Massive cleanup initiative creates space, recoups taxpayer’s money
By U.S. Army Capt Monika Comeaux, Public Affairs Officer
Deputy Command of Support Operations, NATO Training Mission – Afghanistan
The Todd Maritime Services International, an overflow lot and storage area, used by both Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces in Kabul, has housed tons of coalition scrap-materials that have been piled up over the years.
Since the site will be shutting down in the near future, instead of moving the material from one location to another, there is a plan to turn it in to the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office (DRMO), said U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Matthew P. Beuchert, a logistics officer for Regional Support Command-Capital.
An Afghan contractor checks scrap metal and boxes loaded on back up a contracted “jingle” truck at Todd Maritime Services International, a coalition-contracted shipping and receiving yard in Kabul in July, 2012. The metal and other coalition equipment was collected and sold with the help of the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office. The Deputy Command of Support Operations under NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan and within DCOM-SPO, Regional Support Command-Capital worked very closely with DRMO on the project in hopes of showing our Afghan partners how to obtain funds from old equipment and scrap materials. (Photo by USMC Capt. Matthew P. Beuchert)
When we explored the possibilities of clearing away salvageable materials in the yard and recoup funds for the American tax payers, we did a lot of planning, said U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Branton M. Joaquin, Supply and Services Branch Chief in Deputy Command of Support Operations under NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan.
“From the initial planning phase to the last truck, the process took three months. The salvage portion of the heavy lifting was two months of 12-hour days, with only one day off per week,” said Joaquin. The mission had multiple participants, including local Afghan contractors, members of RSC-Capital and of course DRMO.
This type of mission was not new to the Defense Logistics Agency’s Disposition Services, said U.S. Navy Lt. Michael J. Nolan, the assistant officer in charge of Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services, Afghanistan and the officer in charge of the Disposition Services Detachment in Bagram.
“DLA Disposition Services oversees the responsible disposal of U.S. equipment no longer needed in the battle space. Items with offensive and defensive capabilities are sent to one of our DEMIL (demilitarization) centers for processing, but other unserviceable items and scrap metal are sold to local contractors with the proceeds returning to the U.S. Treasury. Another collateral benefit of our scrap sales program is the positive impact it has on the Afghan economy, whereby entrepreneurial local companies can build thriving businesses from the purchase and re-sale of U.S. scrap metal,” explained Nolan.
The life cycle of scrap removal consists of a site assessment, then if no demilitarization is required, it is sorted into serviceable and unserviceable piles. Serviceable equipment is either retained or goes to a sort yard, where it can be placed back into the supply system. With some exceptions, remaining unserviceable material is sold to scrap contractors, in this particular case to Afghan companies, explained Nolan.
The harvest team who worked on the Todd Maritime Services International yard clean-up at Kabul pose with a sign announcing they have harvested 1 million pounds of coalition scrap during the summer months of 2012. The clean-up initiative came from the Deputy Command of Support Operations and Regional Support Command-Central, both working under NATO Training Mission -Afghanistan. The initiative came as the TMSI site will no longer used so instead of moving the scrap from one site to another, it made sense to dispose of it in an economical way. (Photo by USMC Capt. Matthew P. Beuchert)
The materials recycled at the TMSI site included unserviceable heavy equipment like hoists, backhoes and forklifts; unserviceable vehicle parts; furniture; warehouse racking; building materials and kitchen supplies, said Nolan.
The scrap harvest also collected and sold 5,500 pairs of boots not wanted by the ANSF partners and 5,000 rolls of building insulation, said Beuchert.
When it was all said and done, over 1 million pounds of scrap was salvaged at TMSI, said Joaquin.
“Our main goal is the responsible disposal of military equipment and the proper handling of items that have military capability so they don’t fall into wrong hands,” said Nolan. He added that it is also nice to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars.
One of the intents of this particular mission was to show our Afghan partners that they can perform similar operations on their own, said Beuchert. “This style mission can be accomplished throughout Afghanistan in every region, [it] provides money back to the government, clears storage space, and can create local jobs depending on how the Afghans contract the support. Very simple, yet has high benefits and rewards,” said Beuchert.
NATO Training Mission – Afghanistan is a coalition of 38 troop contributing nations assisting the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in generating a capable and sustainable Afghan National Security Force ready to take lead of their country’s security by 2014. For more information about NTM-A, visit www.ntm-a.com
Category: News - General, News - Logistics
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