Photo By Lt. Col. Earle Bluff | The operator of the RTCH carefully loaded a container on our mike boat, after the...... read more read more
FORT EUSTIS, Va. - The Landing Craft Mechanized, (LCM), readied to push off from shore to its destination. The “skipper,” actually a coxswain (pronounced Kawck sin), maintained the wheelhouse.
Staff Sgt. John Hartigan, of the 464th Transportation Company (TC), Fort Belvoir, Va., has worked with LCMs or “mike” boats since 1996.
He smoothly operated the boat to its destination. Overall, the 1189th Transportation Brigade of the Deployment Support Command, controlled the Seaport Operations Company (SPOC) Exercise 14-1, held in the first three weeks of December 2013 at Fort Eustis, Va.
Hartigan and crew from the 464th TC, were among several who refreshed their skills, showed dedication, and enjoyed their work toward mission success, while attached to the 1189th for SPOC.
SPOC tests the abilities of the participants to discharge cargoes, inspect the moving pieces and the material moved, and also to maintain storage of materials and equipment. Then the soldiers follow established criteria to safely upload the cargo, and ensure that it moves from the port to its next destination. Overall transport could include, airlift, landhaul, or, in this case, sealift.
The S3 of the 1189th Tactical Operations Center (TOC), Maj. Oscar Torres, Kissimmee, Fla., gave the bigger picture.
He has to lead his crew – but he has more moving parts to consider, such as landhaul, airlift and sea.
“This is the best experience as a S3, you have to come over here, and practice and learn your skills, to supervise, planning, and teamwork with your staff. … Nothing else can be compared to doing it for real, doing it in a real TOC, real missions,” Torres said.
As he worked with his crew, keeping it all together, the crew of the LCM did the same. The skills in SPOC were used in Kuwait, working in conjunction with land and air elements to get materials to the fronts in Iraq and now Afghanistan,.
Leaving from “FOB Apache” (originally the Third Port of Joint Base Langley Eustis [or JBLE]), boat maintenance is key in preparation for shoving off into the water.
The coxswain controls the boat, ensuring its readiness.
Hartigan said, “You have to make sure your equipment is working properly, have the proper equipment, train the people, have the people ready to go do the mission.”
The safety of the crew and vessel is paramount for any mission.
Hartigan continues, “Most of the last week was spent preparing to see if we were ready for the mission.”
However, there is more involvement to go down to the sea.
He adds, “There has been months of planning to do this with our battalion and with our unit.”
His vessel is only one of three LCMs working the SPOC.
The crew works as a well trained team. Coxswain, deckhands, and operators operate the boat, load the cargo, and work on deck. They work hand-in-hand with the engineers, who maintain the engines, and ensure they keep operating at peak efficiency.
The flat-bottomed vessel normally is for short hauls of a little less than 200 nautical miles, so there are no living quarters.
The ships, home-ported at Little Creek Amphibious Base, Va., traveled nearly 50 miles from there to JBLE in rough December seas.
Pfc. MarcAnthony Badua, Fort Washington, M.D., a deckhand, mentioned the wavy seas when their crews left for the five-hour trip to JBLE, “… we had to sail the boats down here to Fort Eustis, Virginia, to Third Port. The weather was really bad; it was really rainy, the waves were really pounding us hard, the boat would be like side to side. I got really seasick. It was just really cold. I had to wear one of these cold-weather suits that we keep down there in one of the compartments.”
During the trip, he had to stay outside to guide the boat.
In contrast, sailing this day was smooth on the open waters, that presented as a clear blue sheet of glass, rippling when the vessel glided through it. The vessel passed a buoy that numerous birds used as a place to congregate and probably rest.
As the seas were not smooth on the trip down, there have been other challenges.
The senior engineman, Spc. Jonathan Reinhart, a college student, earns his living through the Internet, and is a caregiver for a family member.
He recalls other training where the crew had to put their skills to the test, “One SPOC training, we started to take on water in the engine room, and we had to hit the beach, to do an emergency hit the beach. And we had to start scooping water up to find out where it was coming from. Turns out it was coming from one of the pipes overhead and it was leaking. And it was quite a scary time.”
The vessel was the same one we traveled on, obviously now returned to excellent running condition.
After about 45 minutes, we reached our destination on another area of beach at Eustis.
Closer to the beach there was minor turbulence from the water. Rough Terrain Cargo Haulers (RTCHs, pronounced “wretches”) waited to pick up and deposit a container on our deck.
The coxswain pushed the front of his mike boat onto the beach, and the deckhands and engineer guided the boat to a safe area on shore, where they secured it. Once there, the coxswain dropped the ramp, and the RTCH operator acted.
With his safety guides, the RTCH operator picked up a 40 foot container, and lifted this huge package from its stack. He carefully deposited the container on the deck, with the boat’s crew guiding the process. Teamwork is apparent as the three crew members on the deck run to their stations and use various hand signals to communicate with the coxswain for a safe arrival.
Reinhart monitors the engine constantly.
“I run a tight ship. I try to keep everything clean, everything organized. So, if the vessel does break down or anything, it’s done. I can fix it right away,” Reinhart said.
Teamwork and experience plays a major role in keeping all of the vessels running.
“My biggest challenge is having to assist my other soldiers fixing their vessels when they’re not experienced enough to fix their deficiencies themselves,” Reinhart said.
According to the engineer, this vessel was built in 1968. It is kept in top condition by engineers like Reinhart and deckhands like Badua and Buchanan. SPOC is a time for these dedicated soldiers to not only learn, but apply that training.
Reinhart says, “We do SPOC training twice a year. Different crews all the time, we have the winter and summer SPOC training. And the coordination and the mission is all the same: delivering cargo, assisting other units on training them on how to use their equipment for seaborne operations.”
The RTCH operators get their training also, working in seaborne operations.
Hartigan recognized the proficiency of the ground crew, working with his sea crew, “Working with the guys running the vehicles and loading the cranes, containers, they’ve been very professional, doing a very good job, I think they have some people learning some skills too, that they haven’t done before. This is always a challenge for us when tides are messing around, and we don’t get out here and do it every day.”
As part of the training, after the container was settled on deck, secured, and inspected, the process went in reverse. Tiedowns were released, the RTCH carefully locked into the holds on the container and pulled it off the deck, and safely backed onto the beach with its cargo.
The ramp on the mike boat was raised. The deck crew secured the ramp, inspected the boat for return to the deep water, and the coxswain carefully backed the vessel out of there. We turned around, and returned to FOB Apache.
Hartigan, licensed to operate boats for about 13 years, also works as a facilities coordinator for a shipyard. He knows the training necessary for a crew to work as a team, and praised his crew often.
“I’ve got a good crew. They’ve been taking care of things; dedicated to getting the work done, doing a very good job. Trying to make sure we get the training done properly, so that later on, when the younger people become the actual leaders, they’ll know what to do as well," Hartigan said.
As with any leader, he looks to the future, and realizes the need to be prepared for future water operations. As this portion of SPOC completed their mission, the sky started to darken, and the temperature cooled.
Another portion of the operation commanded by the 1189th Transportation Brigade finished with a good training experience, and prepared the soldiers in the different facets of their skills.
| Date Taken: | 12.16.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 01.22.2014 18:05 |
| Story ID: | 119495 |
| Location: | FORT EUSTIS, VA, US |
| Hometown: | FORT BELVOIR, VA, US |
| Hometown: | FORT EUSTIS, VA, US |
| Hometown: | FORT WASHINGTON, MD, US |
| Hometown: | KISSIMMEE, FL, US |
| Hometown: | NAVAL AMPHIBIOUS BASE LITTLE CREEK, VA, US |
| Hometown: | NEWPORT NEWS, VA, US |
| Hometown: | NORFOLK, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 196 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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