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    Last trucks rolling out of Camp Phoenix

    CAMP PHOENIX, Afghanistan – A convoy escort team assigned to the 730th Transportation Company, 419th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, were some of the last trucks to roll through the gates of Camp Phoenix Aug. 19 in support of retrograde operations.

    CETs may be considered the lifeblood for most of the retrograde operations being conducted throughout Afghanistan.
    Transferring or closing down a camp or a forward operating base is no small feat and may take months or even years to plan. Most of the descope mission is accomplished through the hard work of the sustainment Soldiers.

    Less than 15 Soldiers were part of the remaining members of the forward logistics element, made up of Soldiers assigned to the 419th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion’s Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 10th Special Troops Battalion’s HHC, and the 514th Support Maintenance Company.

    Since March, the FLE closed out the supply support activity, rations yard and the self service supply center, said Capt. Nathan Recta, a Salinas, California native, FLE officer in charge assigned to the 10th Sustainment Brigade support operations.

    The FLE has transferred the mortuary affairs and forward issue turn-in point to another forward operating base within Regional Command-Capital to continue logistical support.

    The CETs may be seen as the wagon masters of our times, as they retrograde truckloads of military equipment from the shrinking footprint day after day.

    Camp Phoenix was in a strategic location in RC-Capital during Operation Enduring Freedom in the Kabul province. It served as the major logistical hub and provided support for more than 17 military installations.

    The facilities that were no longer needed by coalition forces were transferred to the Afghans or dismantled if the Afghans had no plan to occupy the facilities.

    “It took approximately 80 CET missions averaging 13 truckloads each mission to completely retrograde the equipment out of Camp Phoenix,” said Recta.

    Camp Phoenix was transferred to the Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

    “The drawdown of forces and equipment will be done in such a manner as to posture forces for a seamless transition to Resolute Support to sustain the gains of the last 12 years and to ensure the Afghan National Security Forces remain effective and capable of providing security for Afghanistan,” said Col. Willie Rios III, a Houston, Texas native, 10th SBDE commander.

    Transferring the camp was a way to shrink the U.S. footprint in the capital and increase the presence of the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police.

    “It was pretty awesome to be involved with the drawdown of Camp Phoenix,” said Staff Sgt. Natale Neely, an Oxnard, California native assistant convoy commander assigned to the 730th TC. “It’s a good feeling to know that we were an intricate part of the process and being able to see the camp go from fully operational to a practically empty was amazing.”

    Some would say that Camp Phoenix has the feel of an eerie ghost town with no U.S. Soldiers seen conducting operations, while others may see Afghanistan taking another step in the right direction for a positive future.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 08.21.2014
    Date Posted: 08.25.2014 06:42
    Story ID: 140256
    Location: CAMP PHOENIX, AF
    Hometown: HOUSTON, TX, US
    Hometown: OXNARD, CA, US
    Hometown: SALINAS, CA, US

    Web Views: 20,002
    Downloads: 0

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