Thousands of vehicles and equipment that have returned from Iraq wait to be retrograded in a 3rd Army lot in Kuwait. The base receives hundreds of trailer-sized containers a week, filled with everything from medical supplies to ammunition.
Its an amazing accomplishment,even with the improved security situation to carry out ushc a massive deed is an effort in itself:
Lt. Gen. William G. Webster Jr., commander of 3rd Army, spoke April 2 during a Pentagon news conference about the status of the drawdown in Iraq, and the buildup in Afghanistan. The Army began pulling equipment out of the country in May 2009.
"When we started this operation, we had about 2.8 million items of equipment in Iraq, along with 88,000 containers containing some of that equipment," the general said.
The Army also has retrograded more than 11,000 pieces of rolling stock -- tracked vehicles, wheeled vehicles and trailers. Additionally, more than 21,000 troops have redeployed from Operation Iraqi Freedom. In all, more than $1.25 billion worth of materiel and equipment have left Iraq.
"We're about 35 percent through with that now," Webster said.
About 50% of the equipment will end up in Afghanistan, some of the equipment will be sold to foreign militaries, and the rest will either be mothballed or scrapped.
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