CME team works Kuwait, Iraq 'container crisis'.

There are more than 60,000 containers in the Kuwait and Iraq theaters of operation. If placed end to end, these containers would stretch more than 225 miles, roughly the distance from New York City to Washington, D.C.

The recent Operation Iraqi Freedom "surge" represented the largest modern day military move in history. The Military Surface Deployment Distribution Command was responsible for moving more than 14,315 containers during that period.

Those containers alone could be stacked to reach a height equivalent to 91 Empire State Buildings.

With statistics like these, and so many containers moving about Iraq and Kuwait, the U.S. Central Command found itself in a container crisis. The 60,000 containers, many of which belonged to commercial carries, were costing the Department of Defense high monthly detention rates.

So, how does anyone manage this container crisis? Enter SDDC's Container Management Element.

The CME Concept of Operations team led by Col. Bob Petrillo, CME officer-in-charge, arrived at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait in early August. Their mission was to investigate the container crisis, assess the contributing factors, and craft solutions that would provide the best support to the war fighter, and reduce carrier detention costs.

Team members began conducting site visits and researching the needs established by Coalition Forces Land Component Command and Multinational Corps--Iraq.

What they learned was that more than 90 percent of the containers were loaded or in use, war fighters in theater lacked storage facilities, and unit supplies continued to pour into the theater at a rate of more than 2,700 containers per month.

Based on these and other findings the CME proposed a number of solutions to address Southwest Asia container management challenges. The initiatives included:

Establishing a pool of government owned containers in Kuwait and Iraq to be trans-loaded with all shipments from carrier owned equipment to a government owned container for delivery forward.

Mandating the use of government owned or long term leased containers for deliveries to all locations in Iraq and many designated locations in Kuwait.

Standardized theater container reporting formats.

Develop/implement a single, integrated, web-based, theater container database documenting location and status of all in-theater containers. Perhaps the most significant accomplishment of the team was the development of a CONOPS that was approved by the CENTCOM J4 for implementation throughout the theater. The CONOPS provided a clear set of the goals and objectives, which will reduce detention within the CENTCOM area of responsibility.

The plan laid out the strategies, tactics, techniques, procedures, and constraints that culminate into the theater container process. Additionally, the CONOPS presented a clear statement of the responsibilities and authority of the roles of the organizations and activities that participate in the process.

Another equally significant accomplishment was the development and fielding of the Container Management Support Tool. CMST is the single, integrated, Web-based theater container management database identified as a critical need for improving container management in the SWA CME CONOPS. Not only was the CME team on target with the requirement, they also combined efforts with SDDC G6 to build an interactive tool to meet the needs of the warfighter.

CMST is the first support tool of its kind in DOD focused primarily on management and visibility of container assets. One of CMST's unique features is the ability to track commercial container detention as it's accruing by location. This functionality will provide senior leaders with the empirical data they need to provide command emphasis on container management and drive down detention. Capt. Jasmine Peterson, 835th Transportation Battalion and CME team member, was the CME resident expert on systems automation and the driving force behind the development of CMST. Her energy and proficiency accelerated the process and was the catalyst in literally taking an idea scratched on the back of a napkin and turning that into a full up system in under 100 days--unheard of in the annals of software development. Other notable CME accomplishments include:

Identifying more than 80 lease containers and coordinating the emptying and reuse of these containers for retrograde operations. By reutilizing these containers prior to the end of their lease, the CME saved more than $160,000 in leasing costs.

Directing the turn-in of more than 60 commercial reefer containers thought to be government owned.

Achieving a cost avoidance and reduced the detention bill by $3,720 per day.

Working closely with the Army Logistics in conducting a "wall-to-wall" inventory of containers in Kuwait, Bahrain, United Arab Emigrants, and the Horn of Africa.

The CME team continues to refine its processes and accountability of containers within Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan. The team interfaces with more than 20 separate and distinct organizations and activities. The element also provides continuity for effective management of containers during the transition of units currently deploying and re-deploying the region. The CME now stands as the "center of gravity" for container management operations and in-transit visibility for the CENTCOM area of responsibility.

Contributing to this story: Air Force Lt. Col. J. Reggie Hall, Director Container Management Element Army Maj. Levy Green, Container Management Element Deputy Director; Navy Cmdr. Randall Ramian, 595th Transportation Terminal Group Deputy Commander; and Army Maj. Scott Sadler, 595th Transportation Terminal Group plans officer