FORT HOOD, Texas - Units across Fort Hood have been coming together to execute Operation Clean Sweep, an Army-wide effort to turn in and redistribute unneeded or unusable supply items.
The operation, which started Jan. 26 and is expected to run until April, is intended to rid units of equipment that is broken or just sitting unused, putting it back into the supply system and getting it to units that need it, said Staff Sgt. Kosi Rogers, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the 289th Quartermaster Company's Supply Support Activity.
Members of the 289th, as well as other units of the 15th Sustainment Brigade, have been working with Fort Hood units and activities such as the Directorate of Logistics in order to receive turned in equipment and get it back into the supply system as soon as possible, Rogers said.
Once back into the Army's supply system, the equipment can be sent to wherever it's needed, especially to units in Iraq and Afghanistan, Rogers explained.
"Stuff that we might have that is sitting here, that is excess, can get redistributed through the supply system," Rogers said.
The Fort Hood effort is expected to save the Army millions of dollars because units will not have to purchase new items that have been turned in through Clean Sweep, Rogers said.
Rather than having the excess equipment sit here at Fort Hood, it can be identified, repaired, and sent to units that need it, Rogers said.
Once identified by the unit, the equipment is brought to the 289th's SSA, where the proper paperwork is completed to get it back into the Army's Standard Army Retail Supply System, which is where the Army sees the money saved, Rogers explained.
Rogers explained that Clean Sweep will also help units with the exchange pricing system, which gives units a discount on new equipment if they turn in the old item, because it will identify items that will bring money back to the unit and the Army.
But it's not just supply items and equipment that is being cleaned out, the 289th receives and processes scrap metal, wood and cardboard, which is sent to the Fort Hood recycling center to be recycled.
Communications equipment, night vision devices, mounting equipment for weapons and radios, as well as tents have been some of the most popular items being processed and sent right back out to units that need them, Rogers said.
In addition to ordering items through the normal supply system, Rogers said units on Fort Hood can go directly to the SSA to get items, after completing the proper paperwork.
Col. Larry Phelps, the commander of the 15th SB, said the best effect of Clean Sweep is that it will provide a baseline for units' property accountability and the ability to start off with a clean property book.
But there is a larger effect than just property books.
"Taxpayers of the nation really entrust us to be good stewards of the money they provide us to operate our Army," Phelps said.
Phelps explained that he sees Clean Sweep as a kind of Fort Hood recycling program, not in the environmental way, but making sure that all the Army's equipment is in the right hands to be put to the best use possible.
Social Sharing