawn.

Roach recently received a coin from Brig. Gen. Jonathan Ives from the 364th Expeditionary Sustainment Command Group for his hard work and dedication to the uniform program. Receiving a coin in this manner is a great honor for soldiers and sets those that receive the coin apart from others.

The Uniform Collection Program starts with soldiers discarding uniforms and boots in collection boxes that are placed throughout Zone 6. Roach collects the uniforms twice a week and takes them to Tent A-25, where he sorts them according to branch of service and size. Uniforms and boots that are no longer fit to be worn are packed up and taken to the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office to be redistributed or destroyed.

Many of the items collected by the 1/34 BSTB are able to be reused. Some are brand new, with the tags still on them. When soldiers return home from a deployment, they typically like to pack light and send as little home as possible. Instead of throwing the uniforms away, soldiers will dispose of them. The Uniform Collection Program allows soldiers to dispose of unwanted or unserviceable uniforms without violating policy and simply throwing them away.

Soldiers in Zone 6 can come to Tent A-25 to get uniforms if they need them. Roach refers to Tent A-25 as a “free thrift store.” If a soldier’s size is not available, the 1/34th BSTB keeps a detailed waiting list of the items needed and can contact the soldier when the uniform becomes available. The Uniform Collection Program in Zone 6 has saved more than $660,000 by redistributing uniforms that would have been thrown away.

• Date Taken: 12.18.2011
• Date Posted: 12.29.2011 06:42
• Story ID: 81849
• Location: CAMP ARIFJAN, KW