Service members are better prepared for natural disaster after JLOTS exercise

Photo By Staff Sgt. Adeline Witherspoon | Marine Lt. Col. Christopher Collins, Expeditionary Strike Group 3, participates in a Coast Guard patrol in the Port of Tacoma, Wash., June 13. The patrol was part of Joint Logistics Over the Shore training during which forces from the Department of Defense and government agencies worked together to deliver humanitarian aid in the event of a natural disaster. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Adeline Witherspoon, 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)  

TACOMA, WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES

06.17.2016

Story by Spc. Adeline Witherspoon      

5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment   

TACOMA, Wash.- Imagine that a large-scale earthquake occurred along the Cascadia fault line in the Pacific Northwest. Roads go down. Logistical needs can’t be met. People begin to panic. Responders need to be ready. They need to be trained.
Soldiers assigned to 11th Transportation Battalion, 7th Transportation Brigade with the Washington National Guard, Army Reserve, Navy and Coast Guard wrapped up the Joint Logistics Over the Shore exercise in Tacoma, Wash., June 17.
The exercise is intended to establish port operations on a bare beach in order to supply humanitarian aid to neighboring communities in the event that the Port of Tacoma is damaged beyond immediate repair. In response to a natural disaster, vessels used during JLOTS could be deployed in order to temporarily establish facilities at Jenson Point on Vashon Island, Wash.
“What we’ve done is integrated an active component crew and a reserve component crew to staff the vessels so the vessels can support JLOTS,” said Brig. Gen. Kurt A. Hardin, deputy commanding general for the 79th Sustainment and Support Command. “We’re a force provider. We’re trying to get in through compromised transportation corridors and ground transportation corridors, both of which are usually severely damaged.”
The success of the mission depends largely on the cooperation between multiple military branches.
“The response could come from anywhere within the department of defense,” said Canadian Brig. Gen. Simon Hetherington, the deputy commanding general of the 18th Airborne Corps. “It could come from the Air Force, the Navy, the Marines, the Coast Guard, or in our case the Army, so we’ve got to be able to practice.”
Since the exercise involves so many moving parts, it is essential that each branch is familiar with the part they will play within the operation.
“It’s giving our folks in 7th Transportation Brigade an opportunity to work with their counterparts in the Navy and the Air Force and to be prepared for any eventuality,” said Hetherington. “We need to know how to work together and what capabilities compliment each other, and you can’t do that unless you practice.”
Coast Guard forces participated in the exercise to ensure safety from ship to shore.
“Our team takes care of water-side and shore-side security to make sure nothing gets damaged and to make sure the vessels can get to and from the port safely,” said Coast Guard Cmdr. Brian Dudley, the commanding officer of Port Security 311. “It’s not my first time working with my Department of Defense counterparts, and every time you learn something new, so when the flag does go up, we’ll be able to respond.”
Thanks to cooperation shown during the exercise, service members are better able to provide logistics support in the event of a natural disaster.
“We’re not typically known for being sailors in the Army, but we are,” said Sgt. Maj. Quillar Ransom, the command sergeant major of the 7th Trans. Bde. “This brigade provides a very unique capability by coming off the water and on to the shore. My units provide the watercraft and some of the hardest working Soldiers in the Army.”

• Date Taken: 06.17.2016
• Date Posted: 06.17.2016 16:05
• Story ID: 201607
• Location: TACOMA, WASHINGTON, US