Exercise brings first LASH operation to Concord

Translog: Journal of Military Transportation Management, Fall, 2004 by Robert Halvorsen

For the first time in its history, Lighter Aboard Ship, or LASH, barges, have been loaded at the Military Ocean Terminal Concord.

Members of the 834th Transportation Battalion loaded six of the barges with more than 2,700 pallets of breakbulk ammunition over 18 days in April at the Concord, Calif., facility.

LASH barges have a high utility as they can be moved easily ashore in areas that lack marine facilities or transported up rivers.

Transporters with the 834th faced many challenges.

Problems arose while loading the first of the LASH barges onto the SS Cape Farewell when the vessel's crane broke. It took mechanics five days to repair the crane and the barges were loaded and the vessel set sail for destinations in the Pacific.

The transportation work was all part of a Containerized Ammunition Distribution System exercise, also known as Turbo Cads 2004. It is a biannual exercise involving all military services in which ammunition is restocked in South Korea and all obsolete ammunition is returned to the United States.

The exercise ended in the first two weeks of August when the 834th offloaded 1,148 20-foot containers from the Cape Farewell for distribution to 10 different ammunition depots across the country-via rail and truck. During the height of operations, over 160 people from nine different organizations were at work.

Discharge took 11 days due to the athwart-ship storage of the containers on the vessel. The installation's gantry cranes were not able to pivot the containers for ease of discharge. Therefore, each container required 'double handling' in order to properly place them on trucks.

"We experimented with fabricating a mechanical pivoting spreader bar which attaches to the crane," said Lt. Col. David McClean. "However, the project could not be completed in time for discharge."

A key role was played by Soldiers from the 1205th Reserve Transportation Rail Operating Co., of Brockton, Mass. The Reservists moved over 300 rail cars. They ensured rail cars were ready for safe movement on the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe main rail lines.

Risk assessment and safety played a key role during the operations. The 834th developed a plan to evacuate all personnel from within a safety net that included all the facility's occupied buildings. As a result, the 834th was able to discharge containers, upload onto rail cars and trucks, and distribute to final destinations simultaneously.

"The key to the success of this operation is interoperability, " said McClean. "Without planning and coordination of this diverse task organization, the 834th could not have accomplished the mission."

Supporting units included the U.S. Coast Guard; Military Sealift Command; U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD); Department of Defense police and fire departments; and American Presidents Line (APL).

Labor was provided by the local International Longshore and Warehouseman Union(ILWU). The ILWU provided the labor necessary for loading and moving all ammunition, both containerized and breakbulk. During vessel discharge operations, the work crew numbered over 50 persons. They were supervised by stevedoring contractor APL.

Lt. Robert Halvorsen, SC, USN 834th Transportation Battalion