Industry support ensures success of ship loading.

Ship's speed was ever so much on our minds in early April as we waited in Rijeka, Croatia, to move the latest peacekeeping task force home from Bosnian duties.

At a normal speed, the roll-on/roll-off vessel Saudi Tabuk would arrive late in the day of April 4. This would force us to load some helicopters in the darkness--and might negatively affect the air movement home of almost 200 soldiers.

Time was critical. We urged the vessel's agent to hasten her arrival to ensure maximum daylight on April 4 for loading helicopters. Meanwhile, we waited anxiously in the warming spring weather and beauty of the Dalmatian Coast. Would we be successful? The vessel was an old friend to members of the 839th Transportation Battalion, Livorno, Italy. We had loaded the ship numerous times.

Meanwhile, there was a separate drama being played out far at sea. The Saudi Tabuk's captain ordered the vessel forward at flank speed--an increase in planned speed from 17.5 knots to something just under 20 knots.

Then, we received good news. Port workers spotted the vessel on the horizon at mid-day, April 4. We had won the race. By 4:30 p.m., the vessel was in berth and upload activities began.

The timely arrival of the ship meant big dividends for the Army. We would have several hours of daylight to safely begin the load of 36 helicopters and the other equipment belonging to the 29th Infantry Division, a National Guard unit from Virginia and Maryland. All helicopters were loaded before late evening; extra hours would have affected the risk assessment of the helicopter-loading operation--the most sensitive part of the mission. Furthermore, the timely arrival also ensured the 21st Theater Support Command could move its soldiers home on several scheduled Air Mobility Command aircraft.

So we began the loading of the SFOR #10 redeployment of 170 pieces. We had a good ship for the job. Saudi Tabuk is easy to load, with a capable and experienced crew.

As always, we got good help from the supporting Task Force from 21st Theater Support Command, Kaiserslautern, Germany. In particular, I would cite the work of elements of their 95th Military Police Battalion and the 14th Movement Control Battalion.

The soldiers of the 2-502nd Aviation Regiment, detailed from Mannheim, Germany, were of great help in getting the helicopters efficiently prepared for movement and shrink-wrapped in protective plastic. DynCorp contractors assisted in getting the aircraft prepositioned to ensure a smooth traffic flow to the vessel's stern ramp.

Among all parties, we had very good communication. We started our traffic management planning long before the vessel arrived in berth. A sense of cooperation and overwhelming support and respect for each other during the redeployment clearly worked to everyone's benefit.

As always, we got support from our port service contractor, JadroAgent. Whether offloading rail cars, staging containers, or providing tie-down crews, JadroAgent occupies an integral part of our port operations effort.

Reflecting back, this is probably the best orchestrated and synchronized port operations the 839th has experienced in Rijeka--and we have done many.

Mission accomplished: Saudi Tabuk departed Rijeka on schedule--bound for Norfolk, Va., and Beaumont, Texas.