Brig. Gen. David Clarkson visits the 18th CSSB retrograde yard in Kandahar Airfield

By Spc. Isaac AdamsJuly 30, 2012

Brig. Gen. David Clarkson visits the 18th CSSB retrograde yard in Kandahar Airfield
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Phillips, the motor sergeant for HHC, 18th CSSB, explains the maintenance portion of the retrograde yard to the deputy commanding general of the 1st Theater Sustainment Command, Brig. Gen. David Clarkson during his walkthrough of t... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Brig. Gen. David Clarkson visits the 18th CSSB retrograde yard in Kandahar Airfield
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Spc. Corey Sutton, from Woodbridge, Va. and Sgt. Davin Pelton of Troy, Il., both automated logistic specialists with the 40th QMC of the 45th special troops battalion, speak with the deputy commanding general of the 1st Theater Sustainment Command, B... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (July 10, 2012) -- Brig. Gen. David Clarkson, the Deputy Commanding General of the 1st Theater Sustainment Command walked through the Kandahar Retrograde Yard with Lt. Col. Michelle M.T. Letcher, the commander of the 18th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, July 10.

The retrograde yard is staffed primarily by the units and Soldiers of the 18th CSSB; the Special Troops Battalion, 45th Sustainment Brigade; Bravo Company, 113 Special Troops Battalion; and Bravo Company, 427 Brigade Support Battalion. Clarkson and Letcher walked though the yard, speaking with the Soldiers, civilians, noncommissioned officers and officers working in the yard.

Spc. Tommy Wilson, an information systems technician, from Stokesdale, N.C., with Bravo Company, 113th Special Troops Battalion, works in the sorting tent in the Kandahar Retrograde Yard.

"It's that first step that we've been waiting on for awhile, so I'm glad it's here," Wilson said. "Yeah, the actual job is not easy, but being the first step of getting out of [Afghanistan], really, that's a good thing."

During the walkthrough, Clarkson said the retrograde support of Operation Enduring Freedom, here in Afghanistan, will most likely be attracting a lot of attention from multiple higher headquarters. With that, Clarkson urged the Soldiers in the yard to be prepared for multiple visits from leaders on multiple different levels.

"My primary mission is to find and sort the items that we receive," stated Spc Jade Bumbry, a unit supply clerk from Roanoke, Va., who is here with Bravo Company, 113th Special Troops Battalion.

"We are the second step in the whole retrograde process here on Kandahar Airfield. So we sort through every little thing into like items, then they go into processing," Bumbry said.

Here in Kandahar, the 18th CSSB works hard to support the resorting and retrograde of the materials and supplies out of, and around, Afghanistan, in order to minimize loss of materials and to lower the expenses. The Soldiers in the yard have been working long and hard hours to keep the mission going.

"We push through just as much as we physically can," Wilson said.

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