Photo By Timothy Lawn | Camp John Pratt, looking south toward the Hindu Kush mountain Range. (U.S. Army...... read more read more
Subscribe
BALKH PROVINCE, Afghanistan – “We relieve the warfighter of their equipment,” said Army Staff Sgt. Yolandia Quinn, native of Lumber City, Ga.
Quinn had pen in hand and was peering inside the darkened confines of small open hatch on a RG33, Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle. She had a single purpose, to find any loose ammunition or spent brass that may have been overlooked by the soldiers tasked with driving the vehicles day-in and day-out.
The MRAP Quinn was scrubbing belonged to the 6th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. The soldiers of the 1st ID had just turned in three MRAP’s to the Camp John Pratt, Redistribution Property Assistance Team yard.
Quinn and her fellow Soldiers, Staff Sgt. Ricky Sheppard, native of Bainbridge, Ga., and Spc. Henryon Russell, native of Wrightsville, Ga., and a couple of Army Material Command employees have one of the most critical tasks in the RPAT yard. Their task is to make sure any rolling stock coming through the yard are completely devoid of ammo, explosives, or spent munitions. They are the lead for the ammo abatement process before the vehicles are retrograded, redeployed or divested.
Their job is significant: If a vehicle or container is found with ammo, explosives or spent brass, by a customs agent or worker at a shipping port or en-route, the shipment can be halted, seized or returned and must go through the lengthy process of being re-checked and re-certified as safe for transport. All of this can add up to wasted time and taxpayer dollars.
Quinn, Sheppard and Russell are all motor transport operators assigned to the 1230th Transportation Company, Georgia Army National Guard. The Soldiers deployed duties have them assigned to the Logistics Task Force-North, Camp John Pratt, RPAT yard.
“Our soldiers and civilians, and contractors under Army Material Command do a great Job,” said Lt. Col. Leonard Bennett, a native of Atlanta.
Bennett is the officer in charge for the 3rd Battalion, 401st Army Field Support Brigade, Logistics Task Force North. The 401st AFSB supports the 1st TSC retrograde mission in Afghanistan. Bennett, 1st Lt. Steven Kitchell, a native of Indianapolis, and officer in charge of the yard, and Master Sgt. Jimmy Grady, native of Jacksonville, Fla., are the command team for the RPAT yard. They oversee a small task force of military and civilian experts whose sole purpose is to prepare U.S. and coalition rolling and non-rolling stock for shipment.
“The task force manages more than 70 unit identifiers, or 70 military units/commands in the Regional Command - North region. The yard is a retrograde hub for the U.S. and its coalition allies,” said Grady.
“Four hundred and forty four pieces of rolling stock and the equivalent of 17 containers of non-rolling stock have come through this yard since January, “said Bennett.
Bennett explained that in past wars such as WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam, much of the taxpayer paid military equipment was left in theater after the war. It just wasn’t practical to bring most stuff home with the cost and difficulties of transportation. Today, the U.S. military has an almost unheard of capability of being able to return the most expensive and vital equipment to depots in the U.S. to be retrofitted to use another day. And it can be accomplished in incredibly short time.
“It is a seven day process, from the time a vehicle is turned in, until it is picked up by a carrier for shipping,” said Kitchell.
Kitchell supervises the soldiers and civilians in their daily duties. He explained that over the next two weeks, the yard has more than 30 vehicles scheduled to process for shipment, which does not include non-rolling stock that may still arrive.
When a vehicle or equipment is prepared for shipping, there is a process it must go through. The first thing that must happen is the paperwork must match the serial numbers assigned.
“AMC contractors verify that all the turn-in paperwork matches serial numbers,” said Quinn, as she looked at the MRAP in front of her.
Quinn explained that a vehicle has to be checked and re-checked several times for explosives, ammo and brass. From there, the vehicle or equipment goes through a thorough cleaning process then moved to a tent where it is to be de-installed.
De-installing a vehicle or equipment involves going through a process where everything that sticks out that can interfere with transportation or shipping must be removed. Additionally, loose or sensitive items such as spare parts, rocket propelled grenade protective netting or radios are removed and packed for shipping.
Bennett explained that everything is planned well in advance. After the vehicle or equipment is cleaned and prepared, it is finally checked by and cleared by customs.
“We vet everything. It allows for United States Forces – Afghanistan to decide what should be kept, or re-utilized,” said Bennett. “The taxpayers get the most expensive items back.”
From the RPAT yard, the vehicles or equipment are picked up and shipped by the United States Transportation Command. According to the United States Defense Department website, one of USTRANSCOM’s priorities is to preserve the readiness capacity to meet the countries future needs.
The command coordinates all air and sea lift in theater. Most everything that leaves this yard is moved by air to a site in Southwest Asia where it is loaded onto a ship for movement to the U.S. This saves the American taxpayer a significant amount of money, rather than flying it all the way back to the U.S.
“The taxpayer would be proud to see how we operate in an austere environment, here in the northern desert of Afghanistan,” said Bennett.
| Date Taken: | 10.22.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 10.22.2013 12:06 |
| Story ID: | 115534 |
| Location: | CAMP JOHN PRATT, AF |
| Hometown: | BAINBRIDGE, GEORGIA, US |
| Hometown: | JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, US |
| Hometown: | LUMBER CITY, GEORGIA, US |
| Hometown: | WRIGHTSVILLE, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 573 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, 3-401st RPAT yard making warfighter equipment safe for retrograde and redeploy, by Timothy Lawn, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
