Dual missions at MOTCO.

Soldiers and civilians with the 834th Transportation Battalion, also known as Military Ocean Terminal Concord (MOTCO), recently had the opportunity to conduct a general cargo load out of the 1/1 Air Defense Artillery (ADA) from Ft. Bliss, Texas, to their new home in Japan in conjunction with an ammunition retrograde mission.

MOTCO began to receive the 1/1 ADA cargo in late August 2006. The ammunition retrograde mission was scheduled to be at MOTCO for onward movement to various depots within the U.S roughly at the same time as the general cargo arrival. The missions together posed a significant challenge to the 834th as the general cargo could not be within the Net Explosive Weight arc zone. By having the general cargo and ammunition together, the staging of the general cargo had to be placed further from the pier, adding loading time to the operation.

The onward movement of the ammo posed its own challenges. The facility had to upgrade its THREATCON level, requiring additional security personnel. MOTCO was supplemented by Military Police (MP) from the 11th MP Brigade. The reserve MPs provided additional security to MOTCO, supplementing the DOD police force for the two missions.

The 1/1 ADA from Ft. Bliss had the opportunity to deploy its general cargo and ABL from MOTCO to its new home in Japan on the same vessel. This rare opportunity was accomplished by the loading of the Strong American tug barge vessel and the MV Global Patriot. The Strong American carried the bulk of the rolling cargo, and the MV Global Patriot carried the remaining general cargo and its Patriot missiles.

Planners at SDDC also recognized the opportunity to ship marine cargo to Japan. Added to the MV Global Patriot, opportune cargo saved the government additional expenses of shipping on commercial carriers. This type of operation added to the importance of using a military port such as MOTCO to give units the opportunity to ship the unit's general cargo and ABL simultaneously.

Now the combatant commanders can be fully combat ready once the ship arrives in theatre. This gives the commanders tremendous capability in deploying their forces. This was the first such mission for MOTCO. It could not be accomplished at a commercial port due to the risk of having general cargo and ammunition loaded at the same port.

During the ADA mission, MOTCO prepared to receive the MV Global Patriot, which was delivering more than 600 retrograde ammunition containers. The ammunition containers needed to be delivered to various depots throughout the United States by the end of September 2006.

Due to the vessel having engine problems, the MV Global Patriot shifted its arrival date to the right. This posed a significant challenge to the 834th as it had a deadline to meet and the planning of onward movement of the containers. The 834th planned and had on hand rail assets and pre-staged commercial flatbeds for the onward movement of the cargo. This prior planning assisted the 834th in moving more than 600 containers off the port in a timely fashion.

Reserve Soldiers assisted in the operations of the upload of the ADA cargo and the download of the MV Global Patriot. The 11th MP Brigade provided 25 MPs for force protection. The MPs gave the DoD police force support to move one THREATCON level to another. This saved the government a large amount of money and provided the MPs with a great opportunity to work an ammunition mission on a military installation. This also built a great working relationship with the 834th and the 11th MP Brigade.

Additional reserve support came from the 1395th and the 1397th. Both units provided personnel that worked closely in the documentation of the equipment, staging, and uploading of the equipment. Utilizing reserve support with their active counterpart in an actual mission expedited a successful operation.

Ray Gonzales, a Marine Cargo Specialist with the 834th said, "The 1/1st ADA upload and the Korean Retrograde Ammunition missions gave the 834th a unique opportunity to conduct simultaneous operations here at MOTCO. These missions showed SDDC, JMC, and the transportation community that we can accomplish any mission, from humanitarian to contingency, and gave us some good exposure as to the capabilities we have here on the West Coast at MOTCO."

Lt.Col. Gregory Kandt, 834th commander, sums up his command this way: "MOTCO is a unique land and sea asset. This port is only one of two the Army has that can give a unit commander the opportunity to load both equipment and ammunition on the ship at the same time. Not many other locations come to mind. Add to that the fact we can easily receive both rail and truck transportation assets, and our dedicated Soldiers and civilians working here and it should come as no surprise that we can be a popular choice for the Warfighter."

by Maj. Franz Griffin

Transportation Battalion