CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait (June 18, 2014) -- Under Secretary of the Army, Brad Carson, and Gen. John Campbell, Army vice chief of staff, toured the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of operations in Kuwait, April 15, to learn about Army Prepositioned Stock and retrograde capabilities and to gain an understanding of U.S. Army Central (ARCENT) activities supporting CENTCOM. While at Camp Arifjan, Carson and Campbell also visited the 402nd Army Field Support Brigade, commanded by Col. James Kinkade.
Earlier this year, CENTCOM designated Kuwait for a proof of principal as an intermediate staging base (ISB) for equipment being retrograded from Afghanistan. The 402nd AFSB was the organization primarily responsible for supporting the entire PoP from Kuwait. Carson and Campbell visited the ISB and a portion of the Army Prepositioned Stock-5 (APS-5) set.
Lt. Col. Marc Staats, commander, Army Field Support Battalion-Kuwait, led a tour of the retrograde lot where equipment is being processed for shipment or to fill APS-5 shortages. They also toured APS-5 warehouses, where a portion of the Army's largest APS set, valued at $5.5 billion, is stored and maintained.
"This is amazing," said Campbell as he observed the condition of and care put into the APS-5 fleet at one of the warehouses.
There is enough available space on Camp Arifjan to store about 5,000 pieces of equipment. During the warehouse tour, they also discussed the advantages of moving equipment indoors and converting it to long-term storage, saving money and increasing APS-5 fleet readiness.
Kinkade explained the value in capturing excess enabling technologies from Afghanistan and installing them into tactical wheel and track vehicles in the APS-5 fleet. "This coordinated effort has the potential to save $150 million," he said.
Also in attendance was Lt. Gen. James Terry, USARCENT commanding general.
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Under Secretary of the Army Brad R. Carson
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