LOGISTICS


Heavy Lifting


AMC uniquely positioned to support R4D by COL Albert J. Cole


T


he Retrograde, Reset, Redeployment, Redistribu- tion and Disposal (R4D) mission in Afghanistan is a herculean effort. Launched in January 2012 and unprecedented in complexity, R4D requires innova-


tion and creativity to meet the national objective of bringing equipment back to the United States.


As of Sept. 4, the Army alone had tens of thousands of vehicles and shipping containers—more than a million pieces of equipment overall, valued at approximately $23.5 billion—that must move within a landlocked and land-constrained environment. With more than 70,000 personnel situated around the world and missions ranging from research and development to reset, the U.S. Army Materiel Command (AMC) is uniquely suited to play a pivotal role.


As the R4D mission continues, each of AMC’s major subor- dinate commands plays a part in the successful conduct and eventual completion of this monumental task.


Perhaps the most visible AMC asset involved in the R4D mission are the forward-deployed members of U.S. Army Sustainment Command’s Army field support brigades (AFSBs). Te 401st AFSB, located primarily in Bagram and Kandahar, serves as the first line of effort in AMC’s support to the R4D mission, pro- viding logistics synchronization. Early in the retrograde process,


36 Army AL&T Magazine October–December 2013


180 days before the first unit’s redeployment under R4D, the 401st sent property accountability assistance teams to forward operating bases (FOBs) and combat outposts (COPs) to help with turn-in paperwork, and pushed out mobile redistribution prop- erty assistance teams (MRPATs) to relieve redeploying units of excess property before the units arrived at one of the nine per- manent RPAT yards in Afghanistan. Command emphasis and early planning between the 401st and commanders on the ground helped ensure a steady flow of equipment throughout the process.


Other forward-deployed AMC assets also play a critical role in processing and returning equipment from theater.


AMC’s Logistics Support Activity forward training teams provide on-the-ground Logistics Information Warehouse (LIW) training, including Automated Reset Management Tool (ARMT) training and Teater Provided Equipment (TPE) Planner training, and can help units with any issues they may have with the systems critical to R4D. (See related article on Page 44.)


DISPOSAL ASSISTANCE TPE Planner and the Decision Support Tool (DST) also sup- port the disposition of items for foreign military sales, which are managed by U.S. Army Security and Assistance Command (USASAC). During the current R4D process, USASAC is work- ing closely with AMC and DA so that once materiel is identified


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164  |  Page 165  |  Page 166  |  Page 167  |  Page 168  |  Page 169  |  Page 170  |  Page 171  |  Page 172  |  Page 173  |  Page 174  |  Page 175  |  Page 176  |  Page 177  |  Page 178  |  Page 179  |  Page 180  |  Page 181  |  Page 182  |  Page 183  |  Page 184  |  Page 185  |  Page 186  |  Page 187  |  Page 188  |  Page 189  |  Page 190  |  Page 191  |  Page 192  |  Page 193  |  Page 194  |  Page 195  |  Page 196