The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the average American moves 11.7 times in their lifetime. Finding boxes, packing, finding friends to help, loading and unloading the rental truck, unpacking and discovering what was forgotten and what was broken describes the American moving experience. Imagine, then, the complexity of the U.S. military's withdrawal from Iraq. Moving the soldiers is easy compared to moving the equipment.
Maj. Gen. Thomas Richardson briefed reporters Wednesday about the current status of the move. This was the latest in a series of briefs he has given.
The military keeps a list of everything. Sometimes on paper but most often on computer, the inventory of equipment for each soldier, each building and each base is on record. As bases are turned over to Iraqi control, some of the equipment stays, some is shipped to other locations in the Central Command area of operation and the rest is shipped back to the United States.
Richardson emphasized that combat materials and equipment were not a part of any transfers to the Iraqis. Tanks, planes, ammunition and other combat material are handled through other programs.
Central Command provides Richardson's office with a list of equipment that is needed in other areas of the Command, primarily Afghanistan. The best of the equipment being moved from Iraq is sent to Central Command based for its needs.
Determining what is shipped to the United States involves weighing the condition and remaining useful life of each piece against the costs of shipping. An air conditioner may have two years of use remaining. But, having been exposed to the harsh conditions of Iraq, it may not be in the best shape. Turning that item over to the Iraqis gives them a working air conditioner with some remaining life and saves the costs of shipping the piece stateside
Richardson described the equipment transfers as just about anything you could imagine. Fork lifts, trucks, desks, generators, kitchen stoves, kits for setting up a forward base - -"FOB in a box" -- and all of the other items that a modern army needs at its bases. 48 bases have been turned over to Iraqi control so far, along with $247 million in equipment since September 2010. The process of moving is about 60 percent complete.
Richardson said the process of evaluating equipment and assigning a final destination takes months. The process is intended to save the American taxpayer as much money as possible. Everything is accounted for and the Iraqis are equally diligent in matching equipment to the inventory records when they receive the materials. By the end of the year, the plan is that all troops and all needed equipment will have been moved from Iraq and all bases and excess equipment transferred to the Iraqis.
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