KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (Feb. 15, 2012) -- As the drawdown of forces in Afghanistan continues, soldiers from the retrograde section take up the task of moving equipment affected by years of use out of theater.
"Since we're drawing down, a lot of equipment has to ship back through Kuwait," said Staff Sgt. Benson Barnes, retrograde non-commissioned officer in charge, 45th Sustainment Brigade, Joint Sustainment Command-Afghanistan. "We track all pallets and containers for our subordinate units and find the means to get all of it out of theater and to Kuwait."
Retrograde is a process for the movement of equipment and materiel from a deployed theater to a reset program or to another theater of operations to replenish unit stocks or satisfy stock requirements. Items that fall under the retrograde program include, but are not limited to, individual soldier equipment, construction materials, vehicles and repair parts.
"We service five outlying bases and three units here [in] Kandahar," said Spc. Patrick Walton, retrograde clerk, 45th Sustainment Brigade, JSC-A. "We verify reported numbers and make sure that pallets keep moving. Inaccurate numbers lead to pallets getting left behind."
This movement is the first step in the shipped equipment's journey to the Retrograde, Reset and Redistribution program, or R3, a process that brings the equipment back to combat capability or removes it from service.
The program was developed during the drawdown of forces in Iraq. It was developed to restore equipment readiness and transition from the needs of that conflict to full spectrum operations and training, according to the Army's Posture Statement regarding equipment reset.
The retrograde section tracks the equipment along the first leg of its trip back to the U.S. for the R3 process.
"We track [shipments] from the unit, through shipping out of Afghanistan," said Barnes. "After a shipment gets to Kuwait, it is up to the receiving unit to take responsibility for it and get it where it needs to go."
Sometimes, keeping the shipments moving is easier said than done.
"We have to ensure smooth movement [of the shipments]," said Walton. "If pallets stop moving, the yards get flooded and we have to travel out to help figure out the problem."
The R3 program's goal is to get the most use out of the equipment the Army has, giving taxpayers the most value for their tax dollar. By keeping pallets moving, the retrograde section of the 45th Sustainment Brigade is doing its part to make sure that happens.
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