1st TSC commanding general visits Red River Army Depot

By Mr. Brent Thacker (1st TSC)August 30, 2018

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The commanding general of 1st Theater Sustainment Command visited Red River Army Depot in Texarkana, Texas, Aug. 23 to check the progress of rebuilding critical sustainment support vehicles.

Major Gen. Flem "Donnie" Walker Jr. began his visit, meeting with Red River Army Depot Commander Col. Stephen York. They discussed how 1st TSC has three Heavy Equipment Transport vehicles at the facility with nine more are on the way. Ten of the HET vehicles will deploy to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility to sustain combat operations while the other two will go to U.S. Army Forces Command to offset equipment shortages.

Following discussions with York, Walker spent his time talking to and thanking employees at the installation, rewarding 11 personnel with unit command coins. Walker learned that several of the employees working on the vehicles have family members deployed to the CENTCOM region.

The HET reset is part of a larger initiative called The Enduring Equipment Set, or E2S. This will enable uninterrupted logistical support to warfighters where they deploy.

"Establishing an Enduring Equipment Set forward in the CENTCOM [area of responsibility] postures [U.S. Army Central] with a Table of Distribution and Allowances authorization that is validated and resourced in the Program Objective Memorandum to properly sustain it over the long term," Walker said.

Before completion of the tour, Walker also received a tour of the Rough Terrain Container Handler production area. An RTCH is a military-unique integration of commercial components, a modified commercial truck composed of parts from a Caterpillar model 988B wheel loader and a CAT model AH60. These make up the next set of equipment scheduled for rebuilding under E2S.

With E2S, 1st TSC is focusing on modernization to provide Soldiers and units unmatched lethality in winning our nation's wars and coming home safely.

Army leaders value readiness as the number one priority. In an increasingly volatile and uncertain world, it is vital to ensure the capabilities of our forces to conduct the full range of military operations to defeat all enemies regardless of the threats they pose.

Walker spoke about the importance of having readiness equipment that endures over time.