Army Reserve harbormasters control and track vessels to prepare for deployment

Photo By Sgt. Jennifer Osborn | U.S. Army Reserve Spc. Anthony Lockey, a signal support systems specialist with the 338th Harbormaster Operations Detachment, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., monitors and maintains equipment during training at Big Logistics-Over-The-Shore, West at Alameda, Calif., Aug. 3, 2015. Big Logistics Over-The-Shore, West is an annual, Army Reserve, multi-echelon functional exercise designed for transportation units and sustainment commands to hone their expertise in Logistics Over-the-Shore operations from July 25 to Aug. 7, 2015. More than 750 Soldiers are participating this year. The exercise has grown into a multi-component exercise involving elements from the Active Component Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Maritime Administration are conducting operations at three Bay-Area California training locations: Camp Parks, Alameda Point, and Military Ocean Terminal-Concord (MOTCO).  

ALAMEDA, CA, UNITED STATES

08.03.2015

Story by Sgt. Jennifer Osborn 

311th Expeditionary Sustainment Command   

ALAMEDA, Calif. – More than 750 Army Reserve Soldiers from all over the country practiced seaport and harbor logistics operations at the Big Logistics-Over-The-Shore, West exercise at Alameda Point, Military Ocean Terminal Concord, and Camp Parks, California, from July 25 to Aug. 7, 2015. The 338th Harbormaster Operations Detachment, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, controls the command system and conducts real-time watercraft and cargo tracking.

Spc. Jonathan Drommerhausen, a watercraft operator with the 338th HMOD, explained there are 17 Soldiers from the 338th HMOD with an additional 12 Soldiers from the 175th Transportation Company (Watercraft Field Maintenance), Tacoma, Washington, who track and communicate with both Army and civilian vessels and prioritize harbor movement. Harbormasters are the eyes and ears of the operations, informing leadership on cargo status and location.

“Harbormaster controls all the ship traffic; we’re the situational awareness of the operation,” said Dromerhausen. “One of our most critical missions is, say we have a natural disaster and it destroys the piers; we come in and work with the team to set up a temporary pier or floating dock, and bring in the supplies they need. For our set up time, we can be minimally operational within four-hours and fully operational within 24-hours.”

The unit uses a variety of equipment to be successful in their mission. Long range radio, secure FM radios, and marine band radios are used to communicate with the ships, other site locations, or anywhere in the world. X-band radar detectors, video cameras and infrared cameras are used to identify, locate and track vessels and maintain security on land.

“When the system is fully operational, if we see a vehicle that we do not recognize or that we want to monitor, we’re able to go into the radar system and track it,” said Dromerhausen.

Spc. Dadryan Felton, a watercraft operator with the 338th HMOD, said the Big Logistics-Over-The-Shore, West exercise is preparing them for deployment.

“We’re capable, proficient and ready,” said Felton.

• Date Taken: 08.03.2015
• Date Posted: 08.11.2015 01:45
• Story ID: 172710
• Location: ALAMEDA, CA, US