Strategic position allows for swift SDDC response to Pakistan earthquake crisis.

On the morning of Oct. 8, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck in the heart of the Pakistan-held Kashmir territory. While the resulting crisis from this natural disaster could not be predicted, it was obvious from the beginning that the United States would provide as much support to the Pakistan government as requested.

The U.S. Central Command's (USCENTCOM) role in the relief efforts has been well documented, and the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC) played an integral role in providing deployment and distribution support to relief operations.

The placement of SDDC personnel throughout the Middle East could not have been more helpful to assist in the relief operations.

"We had the right folks, in the right places, at the right time," said Lt. Col. Mike Sayers, commander, 831st Transportation Battalion.

Due to the nature of current contingency operations within Southwest Asia, Sayers' Bahrain-based battalion had established presence in key locations in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

As relief efforts commenced, the 831st had personnel in each location where planning and subsequent execution would take place. Three days after the earthquake struck, Maj. Scott Sadler, 831st support operations officer, was visiting Capt. Jozef Szymczyk, commander of SDDC's Qatar Detachment, when Maj. Gen. Brian Geehan, the USCENTCOM J4, summoned Sadler to their Camp As Layliyah war room to discuss ways to move cargo into Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Sayers and Mark Bigelow, marine cargo specialist for the 831st, were in Karachi, Pakistan wrapping up a bi-monthly commercial carriers conference. To their north, Jack Scogin, transportation planner and liaison officer for the 831st, had recently assumed the liaison officer position in Islamabad at the request of the U.S. Embassy. In the United Arab Emirates, Deployment Support Team Commander, Capt. Shawn McCray had recently established a Joint Distribution Hub at the Port of Fujairah.

Back in Qatar, Sadler joined the USCENTCOM J4 staff to work mission analysis of surface deployment and onward movement of U.S. Army and Navy engineer equipment and expected humanitarian cargo shipments to the quake-affected areas. Once cargo was identified and movement directed to Pakistan, Sadler departed Qatar and headed for Karachi. He was joined by Krissy Zimmerman, marine cargo specialist for the 831st.

They arrived on Oct. 15 and were met by Sayers and Bigelow. The team established a Joint Task ForcePort Opening operation to manage the reception, staging, and onward movement of cargo from Karachi to an intermediate staging base in Islamabad. They were later joined by Larry Josey, senior marine cargo specialist for the 831st, who was returning from another mission in Oman.

Elsewhere in Fujairah, McCray and his six-member team were preparing to receive Bright Star cargo from the USNS Brittin that was redeploying back to the United States when the ship was diverted to the Persian Gulf to deliver Army Reserve component engineer equipment. This cargo would later trans-ship to the USS Pearl Harbor.

Meanwhile, at the Port of Ash Shuaiba, Kuwait, soldiers from the 595th Transportation Terminal Group were loading Army engineer assets aboard the SS Northern Lights. In Bahrain, members of the 831st staff, Maj. Ameed Micko, executive officer, and Capt. Chris Robertson, operations officer, were working with Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) sailors and embarked marine personnel as they loaded naval amphibious ships at the Port of Mina Salman. These naval vessels would deliver additional engineer assets and donated humanitarian assistance cargo in an unprecedented relief mission to Pakistan.

From Oct. 17-29, a total of five vessels docked at terminals in Karachi. The coordination required with the U.S. Consulate Karachi, NAVCENT, Pakistan military, and commercial carriers were more than enough to keep the team busy (124 pieces have been imported to date).

The first vessel on the scene, the SS Northern Lights, arrived from Kuwait on Oct. 17 to discharge Army engineer assets. Onboard the vessel was Sgt. 1st Class John Burton, military stevedore for the 1185th Transportation Terminal Brigade. Burton, a former Army engineer, was able to drive the bulldozers, trucks and other engineer equipment off the vessel, while Zimmerman, Bigelow and the vessel crew unlashed the equipment.

The next vessels to arrive in Karachi were the Navy's USS Pearl Harbor and USS Cleveland. Both vessels received much press coverage in the local media and were visited by Mary Witt, U.S. Consul General. While both of the naval vessels were discharged by their respective crewmembers, Zimmerman, a former Navy cargo operations officer, provided valuable assistance in coordinating pier side support. She also assisted the Consul General by arranging a vessel tour for local Pakistani school children and members of the media. The USS Pearl Harbor returned a second time carrying over 140 tons of food, blankets and tents donated by Pakistani ex-patriots living abroad in the United Arab Emirates.

Onward movement of this valuable cargo was another critical aspect of the deployment and distribution mission. Scogin worked directly with the Disaster Assistance Center Task Force (DAC-TF) and the Office of the Defense Representative Pakistan at the U.S. Embassy to coordinate for final delivery of cargo and other logistical support required for relief operations. In Karachi, Sadler and the team coordinated logistic support and cargo documentation through the U.S. Consulate and the Pakistan Army's Embarkation Command, commanded by Lt. Col. Asif Habib and Maj. Abid Farid, port operations officer.

With virtually all of the Pakistan Army's truck assets engaged in relief efforts further north, SDDC relied heavily on commercial carrier partners and contractors. Local American President Lines manager Mumtaz Hussain and senior analyst Sajid Hussain coordinated onward transportation of engineer equipment through their local transport partner, Jawed Iqbal, logistics director for Bilal Associates. Together both carriers and SDDC worked night and day to deliver cargo to an Intermediate Staging Base (ISB) outside of Islamabad. All cargo departed the port within hours of the vessel discharge, moving rapidly north in a matter of days, despite limited truck assets due to ongoing relief efforts and an approaching holiday at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Once the engineer assets reached the ISB, SDDC's commercial third party logistics partner, Raith-Tareen, working through the DAC-TF's local contracting officer, arranged for final delivery of the cargo to Muzaffarabad. Capt. Farooq Tareen, CEO of Raith-Tareen, was on site to ensure equipment arrived in the quake affected areas. Days earlier, Tareen had been outside of his vacation home in the mountains on the morning the earthquake hit. He was fortunate to escape unharmed but recounted his experience moving through the devastated areas. Tareen further noted that Muzaffarabad was especially rocked by the earthquake and U.S. engineer equipment has proven invaluable to clear roads and assist in recovery operations.

Relief operations continue and the first phases of redeployment will soon commence. SDDC's 831st Transportation Battalion has again proven its relevance with an immediate and capable response to USCENTCOM's support of the Pakistan earthquake relief.

On the final evening of vessel operations, a local Pakistani national came up to Sadler on the port and hugged him. Sadler then learned through an interpreter that this man's relatives had suffered loss in the earthquake and that he was grateful to the United States for all of our support during their time of crisis.

"That brought it all home to me," Sadler said. "For right then I realized that all of our team's planning and execution was well worth the effort."

Story and photos contributed by Maj. Scott Sadler and Jack Scogin 831st Transportation Battalion