Photo By Sgt. Mahlet Tesfaye | Sgt. Alberto Peters, Food Service Specialist for Army South, shows Maj. Gen. Joseph P....... read more read more
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FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas - U.S. military forces are heavily dependent on drinkable water during deployments which is very resource intensive and not always cost-effective.
To alleviate this problem, U.S. Army South field tested and trained Soldiers on a self-sustaining mobile water purification and packaging system called Water in a Box here Sept. 8 – 16. This kit can be easily operated and transported during contingency missions.
“A safe and reliable resource of food and water is vital in sustaining any military operation such as humanitarian assistance, peace keeping, training, contingency or combat operations,” said Maj. Richard Ramos, Army South environmental science and engineering officer. “You cannot go very far once you run out of water. This capability purifies and packages water for the military without relying on water supply chains.”
The Water in a Box system is designed to service a smaller unit, company size and below, by producing approximately 2,000 gallons of purified drinking water daily from freshwater, saltwater, or brackish water in a very quick manner and it is smaller, lighter and compact which makes it easier to travel and access.
Sgt. 1st Class Gabriel Bellamy, a water treatment specialist with Army South, said, “This equipment is important for Army South because we have smaller units or contingency elements that deploy to Haiti and other small countries where natural disasters may happen, and this system produces water faster for a smaller amount of Soldiers.”
Dr. Kenneth Byrd, science and technology advisor with Army South, explained, “One of the threats we see in our area of operation is we might not have access to safe water sources or we are in an area where we don’t have approved sources to buy potable bottles of water. [Water in a Box system] will give us the opportunity not to have to rely on those local bottling plants. We also have preventative medicine in the loop to verify the safety of the water that we are packaging in the system.”
“I think it is a strong resource that will enhance or improve our deployment readiness and our capability to respond in the event of a disaster situation anywhere in our area of responsibility,” said Ramos.
The Water in a Box is composed of a filtration system, two onion bags for water storage, a mobile water packaging system, water pumps, generators, and the water quality monitoring set-purification for on-site quality assurance.
Water in a Box can be set up and be operational within a few hours. It packages water into three-liter bags that fit most Soldiers hydration systems, lessening the burden of purchasing and sustaining bottles of water.
“The packaging system is very unique because it prepackages water in a sterile environment and prepares it for Soldiers in a sturdy plastic bag ready to drink,” said Bellamy.
According to Ramos, one of the responsibilities of preventive medicine related to this system is sampling and characterizing the condition of the raw water source before running it through the reverse osmosis water purification unit and then sampling and analyzing the finished product making sure the water is safe to drink or for other mission related uses.
Army South Soldiers went through seven days of training on the Water in a Box system learning how to set up, operate and maintain the equipment in order to be ready for future Army South deployments or operations. The Soldiers also received training on how to ensure the quality of the water is safe for drinking after it goes through the system.
Ramos said he was glad Army South was selected to field this kit and that he was chosen to participate. He added, “Now is an ideal time to receive this capability. Disaster can occur at anytime in Central and South America and this particular training of the core groups of Soldiers is a good start to improving the system and improving our readiness to respond as a task force.”
| Date Taken: | 09.16.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.20.2014 11:25 |
| Story ID: | 145483 |
| Location: | FORT SAM HOUSTON, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 196 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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