CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait -- Members of the Kuwait Ministry of Defense met with leaders of the 402nd Army Field Support Brigade, commanded by Col. Robert A. Dawson, and members of the Area Support Group-Kuwait Directorate of Logistics, here, Sept. 3.
The KMOD is one of Kuwait's governmental bodies and is part of the cabinet.
The purpose of the visit was to discuss Army sustainment "best practices," Foreign Military Sales, and maintaining M1A2 Abrams tanks and provide a full understanding of DOL responsibilities. Maj. Dwight Towler, support operations officer, ASG-KU DOL, spoke about the breadth of DOL support in regards to installation level transportation, field maintenance, supply services, dining facilities, and life support -- showers, dumpsters, and latrines.
Among the honored guests were Kuwait military officers, Col. Waleed Al Dieie, commander, 35th Armored Brigade; Maj. Waleed Al Murshid, Maj. Youssef Abdel Hadi, and Maj. Fayez Alazmi.
Members of the U.S. armed forces included U.S. Marine Corps officer, Col. Kevin Anderson, U.S. adviser for J4 (Logistics); and U.S. Army officers, Lt. Col. Kevin Paul, director, DOL, and Lt. Col. Walid Nasr, deputy director, Security Cooperation.
In an effort to inform the delegation on the depth of mission analysis, Towler said, "We must fully understand the requirement in order to maximize the use of a given asset, therefore, creating cost savings for the government."
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Jeffery McCourtney, maintenance chief, ASG-KU DOL, briefed the delegation on the mission of the Materiel Maintenance Branch and the parts requisition process for the M1A2 tank. He described the different types of support that Camps Arifjan and Buehring offer. Camp Arifjan has a paint shop and Camp Buehring has a tracked vehicle repair facility that support the M1A2 tank.
"ASG-KU supports Iraq. The U.S. has TACOM that will provide services for anyone in the U.S. Central Command's area of operations," said McCourtney.
The distinguished guests were taken to the DOL maintenance shops, where they were briefed on the capabilities of Field Maintenance Site-Arifjan and the added value of the M7 Forward Repair System.
Following the DOL maintenance area, they toured one of the Army Field Support Battalion-Kuwait's work centers; AFSBn-KU is commanded by Lt. Col. Earl B. Schonberg Jr. The work centers provide regular services in addition to unscheduled services and repairs. While in the work center, the visitors were able to see an M1A2 system enhancement package, version 2 on display. This version of the M1A2 is an upgrade compared to the version Kuwait is currently using. This allowed them to to have a more realistic hands-on experience with the M1A2 tanks.
"This event was a tremendous opportunity to get together with key leaders from the host nation," Dawson said. "Events like this go a long way to strengthening relationships with the Kuwait military."
"This is really good," said Col. Waleed Al Dieie, commander, 35th Armored Brigade, as he was briefed by U.S. service members.
The U.S. provides military and defense technical assistance to Kuwait from both foreign military sales and commercial sources. Additionally, U.S. personnel assist the Kuwait military with training, education, readiness, and warfighting, according to the U.S. Department of State.
Editor's note: Army Sustainment Command, headquartered at Rock Island Arsenal. Ill., assumed administrative control of nearly all of the Army's Directorates of Logistics Oct.1, 2012. Following the change, DOLs were renamed Logistics Readiness Centers. One of the exceptions is the Area Support Group-Kuwait Directorate of Logistics which falls under U.S. Army Central Command.
Related Links:
Army Sustainment Command homepage
Army Sustainment Command Facebook page
Social Sharing