Sustaining excellence

Photo By Sgt. Aaron Ellerman | The 1st TSC has also reduced the vehicle and equipment fleet by more than 13,000 pieces, reduced the ammunition in theater by more than 2,500 tons, and scheduled more than 1,000 flights and 40,000 trucks to move equipment around and out of Afghanistan.  

NEW KABUL COMPOUND, AFGHANISTAN

01.06.2014

Story by Spc. Aaron Ellerman  

1st Theater Sustainment Command

NEW KABUL COMPOUND, Afghanistan — It’s 8:30 a.m. The smell of freshly brewed coffee lingers in the air. The clamor of clicking keyboards and mice, busy printers, scanners, and copiers, and ringing phones, echoes through the room as it melds with numerous conversations. Service members and contractors flow in and out amidst the bustling atmosphere en route to and from the day’s many meetings and briefings.

The approximately 70-by-70 foot office has no interior walls or windows and is essentially an open area consisting of a plethora of desks and semi-partitioned workspaces. Fittingly dubbed the “Barnyard,” the area is home to the 1st Theater Sustainment Command support operations section. The service members and civilians of the SPO work fervently here supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

The SPO consists of numerous independent sections and contractors working on their own specific piece of the sustainment operation. The comprising sections of the SPO are the distribution integration branch; human resource operations, mobility, operations contract support, financial operations, logistics automation, supply and services, munitions, and material readiness branch. Each section ties in with one another, so being able to collaborate is crucial to the success of the whole. The distribution integration branch functions as the SPO’s information relay as it integrates the many sections of the SPO so the overarching mission can be accomplished efficiently.

“Our mission right now is to conduct an organized reduction in forces and equipment while still maintaining support for the maneuver forces in the field,” said Lt. Col. Gordon Nesmith, deputy support operations officer for the 1st Theater Sustainment Command.

The 1st TSC is the senior sustainment command for the theater. They are responsible for supplies and services for all troops and contractors in Afghanistan. Many soldiers in the SPO operate as the senior advisors in logistical affairs for their section throughout Afghanistan.

“The container management section within the 1st TSC has been given the responsibility of being the country container authority [CCA] for Afghanistan,” said Capt. John Belisle with the 1st TSC, country container authority for Afghanistan.

According to Belisle, his team has coordinated the reduction of approximately 25,000 containers from theater since arriving here in mid-August. They have also drastically reduced the container detention cost in theater saving more than $500,000 per month in detention fees.

The operational contract support team has conducted several trainings and audits throughout Afghanistan. Their descoping of contracts in the country has saved over $400 million.

The 1st TSC has also reduced the vehicle and equipment fleet by more than 13,000 pieces, reduced the ammunition in theater by more than 2,500 tons and scheduled more than 1,000 flights and 40,000 trucks to move equipment around and out of Afghanistan.

“Continuing to find new ways to reduce our footprint at a higher velocity has been a challenge,” said Lt. Col. Patrick Disney, SPO mobility chief for the 1st TSC. “Sustainment operations are always evolving, so in order to be successful you have to stay innovative.”

Continuing to support the war fighter, while simultaneously redeploying a historical amount of equipment and personnel to the U.S., is a daunting task that poses numerous challenges.

“Trying to identify the second and third order of effects of decisions and anticipate how they will affect other sections, commodities or agencies is a challenge we face daily,” said Nesmith.

To overcome these challenges the SPO not only works with its subordinate commands to accomplish their mission but with many other organizations and agencies like the Army Materiel Command, Transportation Command, CENTCOM Deployment Distribution Operations Center and more.

“One of the most important takeaways from the mission here for me is the importance of coordination and communication both up and down the chain of command, said Belisle. “As a TSC we function as the link between our strategic partners and our operational and tactical units and personnel throughout Afghanistan.”

The 1st TSC eases some of the theaters logistical burden by awarding work contracts to local and government authorities. These contracts help reduce the troop presence while stimulating growth of the local economy.

The operational contract support team has coordinated the investment of more than $3 million to purchase more than 50 different service contracts to local or leased Afghan companies during 2013.

“Thus far we’ve been able to accomplish the redeployment and sustainment proficiently, said Disney. “We have relied more on support from contracting authorities, easing the need for our soldiers to be out in the battlefield.”

At the end of the 12 hour or more workdays the 1st TSCs’ barnyard becomes quieter, but elsewhere in Afghanistan trucks, planes, and helicopters transporting supplies are still echoing the SPOs hard work.

• Date Taken: 01.06.2014
• Date Posted: 01.06.2014 06:13
• Story ID: 118863
• Location: NEW KABUL COMPOUND, AF