Photo By Staff Sgt. Benjamin Green | Army Cargo specialists use these tie-down anchors to secure vehicles and other large...... read more read more
JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. - With clear, blue sky above and the hot afternoon sun shining down on the Vissering Landship Training Facility here, the 390th Seaport Operations Company out of Ceiba, Puerto Rico, is hard at work. The soldiers of the 390th SPOC are conducting their yearly Extended Combat Training exercise to learn new skills and refresh current skills as Army cargo specialists.
The training at the Vissering Landship is unique since it gives soldiers the chance to practice loading and unloading cargo and vehicles from a sea vessel while remaining on land.
The types of training we are doing here is called a Logistics–Over-The-Shore operation, said Sgt. Carlos Garcia, a cargo specialist with the 390th SPOC. Garcia explained that the training involves loading and unloading cargo onto a watercraft, and roll-on and roll-off training for the vehicles being loaded onto a vessel. This is just one of many exercises they will be doing in preparation of the final live exercise, he said.
The 390th SPOC leadership will be busy training their soldiers in all aspects of their job during this training event as cargo specialists.
“We specialize in transporting cargo and personnel in planes, trains and sea vessels,” said Pvt. Richard Paul Lopez, a cargo specialist with the 390th SPOC. With so many aspects in which to train, the 390th SPOC will be working hard to give every soldier the best possible experience. Garcia said they are constantly rotating their training, and they will soon be training on tactical maneuvers while on convoys. With so much to learn and do, soldiers are constantly being challenged, he said.
“So far it’s been great,” Lopez said. “It’s great, because the training never gets repetitive.”
This training exercise gives the Soldiers a chance to work with equipment they don’t have access to back at their home station in Puerto Rico, said Sgt. 1st Class Luis Gonzales, a cargo non-commissioned officer with the 390th SPOC.
At the training site, the 390th SPOC continually emphasizes the importance of safety, especially for the junior-enlisted soldiers. Garcia said that safety is the main priority as well as refresher training. He said the training is important because it goes down to the basic soldier skills, from discipline to situational awareness, and that is why safety is so important.
Along with safety, the need to know the job well and be able to perform is important. Gonzales explains that safety is a big part of this training, but we also have to take advantage of all the knowledge the instructors here have and learn from the experience of all the soldiers.
With so much to brush up on, and the need to train more than 150 Soldiers in land, air and sea cargo loading operations, the 390th SPOC is well on its way to guide all their soldiers to success.
The chance to work with new equipment and being able to utilize the experience of instructors has the 390th SPOC running like a well-oiled machine.
| Date Taken: | 07.30.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 08.01.2013 10:38 |
| Story ID: | 111180 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, VIRGINIA, US |
| Hometown: | CEIBA, PR |
| Web Views: | 286 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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