# Transporting History

/ Published May 1, 2018

                Team members from the Joint Armed Forces of the Philippines and the United States conducting M1 Inventory.                            180501-D-YE683-011                            Team members from the Joint Armed Forces of the Philippines and the United States conducting M1 Inventory.            SHARE IMAGE:Download ImageImage DetailsPhoto By: Joint U.S. Military Assistance GVIRIN: 180501-D-YE683-011Defense Logistics Agency Distribution provides global distribution to America’s military and other federal agencies. With a focus on its core mission — the receipt, storage and issuance of materiel — the organization regularly seeks ways to increase warfighter readiness.To that end, DLA Distribution was given a unique mission last year: accounting for and transporting nearly 90,000 U.S.-provided rifles from the Philippines to the United States.The project was the result of a World War II agreement in which the U.S. would provide M1 Garand rifles to the Philippine government for military assistance. The M1 Garand (rhymes with errand) is a .30 caliber semiautomatic rifle that was the standard U.S. service rifle during World War II and the Korean War. It also saw limited service during the Vietnam War. Most M1 rifles were issued to U.S. forces, though hundreds of thousands were also provided as foreign aid to American allies, such as the Philippines. Recently, the Army asked if foreign partners could support the Civilian Marksmanship Program by returning small arms they no longer need. The Armed Forces of the Philippines agreed to support this initiative and submitted the paperwork with the Department of State. The Army asked that DLA Distribution facilitate the inventory and shipment of these weapons.**Background**In March 2017, six agencies formed a coalition to develop a plan for returning the WWII vintage M1 Garand rifles: The U.S. Army Headquarters, Army Tank and Automotive Command, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the Joint U.S. Military Assistance Group–Philippines, U.S. Transportation Command and the Defense Logistics Agency. The plan was to transport the rifles from just outside Manila to a facility in Alabama for retrieval by the Army.DLA’s involvement stemmed from its Foreign Military Sales Distribution Services Initiative with USTRANSCOM. This initiative is a freight-forwarder-like service offered to partner nations. The service can move FMS cargo from within the continental U.S. to areas beyond, as well as repair materiel for FMS customers. DSCA officials believed the repair component would be a good solution for the repatriation of the M1 rifles, which would then be passed on to CMP.Once CMP has the weapons, it will refurbish the M1s and offer them for sale to the public. The rifles, which initially sold for the equivalent of $1,200 during World War II, can sell for the same price in current-year dollars or even more after being refurbished.**Mission Planning and Execution**The DLA team arrived in the Philippines in mid-August and began joint inventory operations with the AFP team within days. DLA Distribution conducted overall project management and placed personnel and equipment at Camp Aguinaldo, near Quezon City, Philippines, to inventory, pack, crate and arrange transportation of the M1s. **Soldiers from the USS Eldorado shoot at enemy targets at an infantry outpost during the Korean War.                            180501-D-YE683-012                            Soldiers from the USS Eldorado shoot at enemy targets at an infantry outpost during the Korean War.            SHARE IMAGE:Download ImageImage DetailsPhoto By: Paul Crank - Photo IllustrationVIRIN: 180501-D-YE683-012**Inventory, based on each M1 serial number, had to be done by U.S. and Philippine representatives, so both parties would be confident in the accounting and transportation of each rifle. DLA Distribution used its Global Distribution Expeditionary Contract to direct its service provider to do the work. The contract allows DLA to support new or surge-related, storage and distribution missions around the world that fall outside its capacity. DLA Distribution also deployed a DLA civilian trained in contract oversight to perform quality assurance and to directly interact with the JUSMAG and AFP at Camp Aguinaldo.**Overcoming Challenges**Accounting for and transporting 90,000 small arms from the other side of the globe is challenging under any circumstances. Throw in termite infestation, monsoon season, and asbestos contamination, and it’s a recipe for disaster. Early in the planning, the M1 project team learned many of the rifles showed termite damage. This was validated during the team’s initial site visit to Camp Aguinaldo in April 2017. However, it was also clear most of the weapons were still restorable. The team first had to determine if there was still an active termite infestation. If so, then termite treatment would be next. There were active infestations in the warehouses — but there were no active infestations in the rifles themselves. As a preventive measure, since the rifles were to remain in the warehouses for about six more months, the team arranged for the rifles to be treated for termites. However, there were more challenges to come.After several days inventorying and packing the M1s, the team encountered its first torrential downpour. Though they were doing the work inside a warehouse, they quickly discovered the roof of the WWII-era warehouse was damaged, allowing significant rainfall to enter. Fortunately, the area where the already inventoried M1s had been positioned was spared any rain damage. The team immediately marked the locations with rain leakage and reorganized operations and storage away from these areas. During the project, there were at least six episodes of torrential rain, but the lessons from the first event helped the team make sure there was no damage from the later storms.In addition, the heat and humidity were oppressive. The team worked inside warehouses with no climate control or ventilation systems and very little lighting. Temperatures often exceeded 90 degrees, with relative humidity in the mid-80s — similar to the summer climate of the U.S. Gulf Coast.Though each M1 weighs only about 10 pounds, handling thousands a day under extreme conditions proved taxing. With the temperatures, humidity and working conditions, frequent breaks and constant hydration were critical to success over the four months of the project.      Finally, within weeks of starting the inventory, the team learned three of the warehouses might contain asbestos. They stopped the project immediately, and an environmental specialist and the DLA project manager arrived within days to conduct testing.                 U.S. and Armed Forces of the Philippines teammates at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, Philippines, performed all inventory, packing and crating of the antique M1s and arranged their shipment back to the United States.                            180501-D-YE683-014                            U.S. and Armed Forces of the Philippines teammates at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, Philippines, performed all inventory, packing and crating of the antique M1s and arranged their shipment back to the United States.            SHARE IMAGE:Download ImageImage DetailsPhoto By: Joint U.S. Military Assistance GVIRIN: 180501-D-YE683-014They found that two of the three warehouses did have some level of asbestos contamination. The joint inventory teams continued work inside the “clean” warehouse while an asbestos remediation firm was brought aboard. The weapons were cleaned and tested. Only when the test results came back validating the cleaning process had removed all the asbestos could the weapons then be passed to the personnel conducting the inventory. **Mission Success**After months of planning and four additional months of execution, and despite several significant problems, the team finished the project. A ship carrying 44 shipping containers set sail in early December and arrived in time to meet the delivery date. In addition to ensuring these weapons were safeguarded until they arrived, the transportation solution needed to accommodate limited cargo handling at the original location. This required a carefully orchestrated “container rotation plan” that stretched over four weeks, requiring the carrier to follow a schedule for container deliveries and pickups. The transportation plan also required the carrier to find secure storage until the designated vessel arrived to pick up the cargo. “DLA’s close partnership with the USTRANSCOM was instrumental to ensuring the right transportation solution was available to meet the unique requirements of this mission,” said Craig Beatty, DLA Distribution traffic manager.“This repatriation project was a giant task that involved close coordination with our Armed Forces of the Philippines partners,” said Army Maj. Anthony Nelson, Ground Programs chief for JUSMAG-Philippines. “Their support and assistance on this project represents the continued friendship, unwavering alliance, and shared history of our two countries.”