Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dowd commands the U.S. Army 1st Sustainment Command. The command included the local 230th Sustainment Brigade, which recently returned from a 10-month tour in Kuwait.Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dowd commands the U.S. Army’s 1st Sustainment Command. The command oversaw operations for the troop withdrawal from Iraq, which included the recently returned 230th Sustainment Brigade out of Chattanooga.
Dowd was commissioned in 1979 and has commanded various Army support units, working with Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom. The general talked with the Times Free Press by phone on Jan. 5 about the unit’s recent 10-month deployment to Kuwait.
Soldiers with the brigade returned home Jan. 4.
Q: Describe for readers the recent mission for the Chattanooga-based 230th Sustainment Brigade of the Tennessee Army National Guard.
A: The 230th was a brigade within an 18,000-troop theater command in the Middle East. Their original mission was to operate from Iraq, while at their mobilization site their mission changed to Kuwait. Brigade commander Col. Mark Hart led the unit as they took over operations for an active duty unit. They didn’t miss a beat. They did all transportation of gear and equipment coming out of that part of Iraq, supply and repair parts flowing through and ammunition transport to Afghanistan.