Equipment Once Used in Iraq Is Now Helping State and Local Governments
by COL Michael S. Oubre E
quipment once used in Iraq has been given new life across America, as state and local gov- ernments take advantage of an
Army initiative that allows them to claim equipment brought out of Iraq that the Army no longer needs.
With the drawdown from Iraq, the Army has redistributed and retrograded millions of pieces of equipment and materiel. The equipment went to fill Army shortages, to build up the capabilities of the Iraq Security Forces and Afghanistan National Security Forces, to improve the warfighting capa- bilities of our Coalition partners, and to ensure the success of the U.S. Department of State as it assumes the mission in Iraq.
In addition, the Army is committed to ensuring that state and local governments in America have access to excess equip- ment that is not part of the Army modified table of allowances, commonly referred to as nonstandard equipment (NS-E). As of October 2011, 20 states had received 759 pieces of NS-E, valued at approximately $11 million. For example, a Caterpillar tractor was used to fight wildfires in Okla- homa; floodlights, loaders, and generators were used to battle floods in Mississippi; and all-terrain vehicles are being used as learning opportunities for students at Walla Walla Community College in Washington state.
The Army collaborates with the National Association of State Agencies for Surplus Property (NASASP) to help meet state and local government needs. The Army also has worked with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Home- land Defense and Americas’ Security Affairs to expand access to organizations directly associated with homeland secu- rity, such as the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Law Enforcement Support Office.
Since February 2010, the Army, in con- junction with U.S. Forces-Iraq (USF-I), has used a modified process to review in- theater redistribution of excess materiel in Iraq. The revised process has allowed state and local governments improved access to unneeded equipment for poten- tial reuse.
The Army funded a liaison officer in Kuwait to facilitate the efficient trans- fer of excess equipment to state and local governments.
Here’s how the process has worked: The liaison receives a list of such equipment from USF-I and visually inspects the DLA Disposition Services warehouse in Kuwait for equipment that has been identified for disposal. The liaison then provides a list of this equipment to a NASASP overseas coordinator in Maine. The equipment is in “as-is” condition.
After vetting with state participants, the liason coordinates any equipment desired by a state or local government for movement through the Defense Transportation System and the General Services Administration (GSA) to the receiving destination. The only cost to the state is for transportation of the equip- ment, at DoD rates, from Kuwait to its final destination.
Within the United States, the equipment is containerized and becomes part of the Army’s overall retrograde process. DoD provides an invoice to GSA, which in turn bills NASASP for reimbursement.
The entire process can take 90 to 120 days, from the time equipment is identified until it reaches the state or local agency.
Enabling state and local governments to have access to excess NS-E in Iraq is a worthwhile cause and one that the Army fully endorses.
COL MICHAEL S. OUBRE is the Retro- grade Division Chief, Army G-4. He holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara, an M.S. in logistics management from the Florida Institute of Technology, and an M.S. in national resource strategy from the Indus- trial College of the Armed Forces.
ASC.ARMY.MIL 49
LOGISTICS
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