Assessment team revamps container management system

By Spc. Jamie L. Philbrook
1st TSC PAO

August 18, 2011

	Graphic courtesy of 1st TSC

In a five-month time span, a group of 15 Soldiers traveled to 12 forward operating bases, conducting movement of more than 9,000 containers ultimately saving the government more than $2 million.

In October 2010, Maj. Gen. Kenneth S. Dowd, commanding general, 1st Theater Sustainment Command, introduced the mobile container assessment team whose main mission produced these outstanding numbers.

“We found containers that were lost and were able to get proper accountability,” said Sgt. 1st Class James Masi, MCAT team leader. “We were able to put equipment that was lost back into the supply system and ultimately the setting up of a better program to reduce the cost to the government before we start moving out of Afghanistan.”

The mission of the MCAT noncommissioned officer lead team was to receive, store and issue empty containers in direct support of unit missions and sustainment operations. Additionally, MCAT had to identify container ownership and recover detention throughout Afghanistan and conduct re-stenciling operations on containers which belong to the U.S. government.

“It was kind of a broke system at one point, but with the help of the 185th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, we were able to rebuild this system,” said Masi.

In logistics, everything that has been sent into Afghanistan for the war is sent in large, 20-foot metal boxes that circulate through and sometimes rest at forward bases.

In the past eight years, accountability of these containers has not been the primary focus with the surge in troops and overall combat operations. Some of these containers are owned by the U.S. government while a majority is provided by companies that are contracted to provide the Army with them. With an abundance of misplaced containers, the government was paying an average of $1.5 million monthly in detention fees to the contracted agencies. Detention fees are a monthly charge from the contracting companies for use of their containers.

“That was our job to bring everything to accountability,” said Masi. “We went to the major hubs where the containers come in and we saw the way they did business. We built a better system of tracking through the integrated booking system-container management module.”

With their headquarters based out of Kandahar, Afghanistan, the MCAT managed to save the government more than $2 million and recover over 20,000 containers. The major tasks the MCAT inherited were inspecting and inventorying containers; data analysis of containers in theater; transferring information into the integrated booking system-container management module system; in-gate/out-gating containers; training the trainer at each forward operating base or command operating post on the proper procedures of container management. Overall, the MCAT coordinated movement of more than 9,000 containers valued at more than $275 million while maintaining 100 percent visibility and accountability.

After five months of nothing but inventory, the MCAT was able to retrain every location they went to, explained Masi.

They trained each person at each FOB/COP who was in charge of the containers so that the MCAT would have a better feeling that the units knew how to properly in-gate and out-gate and how to keep accountability for their actions. The MCAT brought in a second team to continue what they had done over the past six months and now they are taking what the MCAT did and bettering the system even more.

“The overall mission was a successful mission for us,” Masi said. “We went from $2.7 million a month in rental fees to just below a million. We trained close to 100 people on container management. We had a few personnel recognized by higher entities for their involvement and efforts in this mission.”

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