Photo By Sgt. David Turner | Spc. Ryan Poling, of Elkins, W.Va., and a water purification specialist with the 326th...... read more read more
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NORTH CHESTERFIELD, Va. – Army Reserve Soldiers operating amphibious watercraft are bringing a unique set of skills and abilities to the Quartermaster Liquid Logistics Exercise in Virginia, June 7-21.
Members of the 464th Transportation Company, based in Fort Belvoir, Va., are using their Landing Craft Mechanized (LCM) boats to assist Reserve water purification Soldiers in training to rapidly deploy and operate their equipment in austere environments. The exercise simulates how Reserve Soldiers can work together with other military branches and components to respond to a natural disaster.
“I think this is new,” said Sgt. 1st Class Michael Albertson, a platoon leader with the 326th Quartermaster Company, based in Newcastle, Pa., whose unit teamed with the 464th for the exercise.
Typically, water purification units operate in tactical vehicles, training to assist in combat missions on land. But as part of QLLEX 2014, they are training to rapidly deploy and provide clean, safe water for disaster victims, in severe conditions.
“The Army is looking into it, so that we can actually help out more of our fellow citizens,” said Albertson. The National Guard and active components normally carry out homeland missions, but as with their participation in Superstorm Sandy relief in 2012, Army Reserve units are exploring how they can answer the call when disaster strikes at home.
It’s the kind of mission that units like the 326th are uniquely qualified for, said Albertson. Their Lightweight Water Purifier (LWP) can easily be loaded onto the boat, operate in shallow inland waterways, and produce up to 125 gallons per hour of drinkable water.
Soldiers operating these units can purify fresh or salt water, even water containing nuclear, biological and radiological contaminants, said Albertson.
“If there was a disaster in this area, and you had these boats, you would be able to deploy them and help out the locals,” he said. “We can test it, say it’s potable, then the consumer can drink it.”
On June 11, members of the 464th headed out from their detachment’s pier at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, in Hampton Roads, Va., and linked up with members of the 326th at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., where they loaded the LWP onto their craft and transported it back to Fort Story. There the next day, members of the 326th set up a water distribution system, filling a reservoir with water purified from salt water, drawn and processed on the boat.
The next day, the team brought their boat up the James River and into the narrower, shallower Appomattox River, to a training site belonging to the Army Quartermaster Scholl in Fort Lee, Va. With the LCM’s flat hull drawing just four feet of water, it’s the kind of mission they are uniquely suited for. There, they quickly set up and Soldiers of the 326th were purifying water within hours, while instructors and students of the Quartermaster School observed.
It’s a different kind of mission than they are used to, said Sgt. Christopher Mortorff, of the 464th and captain of the LCM 8558.
Annual training missions for his unit normally involve moving cargo in joint logistics exercises.
“It is a change of pace,” said Mortorff, but one that members of his unit are well adapted for.
“Part of our unit’s charter is to be involved in rescue missions,” he said.
Previous training missions have involved working with other branches of the Department of Defense, federal agencies and local emergency responders. Working with water purification units, he said, was just another way of integrating their equipment and skills as part of a larger mission.
“You never know what you’re going to get on a boat sometimes,” he said.
This mission is the first time Army watercraft have participated in QLLEX, a nationwide, multi-service and multi-component exercise that trains Reserve Soldiers in handling fuel and water assets.
“It’s a different type of training mindset,” explained Sgt. Maj. Quentin Harper, the operations sergeant major for the 475th Quartermaster Group, Farrell, Pa., which oversees the exercise.
Harper said that integrating new players and training scenarios into QLLEX has been a big focus of this year’s exercise.
“When you bring everything together, all the forces together, all the equipment, it makes it into a bigger and better exercise for everyone,” said Harper.
Capt. Mike Appleby, commander of the 464th, was especially enthusiastic at seeing his Soldiers perform such a different kind of mission.
“Using my boats as a platform to move water purification operators around is a great opportunity,” said Appleby.
“It keeps my Soldiers engaged, it keeps them relevant, it keeps them in the field, sailing, which is what they like to do,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 06.12.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 06.14.2014 12:13 |
| Story ID: | 133119 |
| Location: | NORTH CHESTERFIELD, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 540 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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