MTMC meets challenges in priority discharge.

When we finally saw the Feederman, we found the vessel as unusual as the mission that brought it to Kuwait.

The Feederman was constructed during the Cold War, and served the former Soviet Union in her early years. Now, the Feederman had a very different mission. She had arrived in the Persian Gulf with a high-priority cargo: A German Army NBC battalion that included 109 pieces of rolling stock and 47 containers of hazardous material--including ammunition and toxic chemicals.

MTMC entered the picture when the Germans found they required reception, staging and onward movement for their vessel's cargo discharge. Although a responsibility of the country of origin, the movement of a German detachment from Europe would be expensive in time and money.

Capt. Kyle Reichle, Commander, Kuwait, was called to Camp Doha on Jan. 2, where he met with a Marine Corps officer responsible for coordination with coalition member liaison officers. Reichle also met Lt. Col. Andreas Bednarzyk, the German National Contingent Commander, who asked for MTMC assistance.

Like many challenges, the paperwork had to be right first. Reichle put the request into channels. Capt. Radford Cox, Operations Officer, and May Faminial, Resource Manager, said a request for such services would have to go all the way to U.S. Transportation Command. At the same time, Bednarzyk would have contract and agree to pay for MTMC services.

When approval came from the U.S. Transportation Command, Resource

By Major Robert R. Russell Jr. Executive Officer 831st Transportation Battalion Management Specialist Mark Oerlemans, of the 598th Transportation Terminal Group, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, filled out a standard agreement NATO Standard Form for Request, Receipt, and Retain or Invoice. The document was signed Feb. 14.

The final planning, and a review of the stow plan and discharge operation, were conducted in Kuwait.

As Feederman approached the Kuwaiti pier Feb. 16, challenges began at once. Kuwaiti port officials directed the vessel to a different pier. Our team members sprang into a crisis action planning process.

Soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) reacted quickly. We huddled with our contractor, Raith Engineering, and the Kuwaiti Stevedoring Co.

The movement to a different pier had one positive result--it gave us some more planning time. The new pier would allow us use of a giant gantry crane.

When the Feederman pulled in, all was ready. The gantry crane proved to be of great help, and pushed our discharge rate to 23 hourly, versus the eight containers a land crane would have provided in the same period.

The Kuwait Detachment and its contractors did an outstanding job. Most of the unit members are Reservists, including Reichle. The unit's veteran non-commissioned officer is Sgt. 1st Class Sharon Davis, who had just four months of service when the ship arrived. The detachment did a fantastic job in synchronizing the move.

Our customer was delighted with our work. The Kuwait Detachment received a letter of appreciation from the German NBC Defense Battalion, Kuwait and National Contingent Commander. No question, we proved to be the "Force of Choice" in the U.S. Central Command area of operations.