Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Kimberly Hill | U.S. Soldiers assigned to the Army Watercraft Company (Provisional) ground guide...... read more read more
Subscribe
CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait - The ground guide waves the driver of a dust covered vehicle backwards impatiently - beads of sweat roll off his face in the 125 Fahrenheit heat.
Despite the heat, soldiers crowd around the ramp. The sight of a vehicle backing onto the ramp isn’t what’s holding their attention. It’s the blue-green waters of the Persian Gulf beneath the dock that are fascinating them.
The driver leans out the window, looks behind his vehicle and presses on the gas pedal. The vehicle rolls back and forth for a few moments before lurching backwards, tires rolling over the wooden beams on the ramp and easing uphill toward the deck of the watercraft, sending a few wooden splinters into the waves of the water below.
After the last vehicle is safely parked on the deck, the drivers walk carefully off the slippery ramp and watch as the loading ramp is drawn up and the watercraft vessel begins to pull away from the shore.
The drivers rest and wait for the second vessel to pull up to the beach so they can begin loading again, making it only the second time the soldiers have driven their vehicles onto the deck of the boat and the first time most of the soldiers have been on an Army watercraft vessel.
Soldiers from the 4th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Division and the Army Watercraft Company (Provisional) participated in a training exercise with support from the 371st Sustainment Brigade and the 135th Expeditionary Sustainment Command July 15, 2013 at Kuwait Naval Base, Kuwait.
The training exercise gave the soldiers practice in logistical coordination and loading and unloading cargo, including more than 35 Army vehicles and supplies onto army watercraft vessels.
The 4th BSB, 4th ID participated in the training event to practice quickly deploying their equipment and soldiers to set up a humanitarian site providing resources and aid to those in need, said Capt. Tim C. Sechrist, the battalion operations officer for the 4th BSB, 4th ID, based out of Fort Carson, Colo.
“We are the foot in the door for the U.S. for humanitarian assistance,” Sechrist said.
Many of the soldiers driving the vehicles on and off the ramps are motor transport operators by trade, and while backing onto a boat might be different than driving through the mountains around Fort Carson, Sechrist said he was confident in the expertise of his soldiers.
“It’s a little different, but they can make it over the mountains of Fort Carson in a heavy equipment transporter hauling engineer equipment,” Sechrist said.
After the cargo and vehicles were loaded on Logistical Support Vessel-6 James Louxe, the watercraft cruised along the coast and the crew went to work manning the vessel and practicing their fire drills, including an abandon ship drill.
The abandon ship drill is one of the many drills that the crews of the watercraft vessel practice, to ensure they are proficient in reacting to any emergency while at sea, explained Sgt. 1st Class Martin Peerson, the senior enlisted personnel on the deck of the LSV-6.
“We want to make sure we have our food, our blankets, our flashlights and our medical kits, everything that’s pertinent for us to get into our life rafts and keep everyone alive and stable during that time afloat,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 John A. Grabowski, the navigation, operations and communications officer for the LSV-6.
The crews of Logistical Support Vessel-5 MG Charles P. Grove and LSV-6 not only got to practice their skills and fire drills, they were also able to give the soldiers of the 4th BSB experience loading and unloading cargo unto Army boats; something many soldiers weren’t even aware the U.S. Army has, said Grabowski.
“We’re opening up our vessel as a training platform, for familiarity so in the event that something did happen, we could do it in an efficient manner,” he said.
The exercise also gave the 371st Sustainment Brigade and the 135th ESC an opportunity to provide logistical and operational support to the training exercise, ensuring it would go smoothly.
As dusk approaches, LSV-6 pulls along the dock and parks.
The day and exercise nearly over, soldiers begin ground guiding the drivers off the deck; the waves gently splash the tires as they pull onto the land and into the parking lot nearby.
The training exercise gave soldiers important practice in quickly deploying their resources to deliver humanitarian relief and also a chance to see the capabilities and importance of Army watercraft vessels, said Staff Sgt. Jennifer Albrecht, the watercraft liaison for the 371st Sustainment Brigade.
“This exercise was a great opportunity to train and familiarize troops with vessel movements and improve time frames for loading and unloading," said Albrecht. “It was a good mission to show the capabilities and importance of the Army Watercraft Company (provisional).”
| Date Taken: | 07.15.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 07.22.2013 03:11 |
| Story ID: | 110574 |
| Location: | CAMP ARIFJAN, KW |
| Web Views: | 382 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Where the land meets the sea: Training exercise brings Army watercraft and 4th BSB together to deliver humanitarian hope, by SFC Kimberly Hill, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT