Photo By Staff Sgt. Anderson J. Grant | (Right to left) Outgoing commander Lt. Col Angela Wannamaker, Col. Thomas Vaccaro,...... read more read more
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FORT EUSTIS, Va. - The James River around Port 3 on Fort Eustis has grown calm amidst the shutdown of heavy traffic from Operation Dragon Wave. The 900 series tug carrying the 949th Transportation Company has returned to Baltimore, Md., as the 464th and it’s LCM-8 landing craft, or “mike” boats, navigated the route back to Fort Belvoir, Va. The 302nd Inland Cargo Transfer Company has has been left with no more cargo to load. Operation Dragon Wave 2012 is officially over.
The 359th Transportation Battalion has considered the maritime mission a success, and has now recovered from the two-week annual training of logistics over the shore, or LOTS.
“It met all of my expectations,” 359th Transportation Battalion Commander, Lt. Col. Angela Wannamaker, confessed as she sat behind her recently acquired desk in a remote upstairs corner of the Army Reserve Center. “Many of the soldiers were not familiar with what some of the other companies did. They were glad that they could do cross training with other units.”
The general wartime mission of the battalion is to set up shallow ports where no ports exist, and to often bridge the gap for friendly forces whose vessels are too large to navigate within those ports. Large, ocean-going commercials need more than 30 feet of water to maneuver. However, many of the Army vessels only require around 16. The flat-bottomed vessels like the “mike” boats require even less water.
“They can stop a couple of miles out, and then we’ll come out, get the rest of it, and make that last mile and bring it to the beach,” explained 949th Transportation Company, Detachment 3 Commander Chief Warrant Officer 2 Gerald Evans.
On July 16, the approximately 202 Dragon Wave soldiers began the setup in preparation for a real-life training scenario. On July 19, engines revved high as vessel masters cruised full throttle across the James River carrying diverse cargo loads ranging soldiers to Humvees to five-ton forklifts. The operation phase had begun, and would not shut down until close of business July 24. The action would continue until the 377th Theater Sustainment commander, Maj. Gen. Peter S. Lennon, was satisfied that the value of the training was well worth the long hours, perspiration, and moody weather the 359th endured.
“I wanted to see the training that was going on, not just from the individual soldiers, but also how all of the pieces fit together. It’s an important thing that we are experiencing here for the first time,” Lennon conversed in reference to the uniqueness of the exercise.
At least three factors made this annual training stand out more for the 359th than prior years. The battalion experienced a change of leadership in the middle of the high tempo operations, the decision had been made for the annual training to be home-station, and the implementation of a new technology for the 338 Harbor Master Detachment.
On July 22, operations temporarily shutdown as the 359th held a change of command ceremony on Port 3. Outgoing commander, Lt. Col. Deborah Kotulich, turned over the battalion to Wannamaker. Kotulich’s time as 359th TB commander had come to end, and rumor has it that she is on the books for promotion. “We are not losing a battalion commander. The Army is gaining a colonel and future leader of the United States Army,” Col. Thomas Vaccaro, 165th Quartermaster Group Commander, expressed to the crowd.
“From working with her and seeing how she interacts with the soldiers, she’s hardcore and always looking out for the welfare of the soldiers out there. The mission is always top priority,” claimed cargo specialist Staff Sgt. Michael Keenan. “It’s sad to see her go, but it gives a new light for a new battalion commander to come in and give us new perspectives that maybe the old battalion commander didn’t have.”
The battalion flag was traditionally passed from the outgoing leader to the incoming. Kotulich spoke highly of the battalion as she congratulated Wannamaker. Wannamaker gave a short speech, vowed to keep command policies as they are, and readily assumed her position in front of the formation. Port 3 was consumed with applause and cheer from the crowd of family and friends as cameras flashed to preserve those moments in time.
Wannamaker says many of the lower units did not have a scheduled AT for this year. Kotulich came up with the idea of having a battalion training in order to bring the units together and see how they would manage and support one another. Many of the soldiers have returned from the war on terrorism, as recently as a year ago, but there are still many soldiers who are new to the maritime field. Proper training is paramount.
“What we are doing here is exactly what we did overseas,” said Spc. Gabriel Banks, a cargo specialist and trainer with the 302nd ICTC.
The two lieutenant colonels had discussed details of the mission while in leadership schools and other conversations. Kotulich took on a major role in the planning, and started up the exercise.
“It ended up working out really well because I was able to come on annual training the first week of the operation. So I ended up being able to follow her and observe the unit and observe the training and the personnel. So when I jumped in I was already familiar with the operation,” Wannamaker explained. The elements were in place and functioning. The new commander’s priority was to keep them that way, and ensure the 338th Harbor Master Detachment achieved its goal in the process.
The 338th ran the Harbor Master Command and Control Center, or HMCCC, during the exercise. Wannamaker calls it the “on-stop shop” for Army communications and navigation equipment. Much of the equipment utilized by the 338th for this operation is a new battle-command system technology. And for over a month, the 338th commander, Warrant Officer 1 Richard Whittington and his troops have been training to become certified on it.
“We are basically the communications element that’s necessary to coordinate, execute, and make things happen, expressed Whittington. He considers the 338th as not the land piece or boat piece, but the intermediary that passes information along. And how they can now receive and pass that information is the critical point.
The new technology is comprised of a system that uses radar to provide live-feed images and video, night vision, and pick up infrared heat. The system is designed to track locations of units and vessels, as well as communication amongst the higher and lower echelons of the military. All of this is projected live and on screen within the HMCCC, with distance not being of any issue.
“This HMCCC is the first of its kind being fielded to Army reserve and active duty units,” according to Wannamaker. The 338th is only the fourth unit to ever acquire and train on it. Not only are they validating for the command and control center, they are putting the value and capability of this expensive technology to the test for others. Part of General Lennon’s visit was to see how his own command could utilize the asset.
“What they are able to do as far as managing the choreography that goes on as the vessels come in, and the tracking of the cargo download and upload that is going on here is absolutely huge,” Lennon said. “It’s a new technology on top of old processes.”
The Coast Guard's Response Chief of the Hampton Roads Sector, Commander Michael M. Balding was also invited to experience the HMCCC. Lt. Col. Wannamaker would like to build bridges and make use of joint force team building era the military is transitioning to.
For now, many of the warriors have gone back to their regular lives as normal citizens. Operation Dragon Wave maybe over, but the knowledge instilled within those warrior-citizens will last a lifetime and become very useful when duty calls.
| Date Taken: | 07.29.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 07.29.2012 19:01 |
| Story ID: | 92326 |
| Location: | FORT EUSTIS, VA, US |
| Hometown: | ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, MD, US |
| Hometown: | CURTIS BAY, BALTIMORE, MD, US |
| Hometown: | KENBRIDGE, VA, US |
| Hometown: | NORFOLK, VA, US |
| Hometown: | WASHINGTON, DC, US |
| Web Views: | 1,046 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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