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Justin Strickler and August Johnson from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center's (ERDC) Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory and Ashley Genna from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) discuss the Pier Over-Decking System (PODS) and Rapidly Available Interface for trans-Loading (RAIL) system during a November 18, 2025 episode of the Power of ERDC podcast. Strickler is ERDC's lead technical director for the Military Engineering Research and Development Area, Johnson is a research mechanical engineer, and Genna is a project engineer with the bridging team at GVSC. PODS and RAIL is a versatile and transportable ramp system developed by ERDC and GVSC that can be used for many purposes, including to restore a damaged pier, support the unloading of armored vehicles from trains, and enable gap crossings. Topics discussed include how the system began and how it has evolved (1:52), how its versatility is meeting a need for the Warfighter (5:01) and the collaboration between ERDC and GVSC (9:39). They also talk about the system’s use as a vehicle-launched bridge (24:13) and a foundation for Arctic infrastructure (16:30), as well as its recent deployment to the United States Indo-Pacific Command (21:28). The Power of ERDC podcast is a behind-the-scenes look at ERDC’s involvement in solving some of the nation’s toughest engineering challenges.
| Date Taken: | 11.18.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 12.03.2025 15:56 |
| Category: | Newscasts |
| Audio ID: | 89078 |
| Filename: | 2511/DOD_111386570.mp3 |
| Length: | 00:31:18 |
| Artist | U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center |
| Year | 2025 |
| Location: | VICKSBURG, US |
| Web Views: | 2 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
| High-Res. Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Power of ERDC podcast Ep. #33: PODS and RAIL: Versatile ramp system aids expedient deployment of military equipment, by Christopher Kieffer, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
