Army Equipment Detectives

Courtesy Photo | CAMP ARIFJAN (13 Sept., 2006)---Maj. Peter Mueller and Sgt. Maj. Craig Black investigate files in search of equipment transfers. The six-member team is located in Camp Arifjan and Victory Base in Baghdad.  

09.15.2006

Courtesy Story

40th Public Affairs Detachment

by Sgt. Carlos M. Burger II
Desert Voice Staff Writer
40th Public Affairs Detachment

In the early stages of the Global War on Terrorism, the Army Reserve left behind equipment for follow-on units to use in an effort to cut down on deployment time and shipping costs. This equipment came to be known as Stay Behind Equipment, and later Theater Provided Equipment.

As the war continued, active units and units from other services and agencies began to utilize this equipment as well. The paperwork trails that accompanied the equipment transfers were either misplaced or not completed at all. So many units used TPE that it got to the point where the exact origin of the equipment became unclear or unknown. Who became responsible for equipment that no one owned?

That's where Lt. Col. Andrea A. Breyton and her team come in.

For the past three years, the Army Reserve has deployed a Redeployment, Reconstitution, and Asset Visibility Team to capture and document all USAR-owned equipment and to provide greater asset visibility of their equipment in the AOR, she said.

The current team, led by Breyton, arrived in November 2005 and is a six-member team that has split-duty at Camp Arifjan and the Victory Base Complex in Baghdad.

"Our team works in conjunction with (ARCENT) C-3 and C-4. C-4 helps us with tracking the equipment and we work C-3 with Mission Essential Equipment List (MEEL) issues," said Breyton, a Vancouver, Wash., resident. C-3 and C-4 then advise the Department of the Army on how to better direct unit transfers, she added.

The team has several missions. First, they start by establishing communications with deploying units and securing a list of equipment they will bring to theater. Second, when a unit is preparing to redeploy, the team ensures that the unit has either their original equipment which was brought into theater, or the paperwork showing a transfer of TPE to the Army Materiel Command, which maintains accountability of the equipment when no unit is using it. And third, they research undocumented equipment transfers from the first two OIF rotations. Finally, the team also educates units in property accountability and managing property books while in theater, said Sgt. Major Jonna Pittman, the U.S. Army Reserve Command G4 sergeant major, in Atlanta, Ga.

Since the team was established, they have tracked and provided accountability for more than $1 billion worth of equipment, including fuel distribution systems, trucks, tractors, trailers, water purification systems, laundry and bath equipment, graders and a wide variety of medical, engineering and transportation equipment, Breyton said.

In addition to saving the Army money, Breyton said she enjoys her time as chief of the team.

This job is like cold case files; we use the Army's resources to find out about these undocumented transfers. It's been fun. I work with reserve units while deployed and have a better understanding of how the Army manages its equipment," she said.

By capturing and documenting TPE, Breyton and the six-person team provides valuable information that directly feeds into the DA management system.

This ensures that the Reserve units will receive equipment for the equipment transferred to other components, services or agencies. Breyton will be the first to say that this is a mission that is ongoing.

"Any units that have questions about the origin of their TPE or about property accountability should contact us," she said.

If your unit has a question for the RRAV team, please contact Lt. Col Andrea A. Breyton at [e-mail] or call 318-430-6157.

• Date Taken: 09.15.2006
• Date Posted: 09.15.2006 13:42
• Story ID: 7749