Sustainers visit Kandahar Transient Yard

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Michael Behlin | 1st Lt. Kimilie Reed, the force protection officer for the 45th Sustainment Brigade, briefs Lt. Col. Demetrius Price, the 3rd ESC’s chief of operations and Sgt. 1st Class Ivan Higginbotham, the 3d ESC’s force protection non-commissioned officer, on the operations of the Kandahar Transient Yard during the Sustainers visit, May 4. The Sustainers visited the KTY to get an assessment of operations and improvements to the facility.  

AFGHANISTAN

05.04.2012

Story by Staff Sgt. Michael Behlin 

3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command

KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – Members of the 3rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) operations team visited the Kandahar Transient Yard, located near Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, May 4.

The Sustainers visited the KTY to get an assessment of operations and improvements to the facility.

Operated the by the 45th Sustainment Brigade, a subordinate brigade of Joint Sustainment Command (Afghanistan) and the 3d ESC, the KTY is the initial screening point for supply vehicles entering the base.

“With our visit to the Kandahar Transient Yard, we wanted to get a visual assessment of the improvements made and an overall understanding of the operation,” said Maj. Robert Van Auken, the 3rd ESC’s force protection officer.

The KTY is important to KAF because it regulates the shipments of goods in route to the base. Local national drivers in route to the base must first visit the KTY where they and their shipments are scanned, thus preventing dangerous people and shipments from reaching soldiers.

Soldiers at the facility process anywhere between 100 – 120 local national drivers and their shipments per day, using high tech equipment like x-ray machines and iris scanners to apprehend shipments and personnel not authorized to enter the base.

Local movement control teams make 4-5 shipment pushes per day, in which drivers leave the KTY to deliver their shipment to KAF.

“We have a system in place that we know the approximate time the trucks should reach the entry control point, the code word and our stamp of approval so that they can then enter KAF,” said 2nd Lt. Matthew Baab, the KTY’s officer in charge.

Improvements and upgrades to the facility include the addition of 150 barriers, drop arm gates and an entry control point in a box, which is essentially a guard shack.

Additional safety measures at the facility include the use of military working dogs, which are trained to detect explosives and materials used to manufacture explosives.

According to Baab, the KTY operation runs smoothly and the soldiers do a great job of supporting local national drivers preparing to enter KAF.

“I feel we run a good operation here and our soldiers here deserve all of the credit as they continue to do a great job,” said Baab.

• Date Taken: 05.04.2012
• Date Posted: 05.15.2012 11:08
• Story ID: 88445
• Location: AF