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News | July 28, 2016

Iwakuni personnel help clear the way for new commissary

By Tim Hoyle DLA Disposition Services

Defense Logistics Agency personnel in Japan are helping the Defense Commissary Agency, or “DeCA,” to make way for a new facility by providing disposal support for the removal of an old commissary.

Llewellyn Castro, DLA Disposition Service site manager for Iwakuni, and a disposal services representative both participated in a recent walkthrough of the old commissary with DeCA personnel to gauge the progress of clearing out of the old facility. They noted that about half of the facility had been cleared with much of the remaining property, about 38 percent, consisting of products for filling shortages or product that had expired.

“The 50 percent of material … cleared out mainly consisted of old product shelves, office furniture, old wall lockers… none of that came to us …DeCA decided to push a good chunk of the property to base recycling to bolster their QRP efforts,” Castro said. “All other DeCA property is being utilized in the new facility.”

Castro said the remaining 12 percent is some delicatessen equipment along with about eight cool display cases that are set to be turned in to DLA Disposition Services. Commissary personnel have been sending shelving to the local recycling center as soon as it is broken down. He added that DeCA and Defense Policy Review Initiative personnel agreed to leave all property bolted to the ground in place. The bolted items are considered part of the facility and can be abandoned in place as part of the demolition process. Scrap debris derived from the demolition will go to the Japanese contractor per the bi-lateral agreement.

"This was a great experience for me,” Castro said. “I got to see what all goes into phasing out from an old facility into a new facility.”

Castro believes the success of the transition from the old commissary to the new one will be “truly determined by all stake holders support and cooperation. DeCA still has a little way to go until they are completely out of the old facility, but are postured to meet their August 1 deadline to return the old facility…."