BARBERS POINT AND PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii -- The 599th Transportation Brigade performed another fast turnaround in missions as they worked both Pearl Harbor and Barbers Point Harbor operations July 19 and 21.
The first mission was executed at Pearl Harbor, where U.S. Marine Corps Osprey aircraft were offloaded from the Green Lake on July 19.
Davey Flores, 599th marine cargo specialist, worked the operation.
"We will have five aircraft discharge," Flores said. "Once we offload, we still have a few pieces to upload. Whether we have a big or a small presence, we're responsible and accountable for the overall move. Of course, if someone else is uploading pieces, they are responsible for those pieces, but we're here to make sure everything goes all right."
The move was first delayed because other ships had priority for docking, then after the Green Lake docked and lowered the ramp, the crew discovered that they could not offload the cargo because the wrong fenders were still attached alongside the pier. The ramp was both too far away and too steep of an angle to support the cargo. The ship had to be re-positioned until fenders were set for a cargo vessel.
Sean Murphy, director of commercial operations for Waterman Steamship, flew over to Hawaii from New York to facilitate the move.
"You could see how the ramp was positioned on the pier. It couldn't support cargo at that angle," Murphy said.
"After the offload, the Marines will put their aircraft together and then fly them over to K-Bay," Flores said.
Because of delays, Jimmy Quilon, 599th transportation specialist, had to leave Pearl Harbor before the Green Lake came in to go help with staging at Barbers Point for the next move.
The Ocean Jazz docked Barbers Point Harbor at 8:00 a.m. on July 21.
"It came in on schedule," Quilon said. "The Ocean Jazz was originally scheduled to arrive on the 18th but it was delayed for repairs to the ship."
Quilon said there were no problems with the Barbers Point move.
"The only thing is that Barbers Point doesn't normally work weekends, but the carrier coordinated with the state and port manager for an exception to do this operation."
Quilon said the 524th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion moved cargo to the pier July 19-20.
"I'd like to commend the 524th CSSB for their leadership presence during the move," he said. "A lot of senior leadership showed up for convoy operations. They also shipped a piece of equipment for another unit that they had staged on the pier. It kept it from being frustrated."
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Gregery Bevil, mobility officer for the 25th Sustainment Brigade, has been a mobility warrant for eight years.
"Even though this was a small move, I started working it last fall," Bevil said. "I published the operations order in October. That way they had predictability and could coordinate the move with their requirements."
"This was an extremely smooth move, Bevil said. "A National Guard fuel hauler was left on the pier to move without correct certification. I happened to know the right people to contact to get the paperwork," Bevil said. "Then it was just a matter of getting the certification and loading the equipment so it wouldn't be frustrated."
"Everything went smoothly and safe. Mission complete," said Flores.