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News | Oct. 14, 2015

Cash for Trash

By Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Daniel Garas DLA Disposition Services

The primary base in Africa for the support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Camp Lemonnier, located in the eastern African nation of Djibouti, is home to U.S. Africa Command’s Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa. The excessive wear that equipment incurs in a war zone can make it unserviceable. Rather than carelessly leaving it behind to be used for lethal purposes or to unintentionally hurt locals, much of it is reused, mutilated or sold for scrap. Disposal or reutilization of this government property falls to a special group of military service members supporting Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services.

"If no one does it, there’s no accountability of where it ends up," said Army Master Sgt. Emanuel Myers, senior noncommissioned officer in charge of the Centralized Demobilization Division for DLA Disposition Services. "It could potentially be used as materials in an improvised explosive device or as a weapon against U.S. forces."

The mission of Myers and his team of three Air Force and three Army senior NCOs is to ensure neither of those ever happens. Assigned to Disposition Services sites throughout Europe, they rotate to Camp Lemonnier as the theater liaison; ensuring property is properly disposed of.

"Wherever you have conflict, you have a DLA Disposition Services representative there," he said. "It’s an abundance of items: excess wood, laptops, mattresses, tires, anything dealing with vehicles or that was in living quarters. All that stuff that has to come through Disposition Services."

Though the job is at times monotonous, Myers said that NCOs are ideal for it; as military members, they are the ones who must verify that property is no longer serviceable.

"You’re sending senior NCOs here to do the mission, which is constantly evolving," said Air Force Master Sgt. Floyd Gardner, DLA’s current disposal service representative in Djibouti. "It’s probably one of the smartest things you can do, because we’re obviously flexible to a point where the clock doesn’t make much difference to us. We’re going to get it done regardless of that 9-to-5 mentality."

Serving as the direct point of contact for customers, Gardner said, DLA’s senior NCOs are ideal for this mission because they’re qualified and willing to work with the other parts of DLA. They can use that advantage to solve problems that weren’t initially factored into planning.

"We’re a great force for networking," he said. "When we talk to the Joint Senior Enlisted Counsel on Camp Lemonnier, you build relations and networks with them, and we’re able to function a lot better than you would imagine."

Becoming a DSR requires thorough training and a demanding schedule, as service members can usually expect to deploy within the first two years of their assignment to DLA.

"As soon as you come on assignment to Disposition Services, we will contact you and let you know your deployment date to the Horn of Africa," Myers said.

DSRs receive training in a special demilitarization class before deploying. Myers said the process is thorough, but with good reason.

"We’re one of five central demilitarization divisions, so we’re the subject-matter experts," he said. "If customers have any questions, they contact us, and we ensure that item gets properly handled."

According to Myers, the difficult training, technical expertise of the senior NCOs and familiarity with DLA as a whole has paid off more than once.

Myers said Gardner once successfully coordinated the release and distribution of more than 800 drums of dust abatement compound at Camp Lemonnier, saving the installation thousands of dollars.

Gardner realized that DLA Distribution already had drums of the compound and allotted it to the camp so leaders there wouldn’t have to buy it from private vendors or spend money on shipping costs.

"He was able to save Camp Lemonnier over $300,000," Myers said. "That’s just one of the examples of the great things that the military is doing there."

Gardner said that holding monthly classes for customers to understand what material they can turn in to scrap is part of the job, but organizing and supervising the scrapping process itself is another.

The process begins when items are sorted through a system of labeling to determine where they will be scrapped.

Items labeled as Demil A, such as refrigerators, all-terrain vehicles and furniture, have no security restrictions, so they can be mutilated by Djiboutians contracted through local companies.

The DSR will watch over a supervisor, yard boss and five to seven local nationals as they deconstruct the material according to specifications.

"Once they torch it and cut it up, I have to come out and verify that it’s done properly," Myers said. "If it’s not done properly, I have to ensure they redo it, because I sign documents saying that these items are properly disposed of."

Items labeled C, D and E, such as communications equipment, armor plates, ballistic glass, and nuclear, biological and chemical suits are sent back to Disposition Services’ site in Kaiserslautern for demilitarization.

In Kaiserslautern, pieces of machined items like the trucks are sent through a shredder, in which they are further reduced to quarter-sized pieces. Myers said after that, the scrap is deemed safe for resale and distributed throughout the area to be melted down and reused.

Gardner was quick to point out that all the material that comes to them simply isn’t labeled to be cut up and destroyed.

Some equipment finds a new life in the Reutilization, Transfer and Donation program, or RTD.

Gardner said the concept is akin to a government garage sale. Equipment that has no military value but is still useful is auctioned off to customers through government resale websites.

"We figured out the best method for reutilizing property from Djibouti was to put it online," Gardner said. "You’re able to see assets here in Djibouti that you weren’t able to view before."

The program has proven successful, coordinating the release of more than $2.4 million in serviceable assets to support CJTF-HOA operations since January.

Vehicles that can’t be reused through the RTD program still contribute to the mission by being used for training emergency rescue teams on the base. Myers said that after vehicles are deemed unserviceable, crews use their equipment to train new personnel on extracting people from emergency situations.

Other benefits of the disposition program contribute to OEF indirectly, like helping provide stability to the local economy through consistent labor.

After more than a decade of U.S. presence in East Africa, thousands of Djiboutians have received work in a marketable skill that benefits the local economy and helps their families.

Myers explained that instead of being forced into possible terrorist activities out of desperation, the scrapping provides a stable source of income.

"Companies are actually paying to be on site to do this service for the government, because scrap is so valuable in the world market," he said. "Many of these guys desire to work on the base because it helps their families."

Gardner called the situation a win-win, saying the government reclaims the cost of some of its equipment by scrapping it, and locals receive valuable scrap at a bargain price.

Since August 2014, DLA Disposition Services in Djibouti has eliminated about 1.3 million pounds of scrap from Camp Lemonnier, and Gardner doesn’t see it slowing down any time soon. Despite the increasing pace, he said he’s glad to represent both the military and DLA.

"You’re shaking hands with the people that need it, and you can see the reasons why they need it," he said. "You can’t beat the feeling."

 By Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Daniel Garas

This story is featured in the July/August 2015 issue of Loglines. You can find the entire issue on line at http://www.dla.mil/loglines/pages/default.aspx