| The Union saw it coming (or should have) During labor negotiations with ITT in 1996, Mike Bergen of the Teamsters Union Local 166 was made aware of the Army's future cutbacks. It was on the afternoon of June 9, 1996 that Lieutenant Colonel John Zellmer, outgoing Director of Contracting at Fort Irwin, came and made a speech of imminent doom. He started by saying he's served 21 years in the Army and everyplace he's been stationed is gone now due to our winning the Cold War. As such, the Army is standing down. With the Cold War active, there was always the U.S.S.R. and employment. Not so anymore. Troop strength has dwindled in Europe from 250,000 to about 60,000, most of whom are in Bosnia and are also subject to be further reduced. Here in the U.S., from about one million troops, the Army is heading down to about 425,000. More than a 50 percent reduction in force in the Army alone. Soon the Army will be reduced to ten Divisions and eventually it may be reduced to only six. Zellmer went on to say new and creative cost saving concepts are being investigated. Such concepts include Transportation Based Logistical Systems vice the current Supply Based Logistical Systems. Supply Based is defined as equipment being attached and stored at given Forts throughout the world, whereas Transportation Based implies keeping equipment such as tactical vehicles, on trains or in cargo planes for quick dispatch anywhere in the world. So the Army, in an effort to meet the challenges presented by our expectation that they reduce our tax burden in time of peace, has apparently been planning to move away from the prepositioned fleet concept for years, thus reducing the sheer number of trucks and tanks from its arsenal, and the costs associated with those items. This of course will result in an increase of oversized loads down Fort Irwin Road on top of the average of six thousand to seventy-five hundred vehicles making the same daily commute. According to Caltrans, an oversized load includes anything taller than 13.6 feet, wider than 102 inches, or anything more than 80,000 pounds (or 40 tons) gross combination weight (GCW), meaning truck trailer and load. How oversized is oversized? While a VW Bug might weigh about one ton, the M1A1 Abrams tank has a shipping weight of about 67.5 tons. It is transported on a 40-tire trailer called the M1000 Semitrailer. The M1000 is towed by the M1070 Heavy Equipment Transporter (HET). The M1070 weighs about 86,000 pounds or 43 tons. The GCW of the HET, Semitrailer, and M1A1 Tank combined is listed as 231,400 pounds, or 115.7 tons. Can you imagine 115 VW Bugs stacked atop one another? The M109 series Self-propelled medium Howitzers weigh in at only 52,000 pounds but are 124 inches wide, making them an oversized load too. The M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle weighs in at about 50,000 pounds or 25 tons and is 126 inches wide. The M88A2 Recovery Vehicle weighs in at about 70 tons and is 135 inches wide. The M577 Command Post, which are usually transported two at a time on a flat bed, weigh just shy of 32,000 pounds, or 16 tons each. To each of these fully tracked vehicles, add the weight of the prime mover hauling them down Fort Irwin Road. Fort Irwin is currently preparing its fleet of M1A1 Abrams Tanks and M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles to be "turned in" or removed from the Fort. Thus, future rotational units will have to bring their own tanks and Bradleys to train with. This move forces the rotational units to have their home station equipment up to snuff, and not just on paper, but in real life. It's all part of the logistical learning curve and can be considered necessary for national security. (continue . . .p) |
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| Here's 115 tons going through the desert -- a M1A1 Abums Tank sits atop the M1000 trailer attached to the M1070 HET |
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