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The flag whipped in the crisp morning air, as the sun yawned over the horizon, signaling the start of a new duty day. Hundreds of Soldiers stood motionless at the position of attention, moving only to salute as the first notes of the national anthem began echoing across the port.
More than a year ago, Soldiers from the 331st Transportation Company (Causeway), known as “boaties,” served during Operation Neptune Solace. On Sept. 8, 2025, the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary) hosted a patching ceremony recognizing their acts.
The ceremony was the kickoff event for a week-long exercise called Resolute Reforge. During the exercise, the battalion competed across different military occupation specialties to see which Soldiers proved to be the most “multi-capable warfighters.”
The 331st TC(C), or Causeway Company, is a unit within the 7th TB(X) that specializes in amphibious transport and waterway logistics. They move troops, vehicles and supplies across water obstacles using floating causeways, ferries and bridging capabilities.
“We are a very unique organization within the Department of War,” said Army Capt. Mary Cloninger, 331st TC(C) commander. “Essentially, we are the last tactical mile in a JLOTS operation, or Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore.”
The company uses a floating pier system, assembled from modular causeway sections, to get equipment from watercraft vessels onto land.
“Your floating platform, or roll-on/roll-off discharge facility, is meant to go next to a strategic vessel to offload any type of equipment,” said Cloninger. “Then your Army watercraft vessels help ferry that equipment from the RRDF or strategic vessel to the Trident Pier which is that last tactical mile from ship to shore. So we’re that last bridging effort.”
It was exactly that effort the President of the United States needed when he tasked the 7th TB(X) to help deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people of Gaza last year. During Operation Neptune Solace, the 331st TC(C) built and operated the RRDF and Trident Pier to move aid from ships at sea directly onto the Gaza shore; something no other Army unit was capable of doing.
“I would say Gaza put us on the map,” said Sgt. Anthony Colon, a watercraft operator with the 331st TC(C) who was also part of the mission. “It shone the light on Causeway; our capabilities and even some of our vulnerabilities so we could strengthen them. We didn’t know what all we were capable of because what the President was asking of us had never been done. Well, now we do.”
During Resolute Reforge, others in the brigade came to know that as well. Maj. Frankie Shy, 7th TB(X) headquarters company support operations deputy, said the exercise gave Soldiers and leaders an opportunity to compete in a friendly way, displaying knowledge and expertise in their own MOSs while also conducting tasks of their battle buddies in different MOSs.
“It was a modge podge of soldiers doing an array of different tasks or jobs within the 7th TB(X),” Shy said. “It gave everyone an opportunity to understand what their fellow Soldiers to their left and right do on a daily basis, and helped us appreciate what we all bring to the fight and understand that collectively, we make the mission happen.”
As part of the exercise, Shy participated in an event known as “Major’s PT.” This wasn’t any normal physical training session, but was an educational opportunity for Majors and other leaders within the brigade to come out and attempt tasks the 331st TC(C) Soldiers perform every day. The session included tasks such as “zipping” and “unzipping” causeway sections, moving flexors into place to put the platform together, retrieving anchors, operating the boat winch and crawling through the engine void.
“It was an awesome opportunity to educate ourselves on the ins and outs of the processes, and the things the Soldiers have to endure in order to get this Trident Pier operational,” Shy said. “Doing those tasks helped us understand the amount of cohesiveness and teamwork required to accomplish the mission they’ve been asked to do time in and time out. It was very eye opening, I must say.”
The 331st TC(C) Soldiers said the validation from their leaders and the recognition for their efforts in Gaza reinforced their sense of purpose and pride.
“Nobody knew about us and the hard work we put in when we were over there, and at times it was very discouraging,” said Colon. “So, to come back from that and get patched and get the awards and recognition, it really put a smile on a lot of service members’ faces. This pushed us to want to still be here and continue to excel.”
With sunlight spilling gold over the formation, the sky was now as bright as the Soldiers’ smiles. The long overdue debt of gratitude had finally found its home on the right shoulders of the heroes; a patch of primary colors marking them forever as part of the unit that answered the call.
| Date Taken: | 09.30.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.30.2025 16:58 |
| Story ID: | 549759 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 26 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Boaties On The Frontline, by TSgt Cherish Chavez, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
