Livorno, Italy: 839th achieves benchmark operations in simultaneous moves

Translog: Journal of Military Transportation Management, Fall, 2004 by Edward Morris

Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command transporters from Livorno, Italy just completed a mission benchmark: Working three port operations simultaneously.

One mission can be tough, but it takes organization and coordination to do three at once!

The three major missions were the Army Preposition Stock II (APS II) reconfiguration at the Port of Livorno, Talamone Bay and Tombolo Dock, the 173rd Airborne Brigade redeployment from Iraq, and the Stabilization Forces (SFOR) redeployment of the 34th Infantry Division's aviation assets at the Port of Rijeka, Croatia.

"Solid planning and management of limited personnel were the keys to our success," said Lt. Col. Christian Heibel, commander of the 839th Transportation Battalion. "Our operations staff and outlying detachment commanders (in Greece and the Azores) really tightened their shot group for these missions and they were executed very well," he added.

The planning was a challenge. There were more than 15 organizations and staffs to coordinate with, including various levels of the American Military, Department of State, and the Italian and Croatian governments. Extensive amounts of detailed information had to be meticulously coordinated to ensure that each unit's operational timelines and organizational requirements were met.

Our resources were limited. We had to cover four countries, six ports, and nine missions with eight military personnel, one Department the Army Civilian and 18 Local Nationals from Italy, Greece and the Azores.

The missions began in mid-March when the USNS Soderman arrived in Talamone Bay to begin its APS II reconfiguration. The first phase, was to discharge the USNS Soderman's munitions in-stream onto the awaiting coaster vessel.

Ammunition operations in Italy are different from most places in the world. They are conducted utilizing a Logistics Over the Shore (LOTS) operation in which containers are offloaded from the 'mother-vessel' in-stream onto Italian Flagged coaster vessels. These coasters then travel the 109 Nautical Miles (NM) up the coast of Italy to Tombolo Docks located at the Camp Darby Ammunition Support Area (ASA). The containers are then offloaded at a small military pier directly into the ASA, alleviating any road clearance and security issues that arise when moving munitions over the road.

Halfway through the USNS SODERMAN ammunition discharge, the MV Anglia arrived to simultaneously discharge ammunition containers. The discharge of both these vessels in Talamone and Tombolo went as planned. The USNS Soderman then sailed to Livorno to begin loading pre-staged APS II equipment.

During this same week, the 839th deployed personnel to one of our most familiar Adriatic ports, Rijeka, Croatia to begin setting up for the redeployment of the 34th Infantry Division's aviation assets from SFOR.

Back in Livorno, the 839th began the APS IF upload of the USNS Soderman working at a public terminal with only 10,000-square feet of irregular staging area, about two-thirds of our normal work area. "Italian Authorities, 497th Movement Control Team and Combat Equipment Battalion--Livorno (CEB-Li) drivers reacted above and beyond what was expected to ensure that all of the cargo was staged at the port and ready for loading," said Maj. Barbara Gomoll, 839th executive officer and Marshaling Area officer in charge. "Great job of staying flexible and not losing sight of the mission."

The USNS Soderman load went smoothly and the vessel departed on schedule.

The next mission was to support the redeployment of the 173rd Airborne Brigade from Iraq. The 598th Transportation Group-Forward loaded all of the 173rd's equipment aboard the USNS Bellatrix in Ash-Shuaiba, Kuwait.

Two days before the USNS Bellatrix arrived, the next challenge surfaced. Italian Port Authorities were concerned about the possibility that the equipment on the USNS Bellatrix had been exposed to depleted uranium. The Italian Authorities wanted to inspect the ship for potential contamination prior to the start of the discharge. We agreed to the inspection after negotiating through the U.S. Embassy and Military Sealift Command. The equipment was determined to be free of contaminants, but we lost six hours of discharge time.

Our next challenge was the condition of the redeploying equipment. Many of the vehicles were deadlined and maintenance teams had to go to work immediately. Ultimately, l0 percent of the rolling stock could not be made road worthy on-site, so it had to be hauled by commercial truck to Leghorn Depot, which was three miles from the port. "The expertise and efficiency of the CEB-Li maintenance personnel was crucial to the success of the mission," said Heibel.

Once 173rd redeployment was finished, the 839th main body deployed to Rijeka, Croatia and loaded the MV Hoburgen with the aviation assets of the 34th ID. The vessel arrived on time and helicopters were loaded without incident. This operation ran very smoothly.

But, it wasn't over yet; the main body then redeployed from Rijeka, Croatia to Livorno and Talamone, Italy to re-load the ammunition containers on the USNS Soderman completing the APS II reconfiguration mission. Again, this mission was finished safely and without incident.