Photo By Staff Sgt. Jon Soles | U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jerry Evans (left), vessel master and a marine deck...... read more read more
ATLANTIC OCEAN – Every year thousands of Soldiers from around the country take part in Exercise Nationwide Move, an Army Reserve approved functional training exercise designed to provide Reserve Component transportation units with valuable, realistic training, by conducting real-world operations in support of Continental United States (CONUS) activities.
This year the exercise not only provided training on the highways and byways, but Soldiers also took to the seas aboard the Army Vessel Maj. Gen. Robert Smalls (Logistics Support Vessel 8).
The Smalls sailed from its homeport at Curtis Bay, Maryland, May 8 and picked up a load of military vehicles for the 50th Independent Brigade Combat Team, New Jersey Army National Guard. It then delivered the vehicles to Woods Hole, Massachusetts, in support of the 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) exercise Nationwide Move 15. The ship is crewed by the 203rd Transportation Detachment, 359th Transportation Battalion, 310th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary).
Many people do not realize the Army has ships, such as the 318-foot-long Maj. Gen. Robert Smalls, one of only eight LSVs in the Army fleet. The LSV is a specialized ship with ramps on the bow and stern which allow vehicles to be driven directly onto the deck for rapid loading or deployment. The LSV is designed to operate in very shallow waters for landings directly on a coast, providing a tactical advantage for Soldiers on the ground.
The skipper of the Smalls is Chief Warrant Officer 2 Gerald Evans, a marine deck officer assigned to the 203rd Trans. Det. Evans said Nationwide Move is the ideal mission for his ship and its crew, who depend on sea missions to keep up with their training to operate and maintain the vessel.
"Running boats is a perishable skill and that's why we try to get as underway as much as possible," said Evans, a native of Severn, Maryland. "This kind of mission is our bread and butter and we learn how to sharpen our skills by picking up cargo and dropping if off."
After weeks of maintenance, testing and preparation, the Smalls sailed from its port in Curtis Bay, Maryland, for the cargo delivery mission. The ship sailed through the Chesapeake Bay and through the Chesapeake-Delaware Canal until it reached the open ocean just south of Cape May, New Jersey. The ship then turned north and sailed until it reached New York Harbor, going between Staten Island and Long Island for its destination at the mouth of the Hudson River.
It was nearly midnight when the ship eased out of dense fog and up to the dock where an awaiting line of Army vehicles and 50th IBCT Soldiers were waiting. The ship suddenly became a flurry of activity as the stern ramp dropped and Soldiers began driving the vehicles onto the deck. Once onboard, watercraft operators quickly fastened the vehicles down with chains and ratchets. After only a few minutes, the National Guard Soldiers were back on shore and the ship was leaving the dock on its journey north.
The ship sailed up the coast of Long Island and then arrived at Woods Hole, Massachusetts in a narrow bay lined with outcrops of rocks. The ship dropped the bow ramp at the dock and within two minutes of dropping the ramp, every vehicle was onshore and the Soldiers of the Maj. Gen. Robert Smalls were underway and headed back out to sea.
In those few moments, The Soldiers of the 50th IBCT Soldiers met one of their three movement goals for Nationwide Move 15 - to move equipment on land, sea and air.
"The reason we are doing this is because we have never done this before, and we want to master this skill set for the next time," said Staff Sgt. Patrick Hegarty of Flemington, N.J., a transportation coordinator assigned to Headquarters, Headquarters Company, 50th IBCT. "This gave our Soldiers valuable exposure to a new experience and we have learned a lot."
The movement provided the opportunity for the Soldiers to rehearse their speed, efficiency and tactical effectiveness in a real-world transportation mission.
"The idea behind Nationwide Move is that people need to move stuff from point A to point B and it saves the government millions of dollars for us to do it instead of moving stuff commercially," Evans said. "There are a whole lot of steps that go into picking up and dropping off cargo and the best way to learn it is by doing it."
After successfully completing its mission, the Smalls arrived back in Curtis Bay, and moored to the pier with its engines silent. It waits patiently for the time when the Soldiers of the 203rd Trans. Det. will again set sail to demonstrate their value through training and cooperation with the various components of the Army.
| Date Taken: | 05.09.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 05.27.2015 10:42 |
| Story ID: | 164658 |
| Location: | ATLANTIC OCEAN |
| Hometown: | SEVERN, MD, US |
| Web Views: | 430 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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