RSOI '06: the continued development of our partnership with the Korean military units is vital to our constant improvement and mission accomplishment.

The well-oiled machine, otherwise known as the Combined Sealift Coordination Center, helped once again to make the annual Reception, Staging, Onward Movement, and Integration exercise in Korea a success.

U.S. Army reservists and civilians assigned to the 599th Transportation Group and Naval Reserve Unit 320 of the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, along with their Korean military counterparts, showed their expertise as they managed work in the seaport reception command and control hub at their duty location of Pier 8 at Busan, Korea.

According to Ronald Day, the 599th Transportation Group Plans and Readiness chief, the efforts of the entire team showed true dedication and skill-set diversity. "The individual as well as combined proficiency of our team made the execution of the exercise a great achievement."

The team was charged with ensuring 100 percent process dedication to manage all theater strategic sealift requirements and coordinate operations at the port, including berthing, cargo staging, port clearances, ship husbanding and repair, and stevedore labor.

The exercise, one of many which the 599th participates in through the U.S. Pacific Command area of responsibility, offers training and learning opportunities to a variety of people.

The 599th Trans Group and the ROKA Port Operations Group worked in a combined environment to execute the efficient use of stevedores, equipment, port facilities, coastal shipping and other assets to ensure throughput of cargo, said Which Wilson, 599th Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations.

Participants said RSOI '06, which involved several thousand military and civilian personnel, was of outstanding value.

"Besides executing battle-focused training directly related to our Mission Essential Task List, we also helped enhance the Surface Deployment and Distribution Command's role as the Single Port Manager in the Pacific Command," said Col. Cedric Jasmin, an Army Reserve augmentee serving as the U.S. co-chair for the CSCC.

The CSCC also played a major role in coordinating and synchronizing the flow of sealift information with the Director of Mobility Forces--Surface, or DM4-S, a new entity put in-place by the U.S. Transportation Command to provide the theater strategic reach-back capability. This exercise tested the concept for integrating the DM4-S into the theater's sustainment picture and is a desired value added for the Combined Forces Commander.

The exercise formed concentration for participants in two areas: conducting thorough seaport analyses when considering vessel operations and dominating information flow. To achieve this, the CSCC relied heavily on the positive combined U.S./ROK relationship. Korean Army soldiers known as Korean Augmentation to United States Army, or KATUSA's, were assigned to the 837th Trans Bn. and served to bridge the language gap.

"The KATUSA augmentees really made the dialogue between the U.S. staff and their Korean counterparts feasible," said Lt. Col. Jim Miller, an Army Reserve augmentee. "The free-flow and access to information is really what the combined staff is all about."

In late 2006, the U.S. and Korean team will come together again to participate in the annual Ulchi Focus Lens exercise.

Jasmin said, "The continued development of our partnership with the Korean military units is vital to our constant improvement and mission accomplishment."

Robyn Mack

599th Transportation Group