BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (Jan. 14, 2015) -- For the past 13 years, U.S. and coalition forces have been moving military equipment and supplies in and out of Afghanistan to sustain combat operations across the country.
As the drawdown continues in Afghanistan, the 4th Resolute Support Sustainment Brigade (4RSSB) finds itself as the only sustainment brigade left in country and have been tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that all equipment, ranging from vehicles to food and water to ammunition finds its way safely out of Afghanistan.
Recently at Bagram Air Field, Soldiers from the 4RSSB joined forces with a convoy escort team from the 950th Engineer Clearance Company, Wisconsin National Guard and civilian explosive ordnance disposal and ammunition technicians from the Joint Munitions Destruct-Afghanistan Team to safely disburse of approximately 6,000 pounds of out of date explosives.
"We are here to demilitarize approximately 6,000 pounds of code H [out of date or unserviceable] ammunition," said Staff Sgt. Richard Perec, from the New York National Guard.
"It's safer to blow the ammunition up, than to let it fall into the hands of the enemy or try to ship it home and risk it detonating in transit," he added.
In order to carry out the demilitarization mission, Perec who is attached to the 4RSSB had to train Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Special Troops Battalion on how to drive and operate the various military vehicles in order to safely transport explosive ordnance from the ammunition supply point on BAF to the detonation site located outside of the bases perimeter.
"They have me training the guys on the various vehicles because I'm an 88M [motor transport operator] and I'm probably the most qualified person for the job," said Perec.
"I've trained 10-12 Soldiers on the M1088 w/M871 trailer and the M1075 Palletized Load System, in order to safely transport all munitions," he said.
The Wrangler Soldiers picked up their preloaded vehicles from the ASP in the early hours and drove to the entry control point where they waited for the 950th ECC and the EOD techs before heading out to the detonation site.
Once at the site, a perimeter security was quickly set up and the Wrangler Soldiers assisted the JMD-A techs unload the munitions ready for demolition.
Ken Barnett, a disposal safety specialist with JMD-A, was responsible for overseeing the demolishing operations to ensure that everything went smoothly, all safety guidelines were followed, and that nobody U.S. military, civilian contractor, or local national were injured in the process.
"In order to destroy these excess or unsafe munitions, our guys spend about eight to 10 days to build these boxes and then schedule with the security teams to come out here and safely destruct them," said Barnett. "We have everything here from .50-cal small arms that can't be burned in an incinerator, artillery rounds, mortars, and even rockets," he added.
Barnett said that one of the main reason his team conduct DEMIL operations is to ensure that munitions like these don't fall into enemy hands, which stops them from potentially being used against coalition forces in the future.
"We usually come out about every two weeks to blow munitions like these," said Barnett. "That gives us enough time to build these boxes and then arrange for the security teams and transportation."
As the ordnance was set in place and prepared for demolition, the 950th ECC continued to provide perimeter security to not only keep the Soldiers and EOD techs safe, but to also ensure the safety of the ever growing group of spectators that had gathered from the local village, ready to come in and police up all the scrap metal.
"The villagers here come out and collect the scrap metal of the shots which in turn is their income," said Barnett. "They collect the scrap and use it for things like engine parts because it is still good quality metal and can be melted down."
As the U.S. footprint in Afghanistan continues to shrink and the current bases are prepared to potentially be handed over to the Afghan Army, safely downsizing and retrograding equipment, Soldiers, and munitions out of the country will continue to be a key element of Operation Resolute Support.
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