Technology and teamwork move the Marines: MOTSU loads out II Marine Expeditionary Force.

Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point personnel, Army reservists, Marines, and employees of the North Carolina State Ports Authority worked together as a team to stage, document and load Marine Corps equipment and cargo for deployment to western Iraq.

For the fifth time this year MOTSU personnel have supervised the upload of II Marine Expeditionary Force equipment for deployment.

Since January, approximately 4,000 pieces of II MEF equipment have moved through the N.C. State Port at Wilmington. In this most recent operation, over 900 pieces of cargo began arriving for deployment from several North and South Carolina Marine Corps bases on Dec. 6, 2004. Loading of the Motor Vessel Cape Hudson began Dec. 13, 2004 and was completed within 36 hours.

MOTSU personnel provided Port Manager functions for the out-load and documentation assistance was provided from the 1184th Transportation Terminal Battalion out of Mobile, Alabama.

Documentation was a major part of this operation and MOTSU's Traffic Management Branch provided oversight to the 1184th to ensure all cargo was documented, while Cargo Operations Branch personnel ensured that all cargo was loaded in accordance with the pre-stow plan.

The Traffic Management Branch and 1184th converted cargo data from the Marine Corp's Marine Air Ground Task Force Deployment Support System II data to Defense Transportation Regulation standard formats in order to meet in-transit visibility requirements. All of the cargo was scanned as it came into the staging area and again as it was loaded onto the vessel. This provided an accurate count of equipment on the ground awaiting call forward to the vessel and once it was loaded.

In addition to equipment accountability, the second scan captured cargo stow locations to be passed, via the Worldwide Port System, to the Integrated Computerized Deployment System to create the "final" stow.

Personnel from the II MEF included embarkation officers who assisted with planning the load and the Port Operations Group, which is equivalent to an Army Port Support Activity. This out-load provided the Marines their first real experience with "tagging" 100 percent of their deploying equipment.

The use of Radio Frequency Identification is a Department of Defense policy to be implemented by by all deploying military units. "This was a very good learning experience for the Marines. It set us up for success with using this technology for follow on operations," stated Chief Warrant Officer 5 Gene Rose, the II MEF senior embarkation officer on site.

The RFID tags carry information unique to a given piece of cargo and provide commanders a "snapshot in time" of the cargo's location. The deploying unit is responsible for "burning" the information onto the tag hardware and affixing it to each piece of cargo. As the cargo passes an interrogation site, an interrogator reads the tag, and reports the tag number to the in-transit visibility server.

As the Marines equipment rolled through the port gate it was interrogated and reported as being located on N.C. State Port at Wilmington. These tags report movement of cargo providing DOD a means to track cargo.

The people of the Port of Wilmington also played a critical role in ensuring the timely completion of the upload of the equipment.

"They were responsive to all our requirements on the port. Whatever we needed we got. Their staff attended all of our meetings and they really were part of our team," said Maj. Woodrow Willis, military port manager from MOTSU. "They also played a big role in Brig. Gen. Fletcher's visit to the operation, giving him a port tour and an opportunity to meet with Ports Authority CEO, Tom Eager," added Willis.

This was another opportunity for MOTSU and the Ports Authority to continue to support Operation Iraqi Freedom. Individuals from the military as well as the civilian sector were able to learn about unique Marine Corps equipment and the Marines furthered their knowledge of in-transit visibility technology. This deployment team gained valuable experience in joint operations as well as the use of technology to accomplish a strategic mission--all in a days work at MOTSU.

Maj. Karen Conley, Operations Officer

597th Transportation Terminal Group