ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Illinois -- For nearly four years, the U.S. Army Sustainment Command and the U.S. Army Materiel Command have integrated installation logistics in AMC's Materiel Enterprise. These activities are now formally recognized as Logistics Readiness Centers supporting 77 Army and other-than-Army installations.
ASC, as AMC's operational arm, manages the LRCs through its Army Field Support Brigades.
With this transformation and additional capabilities, ASC can access the full might of the Materiel Enterprise to provide the Soldier with the right equipment, on time and in good condition, as well as supply premier support services both at home and abroad.
The following are highlights of some LRC personnel. Throughout the year, ASC Public Affairs will be providing more highlights:
Frank D. Martinez is a supply management specialist working as in interim accountable officer for HAZMART operations, Logistics Readiness Center, Fort Irwin, California. He also does special projects pertaining to the property book. Martinez is an 11-year Army veteran in supply, and has been working as an Army civilian since 1993 -- all at Fort Irwin. From 2006 through 2013, he deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan numerous times serving as a battalion S-4 (Operations) in both theaters under the Army Materiel Command. "The Soldiers are deep in my heart," Martinez said. "I liked that (deploying) because you get to interface with the Soldiers." At Fort Irwin, Martinez said HAZMART takes care of the rotational units by providing grease and oil and then processing units for clearing upon the return of the any waste.
Frank Portz is the chief of the Retail Supply Branch, Logistics Readiness Center, Fort Hood, Texas. "Fort Hood is not only is a large installation but it is also a mobilization base so we get National Guard, reserves coming through here," Portz said. "We supply them with the repair parts that our maintenance uses to fix their equipment prior to deploying and/or once they come back." Portz explained that being Hood's Supply Support Activity supporting 11 tactical SSAs, LRC-Hood handles all classes of supply, with the majority being repair parts for vehicles on the installation and worldwide. He estimated between 3,000 to 3,500 transactions for supply are conducted weekly, only second to Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Diane Scott is the chief of the Plans and Operations Division, Logistics Readiness Center, Fort Drum, New York. For five months in 2015 and early 2016, she served as the interim LRC-Drum director, an experience she enjoyed. "You're responsible for everything," Scott said, adding she learned a lot about others' responsibilities and decision-making. "It was challenging. A little bit more diverse." Scott, who is going on 30 years as a federal employee all at Fort Drum, started out as a GS-3 supply clerk. Scott said LRC-Drum is kept very busy because the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) is one of the most deployed divisions in the U.S. Army and a rapid response division. Fort Drum averages about 150 inches of snow a year with temperatures not going over zero for a month at a time. "We do everything in adverse weather conditions much of the time," Scott said. "We're from the north country, that's what we do."
Blanch Watkins is the chief of Plans and Operations, and the deputy director, for the Logistics Readiness Center at Fort Irwin, California. Watkins hails from York, Alabama, a place a bit more humid than the desert life of Fort Irwin. Watkins, a retired Army supply management specialist with 20 years, came to Fort Irwin in 2002 working as the S-4 (Operations) officer for the 916th Support Brigade. "Throughout the years I've gotten used to the dry climate," he said, adding he still prefers humid weather. "As the LRC, we are the tip of the logistics spear," Watkins said. "We have a bunch of good folks here and we're able to sustain to keep things going for the rotations" at the National Training Center. And to provide the garrison support, he said, during emergency exercises, providing transportation through the GSA fleet, dining facility support, and operating the central issue facility for organizational clothing and individual equipment.
Ralph Martinez is a senior supply officer/accountable officer, Ammunition Supply Point for the Logistics Readiness Center, Fort Drum, New York. He has been in this position since October 2008. Prior to that, Martinez worked as a contractor at ASPs in Bosnia several times and at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait. He is also a retired Soldier who served as an ammunition storage specialist. Despite the war on terror operations winding down in Iraq and Afghanistan, the operations tempo for ammunition remains busy at Fort Drum thanks to the increased training of the active duty Army, National Guard and Army Reserve, Martinez said. Last summer, Martinez said the reserve units conducted one of their largest exercises. "They took up every single range that Fort Drum has to offer for training," he said. Of course, the single most important customer is Drum's own 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry). An average quarter could involve a few million rounds between issues and turn-ins, he said.
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