By NIGEL PITTAWAY
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — As Australian forces leave Afghanistan, military logisticians must determine what equipment to bring home, what to donate to Afghan or remaining coalition forces, and what to dispose of in situ.
In a speech to the Land Warfare Conference in October, “From Broomsticks to Blast Gauges,” then-Defence Minister for Materiel Jason Clare outlined the task ahead. Announcing that the drawdown would occur over the following 12-15 months and be completed by the end of 2013, Clare said, “There are still big challenges in front of us. As we draw down, we will have to bring equipment home [and] this is a massive logistical exercise in its own right.”
Clare revealed that a logistics team had been working on the task since the beginning of 2012.
“We have around [AUS] $2.8 billion (US $2.57 billion) worth of materiel in Afghanistan. This includes around 1,600 accommodation modules, 600 shipping containers, 350 vehicles and around 3,500 computers,” he said.
“Some equipment will be flown out on C-130s and C-17 heavy lift aircraft [but] the vast majority will be shipped using commercial freight arrangements.”
Equipment to be returned includes the Army’s Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles, personal body armor, counter rocket, artillery and mortar systems, and some of the relocatable hardened structures, but some items are likely to be placed into storage on arrival home.
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