Courtesy Photo | A DLA Distribution rough terrain cargo handler is unloaded from a C-17 Globemaster III...... read more read more
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MIDDLETOWN, Pa. - A cargo handler capable of operating on rough terrain, beaches and unimproved surfaces is moving materials in Liberia to support the U.S. effort to contain Ebola in West Africa thanks to the efforts of Defense Logistics Agency Distribution.
The rough terrain cargo handler is used to handle standard shipping containers – the backbone of military logistics – and will be used to unload humanitarian assistance and military items for personnel supporting Operation United Assistance, the Defense Department operation supporting the U.S. Agency for International Development-led effort.
The RTCH required a highly-specialized transportation move from its home with the DLA Distribution Expeditionary Team in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, to Liberia because of its size and weight. Working with DLA Distribution Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, and the Air Force’s 193rd Special Operations Wing and 445th Airlift Wing, DLA Distribution arranged the transportation in less than one week.
“Once airlift was assigned to us, we had a fairly short timeframe to move the RTCH to the airport. Transportation specialists with DLA Distribution Susquehanna quickly coordinated the highway movement and contracted specialized equipment capable of transporting the 120,000-pound RTCH. The whole DLA team diligently worked to ship this massive and challenging piece of equipment,” said John Heikkinen, the DLA Distribution planning and operations specialist who orchestrated the move. “Having rough terrain container handling capability in theater will allow DLA Distribution to position sustainment and humanitarian relief material – even in austere locations – to quickly meet AFRICOM requirements.”
Members of the expeditionary team loaded the RTCH on an oversized tractor-trailer in New Cumberland. The truck required precise load balancing before it could begin its journey to the Air Force 193rd Special Operations Wing in Middletown, Pennsylvania.
Once at the airport, the worked with the 193rd Special Operations Wing and the 445th Airlift Wing to load the RTCH on a C-17 Globemaster III. The RTCH is unique in that it was specially designed to be transportable by air. The expeditionary team prepared the RTCH for air transport and provided customized shoring and bracing to ensure its safe arrival.
A member of the DLA Distribution Expeditionary Team, Chris Early, drove the RTCH onto the aircraft, then traveled with the RTCH and the 445th Airlift Wing to Liberia. Early offloaded the RTCH on site, and will stay with the DLA team in Liberia as the RTCH driver.
DLA Distribution has acquired four more of the handlers that were transported to West Africa aboard the MV Vega, a DLA-contracted ship. Three were offloaded in Buchanan, Liberia, and one is destined for Senegal.
“The RTCH is a key component of DLA Distribution’s early entry distribution capability, and the expeditionary team is proud to have provided this capability to the theater in such a short time frame,” Heikkinen said. “Supporting Operation United Assistance remains our top priority, and we will do whatever it takes to help support our team on the ground in Africa.”
| Date Taken: | 10.16.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 11.03.2014 11:54 |
| Story ID: | 146848 |
| Location: | MIDDLETOWN, PA, US |
| Web Views: | 157 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, DLA Distribution supplies cargo handler for Operation United Assistance, by Jessica Roman, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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