CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait-- In the surge of modern war, success is not often reached by a force of warfighters alone, it is also dependent upon items concealed in the legions of shipping containers that reinforce the fight.
As the war in Iraq came to an end and troops returned home, many of the containers filled with equipment once used to sustain troops at war are now mountains of war relics shadowing several U.S. military bases in Kuwait.
To ensure the containers and their contents didn't waste away in the desert, Operation Steel Purge sought to give them a new mission--saving money.
"Operation Steel Purge is an effort to reclaim shipping containers being used as long-term storage," said Maj. John T. Bowman, country container authority for Kuwait, 316th Expeditionary Sustainment Command. "As we face these budgetary restraints, this is one way we can get the cost of logistics in-hand."
Recycling the government-owned shipping containers saves the U.S. government millions of dollars that would be used to buy or rent new ones, which can cost up to $6,000 apiece, added Bowman.
"When we utilize a commercial carrier for shipping it creates excessive expense to the Department of Defense," said Bowman.
Nearly all of the 25,000 shipping containers in Kuwait were purchased to support the war in Iraq because costs associated with renting the steel boxes were going to outweigh the value of the container.
As the containers arrived to Kuwait they assumed a storage role until a cost-efficient plan was put into place to consolidate, repair and return them to duty to be used as shipping containers; the job they were intended for.
"Since we own these containers in Kuwait, we can reclaim them, reintroduce them into the distribution network and decrease the amount of money that we pay to commercial companies to move our equipment," said Bowman.
Military units now responsible for any of the shipping containers in Kuwait assist the Operation Steel Purge team to identify and move available containers to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait where they are consolidated and prepared for reuse.
"We've been steel purging since we got here in August 2012. We started with 181 containers. Throughout the last eight months we have turned in 114 containers and currently we have 67 remaining," said Capt. David J. Flounders, Sr., retrograde officer-in-charge, with the 1109th Aviation Sustainment Maintenance Group, a National Guard unit from Groton, Conn.
Once reintroduced to the distribution network, many of the containers can be used to support further drawdown operations. The goal is to recover about 40 percent of containers in Kuwait by this April.
"Even though we have a deadline, the reduction of containers will stretch beyond the conclusion of Steel Purge," said Bowman. "What we are trying to do is purge as many shipping containers as we can without creating a disruption."
Once a container is released, it's delivered to the retrograde yard at the General Dynamics Information Technology Center, where its contents find a new purpose as well.
"What we need to be doing all the time is saving money, so we can prosper as a country and keep our national security and defenses up," said Michael Hamilton, retrograde manager at the GDIT retrograde yard. "If you are able to take these items and repair and recycle them then we are saving money."
Many of the containers that Operation Steel Purge claims have been abandoned and are turned in are filled with an array of unidentified equipment. Once a container has been delivered to the retrograde yard and is unsealed, the team enters the unknown to awaken whatever treasures lie within.
"Anything is possible when you open the container door. It could be anything; from animals, to equipment, to money, you name it," said Grayland M. Price, the lead tech inspector at the GDIT retrograde yard, who is typically the first person to enter a container and was once surprised to find a stray cat that had wandered into one.
The team of contracted civilians, which includes several veterans, works diligently to clear out, organize and process about $50 million worth of salvaged supplies every month. This saves the Department of Defense $50 million in supplies it would otherwise have to purchase new.
"I understand the importance of having supplies right there, that I can reach out and touch and work with," said Hamilton, who is himself an Army veteran. "To me, this is about helping those service members who are putting their life on the line. I'm doing my part to support them because I know they are supporting me."
Each hand involved in the steps to reuse shipping containers and their contents has found a way to put money back in America's pocket and reinforcements into the fight.
Social Sharing