Departing US troops pack millions of items in Iraq

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"Everything from helicopters to printer cartridges is being wrapped and stamped and shipped out of Iraq. U.S. military bases that once resembled small towns have transformed into a cross between giant post offices and Office Depots.

Soldiers who battled through insurgents and roadside bombs are now doing inventory and accounting. Their task: reverse over the course of months a U.S. military presence that built up over seven years of war.

"We're moving out millions of pieces of equipment in one of the largest logistics operations that we've seen in decades," President Barack Obama said in a speech Monday hailing this month's planned withdrawal of all U.S. combat troops from Iraq.

The orderly withdrawal is a far cry from the testosterone-fueled push across the berm separating Kuwait and Iraq, when American Marines and soldiers pushed north in the 2003 invasion, battling Saddam Hussein's army while sleeping on the hoods of their vehicles and eating prepackaged meals.

"I think it's probably more challenging leaving, responsibly drawing down, than it is getting here, because you just have to figure out where everything is and getting it out of here. Are there enough airplanes, ships, containers, and do we have enough time to do that and meet the president's mandate?" said Col. David F. Demartino, who is responsible for infrastructure and support services at Balad, which is home to 25,000 troops and civilians."

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[DCBob]

1. I am a bit surprised they didnt just leave all this stuff behind and let the Iraqis have it..

seems it costing more moving it all back here or wherever its going.

[cbdo2007]

2. haha, you think they would ever do things the most effecient way?

[damntexdem]

7. Right, leave it behind, like in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

I don't care how much it costs, get that stuff out of Iraq!

[DCBob]

8. I can understand helicopters and weapons but "printer cartridges"??

Why on earth would they waste money moving stuff like that?

[JonLP24]

9. With all the paperwork there is in the armed forces

it is better to take printer cartridges with them that they already paid for rather than pay for it again.

[Edweird]

18. Is packing and shipping a printer cartridge from Iraq cheaper than buying one?

I don't know, but that seems like it might not be cost effective.

[JonLP24]

20. Well if they are using one

shipping container for one cartridge then it would be. More then likely they will try to stuff as much shit as possible into a shipping container. I know my unit took all the computers and stuff there to Kuwait and brought they same sort of stuff back with us to our company stateside.

[jody]

3. Contractors for the State Dept. will replace some of those items but charge 10 times as much. n/t

[Oregone]

4. We're going to need those supplies when we re-escalate

No foresight at all here

[aquart]

5. Nicest headline I've read in years.

Let's get them all home for a nice rest before we go insane and invade someplace else.

[Scurrilous]

6. ..

:thumbsup:

[maryf]

19. Have you been reading about Costa Rica??

have you been reading about the plan for the bases in Columbia? we are always invading someplace else in one manner or another...

[snooper2]

10. But this is all a farce right

Those boxes are really empty...

They are moving the "real" stuff to other "secret" locations...

Just a "change of names"...same ol' same ol' right?


At least that's what I've read on DU...

[maryf]

11. Some troops are moving out...

but there will still be a combat presence...gotta keep an eye on our "interests" (oil for one...)

[donco]

12. Don’t forget the pallets of money. nt

[maryf]

17. aren't those lost?? ;) nt

[maryf]

13. From the article linked to in the OP, only 50,000 will remain!!! oooh hooo!!

"Only 50,000 U.S. service personnel will remain after August. All troops are supposed to leave and all bases close by the end of next year, unless Iraq asks the U.S. to renegotiate their agreement to allow a continued American presence."

[ThomWV]

15. That's a nice size for an "Occupation Force" apparently

[maryf]

16. Apparently so...

sovereignty be damned you think? Folks can't be trusted to rule themselves, or protect the oil for the proper consumers...

[maryf]

14. More from the link: fewer than 100 bases left after withdrawal!!

"More than 400 bases are being closed down or handed over to the Iraqi military. By September, the American military will have fewer than 100 bases in the country, down from a high of 505 in January 2008."

Fewer than 100!!!! Man are we outta there!!

[blindpig]

21. Yep

Mission Accomplished!