CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan – A combination of Soldiers assigned to the 543rd Quartermaster Company, 96th Transportation Company, and a Marine assigned to the Combat Logistic Battalion 7 handed over Class I operations to the incoming Marine Combat Logistic Battalion 1 which will sustain more than 11,000 personnel with operational rations at the Class I yard here.
The team assigned to CLB1 consists of three Marines.
The mission of the yard is to support the service members, coalition forces and civilian contractors with operational rations, which include meals ready to eat, religious oriented meals, ice and water.
“We only provide the essential rations now,” said Army 1st Lt. Jane Walker, a Springfield, Virginia, native, executive officer for the 543rd QM Company. “We just don’t have the lickies and chewies anymore.”
The yard has recently completed their descope mission July 14, when the last of the excess 20 and 40-foot refrigeration and connex containers were turned-in in support of retrograde operations.
Walker said they had more than 125 containers and now that number has dropped to less than 40. They also had more than 130 accounts back in January and now they don’t have any.
Another portion of the descope mission was reducing the number of civilian contractors working at the yard. There were more than 40 contractors and that numbers was recently reduced to zero and now it’s run by a team of seven service members.
Army Sgt. Christopher Markowski, a Dayton, Ohio native, Class I yard supervisor assigned to the 543rd QM Company, said the workload has slightly decreased but, with the team they have, he is confident they are capable of handling the task at hand.
The yard receives forklift support from contractors working at the supply support activity from time to time when they receive a high concentration of customers.
Operations have been more efficient with the few service members than it was with the higher number of contractors, said Walker. Soldiers of the Class I team are proud to do the mission of supplying their brothers and sisters in uniform.
On average, the yard supports more than 25 customers a day who pick up anywhere from a single pallet of water to a heavy expanded mobility tactical truck loaded with more than 10 pallets at a time. Some customers may even make multiple trips for a single request.
Daily operations of the Soldiers working in the yard consist of escorting the trucks containing the rations from the entrance control point to the yard, downloading, inventorying and securing the rations.
Approximately 90 percent of the mission is currently issuing ice and water to units throughout the forward operating base.
The yard will also become the new home to the SSA and the medical logistics warehouse as a way to consolidate logistical operations. This consolidation will also assist in the drawdown and closure of the FOB in the future.
“The yard has been ready for the Marines,” said Markowski. “We were simply making it even better for when they actually takeover operations.”
The incoming Marines have been conducting left seat right seat with the Class I team, which is a process used so the incoming unit can learn the day-to-day operations of the outgoing unit, to better understand the processes of the Class I yard.
“I’ve been handling yards like this for the past three years now so this is going to be a walk in the park especially since everything is already in place and ready to go,” said Marine Sgt. Bryan Guinand, St. Petersburg, Florida, native, incoming Class I yard noncommissioned officer in charge assigned to CLB 1. “The transfer is going smoothly.”
The incoming team is ready and rearing to go.
“Running a shop like this with 2-3 people is nothing new to me so I’m prepared,” said Guinand. “I just can’t wait to get started.”