Keeping up the pace

Soldiers Magazine, July, 2004 by Steve Harding

WHILE all Americans can take immense pride in the success of the recent worldwide movement of the nation's military might, the Soldiers of the Army Reserve's 1192nd Transportation Terminal Brigade have a much more personal interest--they've played a major role in the operation's resounding success.

Based in New Orleans, La., the unit specializes in getting vital equipment to and from ports and on and off the huge cargo ships that form the basis of the nation's military sealift capability.

It's a job at which the 1192nd has excelled. Since being called to active duty in January 2003 the 1192nd has worked at 15 ports across the country. As of mid-April the unit had discharged or loaded 158 ships carrying a total of more than 19 million square feet of cargo. The 1192nd has also loaded or discharged almost 20,000 commercial trucks and more than 26,000 rail cars.

Nor is the job over for the 1192nd. At the time of Soldiers' visit, unit members were unloading the large sealift ship USNS Sisler at the port of Jacksonville, Fla., while simultaneously preparing to move on to a new mission in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Called to Duty

Like many National Guard and Reserve units, the 1192nd was called to active duty as war with Iraq loomed early in 2003, said LTC Harold Sams, commander of the brigade's Headquarters and HQs, Detachment.

"The unit was brought onto active duty for annual training in January 2003 and was formally mobilized in March 2003," he said. "Because we knew we were going to be called up, we started preparing for mobilization back in March 2002. When the time actually came we moved through the mobilization station very quickly and were able to get right to the job."

And that first job was a huge one, said COL Maynard Sanders, the 1192nd's commander.

"We deployed to Corpus Christi, where we were tasked with moving the 4th Infantry Division to Kuwait. The war couldn't start until the division arrived in theater, so there was a lot of pressure on us to step up and get the job done," Sanders said.

"When the 4th Inf. Div. commander told us, 'We're in your hands,' we took it seriously. We knew these Soldiers were going right into combat, and we wanted them to have everything they needed for that mission. And that's exactly what we gave them," he said.

A Nationwide Mission

Even as it was embarking the 4th Inf. Div., the 1192nd was being tasked with similar missions at ports throughout the country, Sams said.

"Our area of responsibility shifted with the needs of the Army, with missions at ports on both coasts and the Gulf of Mexico," he said. "Since our total manning is only about 100 people, we handled the mission by forming teams of 15 to 20 Soldiers to supervise operations at each port."

Corpus Christi and Beaumont, Texas, have been the unit's busiest assignments thus far--a total of some 38 ships and nearly 24,000 pieces of equipment at the former and, augmenting the 842nd Trans. Battalion, 34 ships and 21,000 pieces of equipment at the latter. In Jacksonville the 1192nd has loaded or discharged 28 ships and handled some 14,000 pieces of equipment. Other ports at which the unit has worked include Charleston, S.C.; Wilmington, N.C.; Savannah, Ga.; Long Beach and San Diego, Calif.; Philadelphia, Pa.; Norfolk, Va.; and Tacoma, Wash.

"We sent teams all over the country, and some of the teams were headed by E-4s instead of E-7s," Sanders said. "These kids are just amazing, and they do whatever it takes to get the job done."

Most of the unit's operations at the various ports have been joint efforts, said MAJ Douglas Athey, the 1192nd's operations officer. The Navy's Military Sealift Command owns and operates the ships: the Marine Corps often provides personnel when a particular ship is carrying Marine equipment; and the Coast Guard provides security both ashore and afloat. Added to that mix, Athey said, are National Guard Soldiers from Puerto Rico who provide security aboard the ships, local law-enforcement agencies in each city, as well as civilian stevedores, truckers and railway workers.

Every time the unit goes into a different port it has to first do an assessment, Athey said. The Soldiers look at the port's facilities, organization and labor force.

One of the challenges the 1192nd faces is the differing condition of port facilities, he said. For example, some of the ports have vast areas of paved hardstand where vehicles can be efficiently massed before being loaded or after being unloaded, while the assembly arms at other ports are not paved.

"Unpaved assembly areas can present a lot of problems when you're dying to a load or unload vehicles from a ship," Athey said. "When it rains the areas turn to mud, and that complications everything.

Complications and Choreography

Whatever the complications at a particular port, the loading and unloading of a vessel always has to be a well-choreographed event. Athey said.

"It's our job to plan for everything to ensure that things run smoothly because getting the equipment where it needs to go is vital, whether it's going forward to the combat zone or back to its home installation," he said.