Tour gives MTMC transporters industry view.Charleston Marine Containers, Inc., has taken support to the warfighters to a new dimension. The motto of the Charleston, S.C., firm is "Supplying Containers to the Warfighter." The motto fits: Charleston Marine Containers is the largest volume manufacturer of dry freight shipping containers in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. . Everyone in the 841st Transportation Battalion has a new perspective on the critical support of this industrial neighbor to the functioning of the Defense Transportation System. A visit was arranged by Lt. Col. Kent Selby, Commander, as part of our monthly professional development sessions. Both military and civilian members of our battalion had the opportunity to visit the firm Feb. 7. The firm is located in several renovated warehouses on what used to be the Charleston Naval Base A naval base primarily for support of the forces afloat, contiguous to a port or anchorage, consisting of activities or facilities for which the Navy has operating responsibilities, together with interior lines of communications and the minimum surrounding area necessary for local , before it was closed in 1996. The tour was provided by Herbert Ellis, the firm's president. Ellis is a former Army field artillery officer. We heard a little more on the company's unique motto from Fred Whittle, Director of Operations. "Ellis created the motto," said Whittle, "to form the focus of effort on the right market." Then the real tour began. We walked among welders on the production floor. Workers were assembling flat racks for the Marines and new Army Quadcons and Tricons. The Quadcons are four containers, and Tricons are three containers, that can be linked together to create a 20-foot container footprint. Jim Calvert, a civilian employee of the 841st Transportation Battalion, commented that he had seen a lot of the Tricons coming through the Port of Savannah The Port of Savannah is a major United States of America seaport, located in Savannah, Georgia, just up the Savannah River from the Atlantic Ocean and is operated by the Georgia Ports Authority. . "After seeing so many of the containers during port operations," said Calvert, "it was interesting to actually see where they were made." After the assembly, painters applied two coats of primer to the Tricon containers. After the primer had dried, the employees sprayed on a new, easier to use, water-based Chemical Agent Resistant Coating Chemical Agent Resistant Coating is the term for the paint commonly applied to military vehicles which provides protection against chemical and biological weapons.[1] References 1. ^ [1] from Sherman-Williams. The containers are tested right at the facility to ensure they meet Container Safety Convention and Internal Standards Organization A standards organization, also sometimes referred to as a standards body, a standards development organization or SDO (depending on what is being referenced), is any entity whose primary activities are developing, coordinating, promulgating, revising, amending, certification standards. The required standards are impressive. The container must be built strong enough to support the equivalent of nine loaded containers stacked on top and the container must be water tight when sprayed from all sides with water at 14 pounds per square inch Noun 1. pounds per square inch - a unit of pressure psi pressure unit - a unit measuring force per unit area . Mr. Ellis showed us the testing equipment and said that a government inspector came to CMCI CMCI Constant Maturity Commodity Index (investing) CMCI Cable Modem to CPE Interface (Sprint) CMCI Computer and Math Citation Index CMCI CM Consulting and Investigations every other week to ensure quality production. Our staff members were impressed to see the quality design and fabrication fabrication (fab´rikā´sh  n),n the construction or making of a restoration. skills that go into the container production. "Charleston Marine Containers is a one-of-a-kind company that caters only to the military," said Selby. "The fabrication process was well received by unit members." The efficiency of the operation was notable and as an end-user of Charleston Marine Containers' products, I have confidence in its quality. It is always reassuring to have such proficient partners in our mission of force projection The ability to project the military element of national power from the continental United States (CONUS) or another theater, in response to requirements for military operations. Force projection operations extend from mobilization and deployment of forces to redeployment to CONUS or home . By 1st Lt. Jacob Millican Operations Officer 841st Transportation Battalion |
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