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46 Engineer January–April 2014 These steps were intended to reestablish a more expedi- tionary lifestyle with the distinct purpose of informing FOB tenants that closure was a clear and imminent reality. Every FOB has unique personalities and stories. FOB Salerno was no different. In one case, a civilian contractor had lived in a secluded, gated compound of several buildings for more than 5 years. The building he lived in was cooled by 19 air conditioners affxed to the walls. Although the tenant provided value to the FOB, he lived alone with mountains of stuff stacked up around him. He was surprised when I informed him that he had 4 weeks to vacate the base. In many ways, he had truly gone native and was reluctant to change. This was exactly the type of user that we needed to fnd, inform, and assist in leaving the FOB. Nobody can close an FOB from behind a desk. Over the summer, I strove to interact with people daily. I normally got to the point quickly: "Who are you? What do you do? Where do you live? When are you leaving? Please give me your e-mail and phone contacts. You need to come to our FP/FU meeting on Wednesday." I tried to impart a sense of urgency and let people know that I was holding them accountable for clearing the FOB. Soon, most contractors and smaller military agencies were scrambling to resource and execute their own retrogrades. This last point is straightforward. Miraculously, as the quality of life on the FOB decreased, people wanted to leave. Suddenly, groups of people were leaving faster than planned. Harnessing the benefts of going expeditionary was critical. The goal was to make life harder, sooner. Services had to be reduced and eventually stopped, or the FOB would never close. Shutting down the shelter that served as the gymnasium truly kicked off the expeditionary phase during the frst week of August. Then, the coffee shop; post exchange; U.S. Army Morale, Welfare, and Recreation computer facil- ity; and fnance offce closed. Shortly thereafter, we closed the dining facility, simultaneously canceling two hot meals. Laundry, post offce, and private Internet services ceased, followed by central electrical power. Life was very different on FOB Salerno 40 days from closure. Through the work- ing groups, e-mails to account holders, posted signs, and word of mouth, we harnessed the effects of these changes to our beneft. Closing an FOB requires an understanding of the prob- lem, systems to track progress and enforce directives, and dedicated personnel empowered to act. Leaders with authority, staffs with plans, and Soldiers with bolt cut- ters made FOB closure possible. There are countless off- cers, noncommissioned offcers, and Soldiers who made the closure of FOB Salerno possible—on time and beyond ini- tial expectations. Endnote: 1 Army Doctrine Reference Publication 5-0, The Opera- tions Process, 17 May 2012. Major Sawser is the executive offcer of the 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade 101st Airborne Division. He holds a bachelor's degree in engineer- ing the U.S. Military a degree in civil engineering the University of Missouri– Rolla (now Missouri University of Science and Technology), and a degree in industrial engineering Texas A&M; University. Afghan contrac- tors disassemble the FOB Salerno incinerator for repurposing on the local ecomony. EN Sawser.1.indd 49 3/12/2014 1:33:51 PM