EXIT STRATEGY


NO LUXURIES HERE


While the successes of the U.S. drawdown from Iraq have raised expectations for the retrograde from Afghanistan, the geographic circumstances are vastly different. Bordering Iraq is Kuwait, where the U.S. military maintained on-the-ground control of cargo movement throughout the entire process. No such luxury exists in the Afghan theater. Here, the last MRAP to depart Iraq is lifted aboard ship at the Port of Ash Shuaiba, Kuwait, March 24, 2012, for transport to the United States. (U.S. Army photo by David Ruderman, 402nd Army Field Support Brigade Public Affairs)


military and commercial air transport. Although SDDC is DOD’s


“surface”


transportation expert, the command adapts as circumstances dictate. When the PAKGLOC closed for more than a year from 2011 through early 2013, SDDC moved more cargo out of Afghanistan by air than the U.S. Air Force. Every day brings new challenges, Wadyko noted.


BY LAND, SEA OR AIR


“We have a significant number of mostly commercial contracts that enable us


52


to move the cargo,” said COL Glenn Baca, SDDC director of operations, who described the Afghanistan redeployment as a continuing effort.


For example, he said, “Universal Services Contract 7 enables us to move cargo by surface (e.g., truck, rail or ocean vessel), and a multimodal contract allows us to move the cargo by air and then by sea. In the broadest sense, everyone generally agrees there are four modes of transportation: trucks, trains, vessels and airplanes. Any time you use


more than one of those conveyances, it’s multimodal.”


Under the multimodal contract, com- mercial aircraft transport cargo out of Afghanistan. Most multimodal


cargo


is flown to one of several nearby ports, where it is transferred to an ocean ves- sel for the final leg of the journey to the United States. Because of the high cost of air transport, usually only high-value or sensitive cargo travels all the way to the United States by air, Baca said. “Te reason multimodal is significant is


Army AL&T Magazine


October–December 2013


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