By Sgt. Maj. Joe Adelizzi
LSA Anaconda Consolidated Press Center
PORT OF SHUWAIKH, Kuwait -- A unit from the 1st Corps Support Command has been keeping track of all XVIII Airborne Corps and 1st COSCOM vehicles and equipment that is loaded and unloaded at the Port Support Activity here.
The 831st Quartermaster Detachment, an Army Reserve unit from Enterprise, Ala. was originally mobilized for a water purification mission when it deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in early 2005.
"When we arrived in Kuwait, we found that our mission had been cancelled, so we looked around and found another," said Capt. Ralph S. Arrington, 831st QM Det. commander.
Arrington said the new mission was to track and account for all vehicles and equipment that deploying and redeploying units transport by ship through the port here.
In order to accomplish this, the Soldiers of the 831st had to be trained to drive a large assortment of wheeled and tracked vehicles, most of which were unfamiliar to them as water purifiers.
"In order to account for everything, we had to be able to move all of the rolling stock that goes on and comes off of these ships, and if we can't drive it, we have to tow it -whatever it takes to get the job done.
Last week we had five ships loading and unloading at the same time, so you can imagine what that must have been like. Sometimes a unit's equipment won't fit on one ship; it might come in on two or even three different ships. We track it and stage it till it's all accounted for, and then let the unit know where to find it," Arrington said.
The unit's soldiers keep up with the activity by working two 12- hour shifts each day, often for long stretches with little or no time off.
"They stay motivated in spite of the work, because that's what they're about. They drop everything that's going on in their lives, put on the uniform and pitch in, whatever the task.
This is a prime example of why our Army is considered the best in the world. It's because young men and women appreciate what we have (our freedoms) and are willing to sacrifice to enable us to remain on top. They're the best," Arrington said.
Arrington spoke of 500 containers of equipment that took two days to load onto a ship and a certain unit whose broken-down equipment took six days to load because it all had to be towed on board as examples of how hard his Soldiers routinely work at the port.
The biggest challenge the unit faced was training for a mission they were not prepared for. Staff Sgt. Larry Thomas, 831st QM Det. operations sergeant, explained what it took for water purifiers to become materiel and transport movers.
"We had to coordinate a lot of driver training in a hurry, as our troops move everything on wheels from Humvees to Heavy Equipment Tactical Transporters, as well as tanks, Bradleys, and other tracked vehicles. We move it all, and they had to learn to drive it all," Thomas said.
Sgt. 1st Class Michael Ivey, 831st QM Det. operations sergeant, was able to sum it all up in just one word, flexibility. "You've got to be flexible; that's all there is to it," Ivey said. "We've got Soldiers from Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Mississippi and Alabama.
Most never knew each other before this, and all are doing what they never expected to be doing, but that's what reservists have to be - flexible," Ivey said.
Each day, the day and evening shifts report to work and count the number of local national drivers and forklift operators who report to work, then 831st QM Det. soldiers fill in until all of the necessary positions are filled.
The remaining Soldiers act as safety monitors to the local national drivers. The work varies as the unit moves materials and vehicles from wash rack to sterile yard to marshalling yard, all the while maintaining unit integrity and port destination.
"You never know where you will be working or what you will be driving, and that's what makes this interesting," Ivey said.
Whether it be purifying water or keeping things moving on the waterfront, the 831st QM Det. has shown by example what citizen -- Soldiers are willing to do to serve this nation as a vital part of an Army of one.
Editor's Note: Sgt. Maj. Adelizzi is a member of the 301st Area Support Group, an Army National Guard unit from Fort Totten, N.Y. and is deployed to Iraq in support of units at LSA Anaconda.
| Date Taken: | 04.06.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 04.06.2005 10:03 |
| Story ID: | 1507 |
| Location: | PORT OF SHUWAIKH, IQ |
| Web Views: | 42 |
| Downloads: | 19 |
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