Army engineers complete massive logistical movement

Photo By Adam Holguin | From left to right, a Caterpillar T9 bulldozer, a Caterpillar 621B scraper, and a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck M984 wrecker sit on three different trains loaded and ready for travel via rail from the Fort Bliss rail operations center to the Port of Beaumont, Texas, Oct. 22.  

FORT BLISS, TX, UNITED STATES

11.19.2015

Story by Adam Holguin 

Mobilization and Deployment, DPTMS Fort Bliss

FORT BLISS, Texas - It has been said that the Army operates in chaos, and while that may be true, the Army also operates in meticulous, planned concert. Such was the case when four engineer units completed the loading and movement of well over 400 pieces of heavy machinery from their home states, to Fort Bliss, to port and eventually into theater.

The 116th Engineer Company, Utah Army National Guard, 682nd Engineer Battalion, Minnesota Army National Guard, 1010th Engineer Company, Puerto Rico Army National Guard and the 1194th Engineer Company, Ohio Army National Guard all converged to the Fort Bliss rail operations center Oct. 19 through Oct. 25 to complete the movement of machinery onto railcars in advance of their deployment to the Middle East. The massive coordination effort was the result of thousands of hours of manpower, both in the physical and administrative arenas.

“You’ve got horizontal engineer units, their equipment set is scrapers, dozers, bull dozers, excavators, rollers, all the heavy construction equipment needed to make up enduring infrastructure such as streets, roads, ditches, that type of thing,” said Kevin Williams, deployment specialist, Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security. “This is probably the biggest rail load, the biggest move we have done in seven or eight years.”

The loading process in and of itself is a painstaking endeavor, but before any machinery moves, the administration portion must be completed.

“For the last two and half months we have been talking with (Bliss personnel) arranging our stuff for deployment…it takes a lot of coordination,” said Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Wall, unit movement officer, 116th Eng. Company. “We had to truck our stuff down here, coordinate with the rail to get our equipment to port, and also working with the port to figure out what all is required to get it shipped over to where we are going.”

“It didn’t happen overnight, you know, there is a lot of paperwork, a lot put into it to make sure everything is tracked right, accountability is a huge thing, making sure we 100 percent know were all our stuff is,” Wall said.

Once the administrative paperwork is complete, every piece of machinery is accounted for and spotted before moving onto the train, vehicle identification numbers and railcar numbers must be inventoried and match before movement begins. In such a detail-oriented process, sometimes the tortoise does win the race.

“It takes a strong amount of dedication to the paperwork side of things. As the commander of the operation that is sometimes what you have to do, pump the brakes to make sure the Admin data is taken care of before we get everything moving,” said Capt. Micah Sheldon, unit movement officer, 682nd Eng. Bn. “Sometimes slowing things down just a little bit is best. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast, and I think that is the way we have worked.”

The actual physical undertaking onto the train is a three man job per piece of equipment. A ground guide in front leading the driver/heavy machine operator who is commandeering the equipment, and a ground spotter who is in charge of ensuring the spanners, huge metal planks that bridge the gap between two flatcars, are in place and will hold the machinery/equipment as it moves from one flatcar to the next; a train may be 20 to 30 cars deep.

This continues for days, five 12-hour days for loading all machinery, a combination of Soldiers, contractors and government personnel, and 40 to 50 men total complete the job. At any point one to five pieces of machinery are in motion, each piece accounted for administratively, accounted for physically, and moved with accountability and safety at the forefront of the mission.

“When we were starting the coordination (it) was a huge weight on my shoulders and now it’s just been lifted. It’s been really good to see all the equipment being loaded,” Wall said.

The rewards of this massive job, aside from the pride of seeing it through, are that each unit will be able to utilize their own equipment throughout their deployment and the units have established a comradery and cohesion working with each other.

“I’ve never seen anything like this, it’s pretty impressive to see the logistics that the Army is capable of,” said Sgt. Ben Davis, 682nd Engineer Battalion. “And we are all excited to use our own equipment.”

“I’d just like to thank Fort Bliss for their coordination, with their civilians, with the rail,” Wall said. “It’s a huge deal but it is very satisfying right now to see it finally on its way.”

• Date Taken: 11.19.2015
• Date Posted: 11.24.2015 14:37
• Story ID: 182762
• Location: FORT BLISS, TX, US
• Hometown: SAN JUAN, PR
• Hometown: CHILLICOTHE, OH, US
• Hometown: SPANISH FORK, UT, US
• Hometown: WILLMAR, MN, US