Steel Soldiers::Military Vehicles Supersite - View Single Post - Working my Representative on Demil B/Q items

maddawg308 · 01-30-2008, 01:50

If we all think back to about October or November, a form letter started making the rounds via email regarding the scrapping of surplus Demil B and Q property. We all started frolicking and screaming, some sent an email to their reps. Well, I send several physical letters to my representative, Mr.Frank Wolf, 10th District, Virginia. [when you send a letter to your rep, and you sent it Registered Mail, they WILL see your letter]. Anyways, he jumped on the issue, and sent me back a short letter saying he'll check into the matter. I just received a response back, and I have posted the two letters I received word for word.

The italics I have provided later in the DRMS letter to emphasize why, I believe, there has been an increase in the amount of scrap auctions coming about through GL, perfectly usable items like vehicle parts, filing cabinets, chairs, ladders, etc. that are being marked as "mutilation required", rather than sold as is for its utility. I don't necessarily AGREE with their reasoning, but it makes sense from a money standpoint.

Also, a note: this has nothing to do with the separate issues of why some folks are getting letters to return perfectly good items that are harmless for mutilation, etc. This only has to do with the increased number of scrap auctions of usable property.

Anyways, here's what I got:

Frank R. Wolf
10th District, Virginia
Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
January 16, 2008

Mr. Michael Davidsen
(address deleted to tick off spammers)

Dear Mr. Davidsen:

You may recall that you recently contacted me regarding the Department of Defense (DOD) restricting the purchase of surplus materials.

I had contacted the DOD on your behalf and enclosed please find the reply. I hope this information is helpful to you.

Again, thank you for contacting me. Please continue to keep me informed of matters of importance to you.

Best wishes,

Sincerely,

Frank R. Wolf
Member of Congress

...and the letter back from DRMS....

Defense Logistics Agency
Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office
74 Washington Ave. North, Suite 6
Battle Creek, MI 49017-3092
December 14, 2007

The Honorable Frank R. Wolf
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative Wolf:

This is in response to your November 9, 2007, letter to Mr. Robert Wilkie, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs, regarding public access to surplus DOD Demil B and Q property. Your letter was referred to the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Services (DRMS), a field activity of the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). DRMS is the Department of Defense (DOD) activity responsible for the disposition of excess and surplus DOD property.

The primary focus of the DRMS mission is to protect national security by ensuring property is properly identified for reutilization and disposition and not released for public sale when to do so would jeopardize national security. This focus on national security is balanced with readiness considerations and our stewardship responsibilities to the American public.

During the past year, DRMS revised its processes to further ensure only appropriate items were made available for public sale. Four Controlled Property Centers were established to physically verify that items received without complete identification data were appropriate for sale, and to provide assurance that only commercially available property was released to the public. Over three million pieces of property that either required destruction or where the item's sensitivity could not be adequately determined were removed from public sale. Additionally, reutilization of excess property within DOD increased 15 percent in Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 as compared to FY 2006.

National security remains the top priority as DRMS continues to review and refine its disposal processes for excess military property. One focus is Demil B and Q property. Demil B property are military-unique items which are controlled by the Department of State through its Munitions List. Demil Q property generally are items related to technology that are controlled by the Department of Commerce through its Commerce Control List. These designations indicate there are Government controls on the sale and export of these items both domestically and abroad.

After excess property is reutilized within DOD, it is then offered to Federal Agencies and then State Governments for reuse and if not reutilized will continue to be available to the public as appropriate. The determination of property to be sold for scrap value includes consideration of the property's value as a usable item, condition of the material, item obsolescence, or value of the property compared to the continued cost of handling.

The DLA and DOD will be engaging in discussions to determine future excess property policies. No decision on a future course of action has been made at this time.

I trust this information will assist you in responding to your constituent. A similar response was provided to other interested members of Congress.

Sincerely,

Paul D. Peters, SES
Director