Consider it done: DLA scraps aging train cars for Army

By Jake Joy, DLA Disposition Services Public AffairsJanuary 24, 2023

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — Members of the agency’s workforce in Korea recently provided key property disposal support to the U.S. Army battalion responsible for moving warfighters and equipment to exercises and installations across the Korean Peninsula.

An Army railcar flatbed section is removed with the help of a 100-ton crane at the DLA Disposition Services property disposal site in Gimcheon, South Korea, in 2022. The flatbed section was part of the some 1.6 million pounds of material turned in...
An Army railcar flatbed section is removed with the help of a 100-ton crane at the DLA Disposition Services property disposal site in Gimcheon, South Korea, in 2022. The flatbed section was part of the some 1.6 million pounds of material turned in by Army logisticians to be turned to scrap through a DLA scrap sales contract that returns money to DOD for continued warfighter support. (Photo Credit: DLA photo) VIEW ORIGINAL

The Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services team at Gimcheon — including Disposal Support Representative Ki Song Chong and property receivers Wok Sok Chang and Pyong Chol Yi — brought in a 100-ton crane to help rid the 25th Transportation Battalion of 20 railcars weighing an estimated 1.6 million pounds to be sold as scrap. The work was conducted on site in Gimcheon over a four-day period, said Area Manager Chris Dunsmore. He said the local team previously processed 20 railcars in early 2021 and expects to receive another batch sometime in the next few months.

Originally worth an estimated $8 million, the railcars had reached the end of their 30-year service life. The Army disassembled the wheels from the beds prior to the turn in.

Rail car components wait to be scrapped at the DLA Disposition Services Gimcheon property disposal site in South Korea in late 2022.
Rail car components wait to be scrapped at the DLA Disposition Services Gimcheon property disposal site in South Korea in late 2022. (Photo Credit: DLA photo) VIEW ORIGINAL

The transportation battalion falls under the U.S. Army Materiel Support Center — Korea and has historically supported the 25th Infantry, with ties to the peninsula stretching back to the Korean War. The battalion coordinates and inspects the Army’s various rail loads and works with the Korean National Railroad for movement authority.

How central is the rail movement mission to warfighting capability in Korea? The battalion’s crest features railroad tracks headed right down the logo’s center and is inscribed with the motto “Consider it done.”