ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT, Ala. -- Anniston Army Depot Commander Col. Timothy Sullivan and Tommy Carlisle, a maintenance production coordinator for the installation's Directorate of Production, recently returned from the Middle East.
It was Sullivan's first time to visit the depot's deployed civilians in southwest Asia. While there, the duo met with Iraqi officials in regards to foreign military sales of the M113 family of vehicles and toured the Joint Base Workshop, located in Taji, Iraq.
"At the JBW, our men and women are training the Iraqis on how to establish depot-level capabilities," said Sullivan. "They are teaching them to rebuild engines and are using M113s as a model."
Sullivan said the Iraqi FMS program is going so well there has been discussion of future programs.
"There is the potential for more work with the Iraqis based on how we have performed with the M113 FMS program," he said.
Sullivan and Carlisle also visited the depot's Forward Repair Activity in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. There, ANAD employees work side-by-side with Army civilians from Red River Army Depot to overhaul engines and repair vehicles.
"We've been working at the FRA a long time," said Sullivan of the Kuwait mission, which began in 2002.
Sullivan said the depot's mission at Camp Arifjan will end in fiscal year 2012, as the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq diminishes, but he hopes to move the mission elsewhere in the Middle East.
"We want to keep our personnel deployed because we want to be able to send out that depot-level capability anywhere at any time," said Sullivan. "That reinforces the sustainability of our depot, which is important."
Sullivan said the work performance of the depot's deployed civilians emphasizes the installation's reputation both at home and overseas.
"Our overseas activities have a reputation for doing excellent work," said Sullivan. "The bottom line is, they're making us proud over there."
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