Ready Reserve Force ships remain poised for call-up.

As Operation Iraqi Freedom III begins, the need for a ready and responsive fleet of ships with experienced crews is greater than ever.

During this latest rotation, the ships of the Ready Reserve Force will be among the ships moving millions of square feet of unit cargo, said Col. John Tartala, director of Deployment Operations for SDDC's Operations Center, Fort Eustis, Va.

"Most commercial container ships do not have the capability to handle heavy, bulky, oversize equipment like tanks and armored vehicles," said Tartala. "Roll-on/Roll-off ships, including those of the Ready Reserve Force, are essential to projecting American military power."

The Ready Reserve Force vessels are maintained by the U.S. Maritime Administration to support global, surge military movements. The vessels are moored at various locations around the world. A small crew on board performs repairs and maintenance to ensure vessel readiness. When activated, the vessels come under the control of Military Sealift Command.

Nearly 10 million square feet of Operation Iraqi Freedom cargo was deployed or redeployed on Ready Reserve Force vessels as of September 2004, according to Janet Noel, the Military Sealift Command's liaison officer at the SDDC Operations Center. In that same period, SDDC synchronized the total movement of more than 46 million square feet of unit cargo.

The vessels Cape Race and Cape Ray rejoined the Cape Rise in August at their homeport in Portsmouth, Va., following scheduled maintenance in a South Carolina shipyard.

The three ships were among the 30 Ready Reserve force Roll On/Roll Off vessels that have moved cargo in support of current operations in Southwest Asia.

"There isn't a piece of oversize military cargo that we cannot put on these ships," said Pat Wright, skipper of the Race. "The ships in this class of vessels were workhorses during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm."

Impressed with the ships' utility during the first Gulf War, the United States decided to purchase the then-foreign-flagged vessels.

Originally built to move oilrig platforms, the Cape R's class vessels have exceptionally high overhead main trailer decks. Each ship boasts four large elevators that move loads as heavy as 85 tons between the wide-open decks.

Some people believe that using the lifts takes more time than driving cargo up traditional ramps.

Not so, said Wright.

It takes just 90 seconds to move two large trucks with trailers to the upper deck, said Wright as he demonstrated the 85-ton lift.

"On other ships, it can take longer," he said. "Oversize trucks can have a hard time going up traditional ramps because of the limited turning radius and tight spaces on the decks."

Even greater efficiency is gained because stevedores can operate four lanes of traffic simultaneously, said Wright.

The lifts are extremely reliable, but even losing one ramp would not be an impediment to speedy cargo operations, he added.

Rick Taylor, skipper of the Ray, said he hopes his ship will be activated soon to support Operation Iraqi Freedom III.

"We're not here as commercial mariners, but we're part of a whole team supporting the military," he said.

"Find us cargo and keep us working," said Taylor. "It's good for the crews and it's good for the ship. It seems almost counter-intuitive, but the best way to keep a ship maintained is by using it."

Patti Bielling, Public Affairs Specialist

SDDC Operations Center