368th Cargo Transfer Company keeps 13th SC(E) cargo hub the pulse of logistics missions in Iraq

Photo By Master Sgt. Mark Bell | Spc. Noel Beck, 24, from Chicago, Ill., watches his ground guide while driving an M1A1 onto a flatbed truck.  

BALAD, IRAQ

01.27.2002

Story by Sgt. 1st Class Mark Bell 

210th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

LSA ANACONDA, Iraq – At night, it looks like a scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind with its bright lights hovering 30 feet in the air and awkwardly looking mechanical claws reaching down for its seemingly unsuspecting prey.

But everything isn't what it seems. Instead Soldiers and contractors are busy moving large shipping containers, vehicles and other vital supplies onto flat-bed tractor trailers with undisclosed locations to forward operating bases supporting coalition forces in Iraq.

With the paperwork triple checked, electronic tracking tags operating properly and the cargo securely fastened to its awaiting chariot, hundreds of pieces of cargo enter and leave the LSA Anaconda's Central Receiving and Shipping Point, or CRSP, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"The CRSP yard here receives, stages, documents, and coordinates the upload and download of cargo for theater and corps assets," said 2nd Lt. Heather Schmitt, the CRSP yard officer in charge. "It is the central logistical hub for unit equipment, empty containers, and retrograde parts."

Schmitt said the yard facilitates onward movement for cargo moving within the Iraqi theater, as well as cargo being pushed back down to Kuwait.

"The top priority is deployment and redeployment of unit equipment, to include containers and rolling stock," she said. "We are the largest of nine CRSP yards in theater, so we move quite a bit of cargo."

She said the mission of the LSAA CRSP yard is important because it helps control the flow of cargo by maintaining accountability and providing in-transit visibility.

"This central location minimizes the risk of cargo being lost during transit to its final destination," she said.

As combat logistics patrols come and go, the Soldiers and Kellogg, Brown, and Root personnel working at the CRSP always stand ready with a variety of Material Handling Equipment (MHE) to load and unload anything that comes through the yard.

"We are the center point in Iraq for everything coming in and out of this area," said Pfc. Thomas S. Vasquez, 20, from Oklahoma City. "It feels good knowing you are making a difference for other Soldiers and units waiting for their cargo."

• Date Taken: 01.27.2002
• Date Posted: 01.27.2007 02:57
• Story ID: 8957
• Location: BALAD, IQ