Exercise challenges teach improved planning.

Lessons learned from Operation Desert Storm helped assure an effective ammunition discharge by the 834th Transportation Battalion, Concord, Calif.

The concept of containerized ammunition delivery systems is a lesson learned from the Gulf War, said Maj. Felix Boston, Public Affairs Officer, 1397th Transportation Terminal Brigade, Mare Island, Calif.

More than 500 different ships were used for the Persian War buildup and the sustainment of operations, said Boston. More than 1 million tons of ammunition was used. However, many of those ships were underused because the ammunition was not containerized.

Capt. Deneen Smith, Contracting Officer for the 1397th, agreed with Boston.

"Containerization is the most efficient way to move cargo," said Smith.

Containers allow for stacking, she said.

"You can put two HMMWVs one on top of the other with containers," said Smith.

The lessons learned from those operations standardized the use of containers for ammunition."

Exercises like Turbo Cads measure the effectiveness of the initiative, said Lt. Cdr. Tom LaCoss, Operations Officer of the 834th. The exercise was the first use of Concord's new gantry cranes and the first time the unit conducted ship-to-rail operations.

One lesson learned is closer coordination with the Coast Guard.

"Last year they opened 45 containers (for inspection)," said LaCoss. "That would be a showstopper here. We have provided them with documentation."

As members of the Coast Guard reviewed documents, they alerted the staff to violations of rules. LaCoss said he then relayed discrepancies to the 837th Transportation Battalion in Korea so they could correct the problems.

"This makes the Coast Guard's job easier and helps get the discharge done" said LaCoss.

Another documentation issue was also of importance. LaCoss said the bills of lading were prepared based on the ship's manifest. This process produced faster paperwork, which ensured more efficient transportation movements.

LaCoss described one other step aimed at improving the unit's efficiency for the exercise.

"Since May, all the players have been participating in rock drills," said LaCoss. "Rock drills allow exercise participants to walk through scenarios and find any kinks or conflicts."

The more efficient operations were obvious from the first day. Malcolm Cowen, a locomotive operator with California Northern Railroad, said he saw improvements over last year's exercise.

"The last time, they were trucking the containers over to the rail yard," said Cowen. "This is going to be a lot faster when we get all the kinks worked out."

Cowen's job was to move railcars along the pier, where the crane lowered containers onto them. He added that the ship-to-rail operation has potential.

"This is going to be faster when we work out the kinks. It's going to take a little while to get the rhythm," said Cowen.

Lt. Col. Robert Guarino, Commander of the 834th, said that preparing the exercise caught 98 percent of the issues involved.

"It's the other two percent that'll get you in the execution," said Guarino.

Such issues include challenges, such as the number of containers per railcar.

"In the rock drills, we were briefing four containers per car. The railroad guys never said anything," said Guarino.

However, when it was time to offload, things changed. Due to the weight of the containers, the cars were only able to carry two.

This required new documentation, said Guarino. Manifests and other information that had all been done according to the stow plan were modified to reflect the change.

"It's simplistic in notion, but pretty doggone complicated in practice," said Guarino. "My goal was to identify all the factors that need to be considered by all the players for ship to rail to work."

Later, the unit switched gears and reverted to ship-to-truck discharge.

"We had to get the ship out of there. We had to send our TDY personnel home."

When the switch to trucks was made, the discharge rate climbed to 130 containers per eight-hour shift. The speed of handling was primarily due to the locking device on the truck trailers. Pins and box guides on the railcars are not as forgiving, he said.

Guarino said he plans to propose the Department of Defense use different locking devices for railcars in the future.

"The next time we practice this, it will go much better," said Guarino.