BUSAN, South Korea -- Members of the 517th Movement Control Team, 25th Transportation Battalion, 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command supported port clearance operations for the Green Lake vessel at Pier 8, Busan, Feb. 3-8. They successfully demonstrated their capability of providing transportation support while utilizing commercial ground assets.
Almost 200 pieces of 1-6 Heavy Attack Reconnaissance Squadron and 576th Clearance Company equipment, including vehicles and containers, were unloaded from the Green Lake vessel by Korean National employees, Feb. 3.
Five Soldiers from the 517th MCT then worked in conjunction with the 837th Surface Deployment and Distribution Command Transportation Battalion to stage the equipment for an upload onto commercial ground assets and to inspect equipment accountability for the onward movement to its final destination, Camp Humphreys, in support of Task Force Ready Rotation 2017.
"As things were unloaded from the vessel, 517th MCT soldiers wrote down the Transportation Control Numbers, called the receiving MCT, and made sure everything was going to their proper destination," said 2nd Lt. Karl Gross, transportation officer, 517th MCT, 25th TRANS BN, 19th ESC. "We produced both inbound and outbound reports, and just in this month, we successfully oversaw transportation of almost 400 pieces of equipment. Yearly, we produce roughly 2500 pieces shipping and moving," added Gross.
Nearly 100 trucks were incorporated to transport all of the equipment over three days. About 80 pieces were secured to the commercial transportation assets and transported, Feb. 6, and close to 30 pieces were moved the next day. The rest of the pieces were moved out of Pier 8, Feb. 8.
Strategically, this kind of operation is important because the 19th ESC equipment is shipped across the Peninsula and the operation enables future planning for the commanders and their equipment, according to Gross.
"Without the equipment, rotational units will not be able to function properly and carry out their missions on the Peninsula, so it is 517th MCT's mission to assist them to complete their missions by ensuring the shipping and moving of their equipment," explained Sgt. Darnell A. Boyd, transportation management coordinator, 517th MCT.
The 19th ESC will now utilize the newly acquired lessons learned from this operation to better execute vessel stow plans and improve its transportation support ability for similar operations in the future.