Army and DLA Disposition Services find success with R2E

Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services continues find success with the U.S. Army on a partnership dubbed Rapid Removal of Excess, or R2E, meant to increase the Army's surplus property disposal efficiency.

"The concept started a couple of years ago with the Army's initiative to relieve units of accountability for excess property by creating Modernization Displacement and Repair Sites at 14 separate locations," said Robert Ostrander, a DLA service liaison to the Army.

"The Chief of Staff of the Army introduced the R2E concept to facilitate the rapid removal of excess, reminiscent of the 'clean sweeps' from the past," said Ostrander.

When Fort Liberty and Fort Stewart were selected as R2E test locations, Ostrander and fellow Army Service Liaison Michael Fiyalko began coordinating with property disposal sites in the DLA Disposition Services South-East region and worked with Army Material Command and Army Sustainment Command on how the R2E process would work.

"They gave they us listings of what anticipated being turned in," Ostrander said. "We worked with DSD South-East and the area managers - both Terry Harrington out of Fort Liberty and Mike Browser out of Jacksonville, since he's responsible for Fort Stewart. We worked the turn-in and provided training and anything extra that they didn't already have to be prepared."

Ostrander said that for the Army, the ability to turn in property 'as is' is a big deal.

"For us at DLA, as long as the paperwork is correct, we're ready to process it," he said.

The success of R2E has led to its expansion beyond pilot locations. Now, any Army unit at any installation can turn in whatever they have as excess, according to Ostrander. He said R2E functions very much like an amnesty process.

"It's no longer an event but a process, and we're making it global," Ostrander said.