Trash to treasure: Logistics Airmen roll up sleeves to make room for aircraft ramp, organize supply chain

Published April 4, 2011
By Master Sgt. Mike Hammond
379th Air Expeditionary Wing public affairs

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- A team of five deployed Airmen translated hard work and sweat into a shining example of teamwork, efficiency and partnership at this desert air base - turning a supply nightmare into a sustainable logistics operation in just four months.

Airmen assigned to the 379th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron's Transit Shipping Point receive, process, and ship excess equipment from the base to the Defense Logistics Agency distribution services facility in Kuwait. There, the materials will either be made available to the public, converted to scrap metal, or refurbished and returned to the fight, according to Capt. George Bell, 379 ELRS deployment distribution flight commander.

The TSP team members arrived for their deployment here to find a daunting task awaiting them. They needed to move the entire operation to a new location -- the first step necessary to make room for the base's $54 million tactical ramp project.

Junk Yard to Parking Space

The new ramp space is meant to expand the parking area for military aircraft here. Captain Bell said the U.S. Army Riggers, who build pallets and rig parachutes for airdrop missions supplying forward operating bases in the area of responsibility, need to move to the TSP's current location to make room for the ramp construction.

"When our team got here, the lot had essentially been treated as a junk yard," Captain Bell said. "A team of five people packed up and shipped out over 600 tons of excess equipment and supplies. They spent four months going out there in the heat, weather, and wind to get the job done," the captain said. "Five guys significantly reduced the logistical footprint of the U.S. government in our host nation in just 120 days."

Building Partnerships

In addition to the removal and shipment of existing equipment in the yard and associated clean-up efforts, the team also built and maintained solid working relationships with host nation customs officials and the U.S. Army Soldiers working at the sea port for the Army's Surface Deployment Distribution Command.

"Coming in, we just expected to be open and courteous with customs," said Tech. Sgt. Joseph Gadson, noncommissioned officer in charge of the TSP and Customs. "We established trust with them by always opening and looking into every container we were shipping, so we knew what was in it and they found us to be trustworthy."

All U.S. government cargo that comes in or out of this host nation via sealift has to go through the Surface Deployment and Distribution Command located at a nearby military installation, according to Sergeant Gadson.

"Within our first two weeks of arriving on station we had our first port mission. U.S. Army Capt. DeHaven Pollard (Commander, SDDC Qatar Detachment, 831st Transportation Battalion) and his team were very straightforward while providing on-the-job training for our responsibilities during port missions," Sergeant Gadson said. "I knew from that day that their logistical expectations were aligned with my own. Once a week, we hold a meeting with [our Army liaisons] that helps to make the mission possible."

With a clean lot and solid relationships built, the team turned its attention to the future, looking to establish a sustainable operation that would ensure quick, organized handling of excess material brought in by customers. According to Sergeant Gadson, the process was two-fold: customer education and increased efficiency in storage and shipment of goods.

The Way Ahead

"In the past, a customer might bring anything from a TV to an XBox 360 here," Sergeant Gadson said. "Whatever it was, they would just drop it off - and it would go sit out in the lot and catch sun and wind for a while. Now, we are educating customers on what should and shouldn't be considered excess and dropped off here. We also have the customers call ahead and describe the items they want to bring. We call Kuwait and if it's an item they can take, we'll work the form necessary and schedule a drop-off time with the customer."

The average shipping mission takes place in a span of about 24-36 hours, Sergeant Gadson said. When a ship is scheduled to come into port, the TSP calls for a contract truck to come pick up a shipment of materials. They load the truck, go downtown to the port, and work with the Army Soldiers working there to unload the truck and load onto the ship.

Captain Bell and Sergeant Gadson said the team is working to a goal of packing material for shipment as it comes in, reducing time spent here and organizing the shipping and customs processes.

"As the first domino to fall, the move of the TSP will set in motion a series of events that will eventually lead to a new aircraft parking ramp," said Lt. Col. Robert Henderson, 379 ELRS commander. "The current team has built on the significant successes of the previous rotation. The chain of events is in full motion now, thanks to a team of five Airmen who weren't afraid to roll up sleeves, do the dirty, thankless, work - and leave this deployment knowing they left the base better than they found it. That's what it's all about!"