Port operations set Task Force 34 up for success

Photo By Master Sgt. Lynette Hoke | Cheif Warrent Officer Larry Kamps unwraps UH-60 Black Hawks after they are rolled off the boat. Task Force 34 Soldiers participated in port operations to include: unloading equipment from the ship, aircraft checks and maintenance, maintenance test flights and culminating in the aircrafts being flown to Udari Airfield, Kuwait.  

CAMP BUEHRING, KUWAIT

08.30.2008

Courtesy Story

34th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade

By Sgt. 1st Class Barry Mathwig
34th Combat Aviation Brigade

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait - Months of preparation, planning and coordination were placed into action upon the arrival of the United States Navy Ship Fischer.

The Fischer is an 800-foot-long 'Roll-On,' 'Roll-Off' vessel that carried the aircraft and equipment of the 3-142 Assault Helicopter Battalion and the 2-149 General Aviation Support Battalion. There are two battalions of Task Force 34 deploying as Multi-National Corps-Iraq's Corps level aviation brigade.

Under the TF 34 "One Team, One Fight" motto, an additional battalion of the Task Force participated in the unloading of the vessel in Kuwait. Each battalion provided dedicated personnel to accomplish the various tasks associated with port operations.

The units and their tasks included the 3-142 AHB providing aircraft mechanics and maintenance test pilots to reassemble and test fly their UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.

The 2-149th GSAB provided aircraft mechanics and maintenance test pilots to reassemble and test fly their UH-60 Blackhawk and CH-47 Chinook Helicopters.

The 834th Aviation Support Battalion had tasks in the port operation mission. They developed the concept of the operation and coordinated and provided billeting, transportation, unit movement, and maintenance.

The 834th ASB also unloaded all aircraft from the vessel and provided aircraft maintenance support. They provided shuttle drivers to move personnel to and from the port and also to move flight crews between three different locations: Camp Buehring, Arifjan and the port.

Operational requirements mandated that TF 34 be cleared of the port in five days. History shows that five days to clear the port is sometimes more of a wish than it is a realistic timeline with contributing factors of weather conditions, functionality of the equipment, and any other potential problems.

Working 12 to 18-hour days in temperature approaching 125 degrees, the 180-plus soldiers involved with the port operations were able to set the tone for TF 34's success by clearing the port in four days.

• Date Taken: 08.30.2008
• Date Posted: 09.28.2008 06:12
• Story ID: 24232
• Location: CAMP BUEHRING, KW