DLA moves to offload property in remote Pacific

The Defense Logistics Agency’s Pacific team is preparing a new round of removals to clear derelict vehicles and scrap from two of the military’s most remote logistics nodes: Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and Wake Island in the mid-Pacific. The effort aims to streamline operations and remove deteriorated equipment from harsh, salt-laden environments that quickly corrode metal.

Kwajalein, a U.S.-run test range hub since World War II and now home to the recently renamed Ronald Reagan Space and Missile Test Range, has faced large-scale cleanups before. DLA Disposition Services previously led a 2018 project that pulled six million pounds of scrap from the atoll. “The scrap volume was not only massive; it had been there so long that some of it had become embedded as part of the landscape, as well as protruding past the shoreline into the water at some points,” Pacific Region Director Faron Cordrey said. “It was very difficult to assess — just too vast, and the scrap so varied.”

New accumulation has followed years of routine wear in the islands’ extreme climate. Guam-based DLA Disposal Service Representative Joshua Shewchuk, who supports Kwajalein’s property disposal needs, said his Army customers maintain tight coordination to keep work on track. “Kwaj, just like all the other outlying islands that fall under the [Pacific area of responsibility], always face difficulty when it comes to moving material from one location to another,” Shewchuk said. “But Kwaj has always stayed consistent … they always stay in contact and always strive to ensure that anything they do is within the guidance and regulations while making sure to meet any and all mission requirements. It’s a great feeling to have a customer who works like that.”

According to DLA officials, more than 150 vehicles at Kwajalein have no reutilization value due to severe weathering. Current estimates put upcoming scrap removals of unusable assets such as ambulances, fire trucks and cranes at roughly 500,000 pounds, with another 185,000 pounds already shipped off the atoll in February 2025 and January 2026. A technical survey tied to the Missile Defense Agency’s “Operation Clean Sweep” is scheduled for October. In November, vehicles are slated to be loaded out for disposal processing at Pearl Harbor, while non-rolling stock and hazardous materials will head about 1,500 miles to Guam.

Wake Island, a small U.S. outpost with a World War II legacy and a long record supporting missile testing and defense missions, underwent an onsite technical assessment by DLA in September. Jose Santos, the Pearl Harbor area manager for DLA’s property disposal arm, recently visited Wake with DSR Brett Fabre and outlined the coordination tempo with MDA to prepare for the retrograde. “Our team maintains continuous coordination with MDA personnel to deliver strategic feedback and ensure seamless transfers to DLA Disposition Services,” Santos said. “To guarantee execution readiness, we participate in bi-weekly operational milestone reviews, will establish expanded turn-in windows, and are deploying an additional DSR to Kwajalein to provide direct, on-the-ground support—ensuring all property is correctly prepared and documented.”

Cordrey said the team is reviewing property lists and imagery to help warfighters stage efficient turn-ins. DLA representatives plan additional technical visits to remote sites to provide hands-on guidance, assist with electronic documentation, and verify sorting and segregation. Excess material is expected to begin arriving at Pearl Harbor for processing around the start of December.