Life-Cycle Management - Army Logistics University - U.S. Army

plies were delivered to the proper FOB. When the customer
at the FOB received the supplies, he signed the
driver’s memorandum and returned it to him. The
delivery charge was added to the invoice only after the
driver returned with the signed memorandum. The
Government officials were paid monthly for all completed
missions. The transportation cell NCO in
charge (the “jingle man”) pushed an average of 90
trucks a month to the various FOBs.
Inbound Shipments
Another FSB mission was inbound surface movement,
which was managed by two enlisted soldiers.
Inbound trucks were brought to Kandahar Airfield
every morning by the transportation cell and inspected
by a Romanian guard force of 10 infantrymen. Military
police dogs searched the trucks for improvised
explosive devices (IEDs). If the dogs did not detect any
IEDs, the Romanians searched the trucks and drivers
for contraband. The RTCH team, which consisted of
the RTCH operator, an NCO, and two ground guides,
was also present during this process. When two 20-foot
containers were loaded on a truck, they were positioned
with their doors facing one another. The RTCH operator
would move one container to permit the transportation
cell to check the seals applied by the shipper. If the
seals were not visible, the RTCH operator would turn
the container so the transportation cell could verify that
the correct seal was on that container.
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Trucks contracted to transport
supplies are known as “jingle
trucks” because of the sound
their decorations make.
Strategic Logistics
When determining delivery priority
under current Army practice,
delivery to a combat zone always
takes precedence over delivery to a
nondeployed unit in the continental
United States, and a deadlined
pacing item (mission-essential
piece of equipment) takes precedence
over zero-balance replenishment
items (parts that are not
currently in stock). The priority
of the part determines the mode
of transportation. A critically
required repair part can be
ordered and shipped by a contracted
commercial carrier such
as DHL. In Afghanistan, most
class IX (repair parts) was
received from the United States.
Class IX deliveries were prioritized based on the mission.
Parts were normally consolidated in containers
at one of several stateside depots. Most repair parts
were sent by air to Kandahar Airfield via Germany.
Low-priority parts may have been shipped by sea to the
port of Karachi in Pakistan. However, most class IX
was flown into theater. The priority of an item determined
whether it was shipped by military or commercial
air. Military air was slower because of the
bottleneck that occured at the transfer point at Manas
Airfield in Kyrgyzstan. Military aircraft flew to
Manas, but fewer connecting flights departed to Kandahar,
which created a chokepoint that generated a
backlog. To address this problem, the FSB transportation
cell prioritized flights out of Manas by submitting
JMC requests for needed parts through the MCT.
Class I (subsistence) was distributed primarily from
the prime vendor based in Bahrain. Most class I was
shipped through the Arabian Sea in 20-foot containers.
After it was disembarked at the port of Karachi, it was
stored in a holding area according to purchase order
number. (A purchase order could consist of 2 to 15
containers.) The port shipped the class I by purchase
order when supplies were called forward. Pushing
items by purchase order caused problems when only
one item or container was needed and the entire purchase
order was shipped. The class I yard at Kandahar
Airfield had limited space, which reduced its capacity
for containers, so holding excess containers strained an
already austere capability.
MARCH–APRIL 2005