PYONGTAEK NAVAL BASE, Republic of Korea -- PYONGTAEK NAVAL BASE, Republic of Korea -- More than 300 Marines from Combat Service Support Detachment 77 assisted with a Maritime Prepositioning Force (MPF) offload of the Military Sealift Command ship MV 1st. Lt. Jack Lummus at Pyongtaek Port, here, March 8 - 9 in support of Freedom Banner/Foal Eagle '04.
According to Lt. Gen. Wallace C. Gregson, commanding general, Marine Forces Pacific, these exercises demonstrate the capability of III Marine Expeditionary Force, and the Republic of Korea's Marines to rapidly form and employ a combined Marine Expeditionary Force in order to conduct combined operations.
The CSSD-77 Marines -- who are from Marine Corps Base Hawaii and Camp Hansen, Okinawa -- worked jointly with Marines from Combat Service Support Detachment 33 (from Iwakuni, Japan) to complete the offload of 406 vehicles and weapons systems in less than 20 hours. The Marines worked in 12-hour shifts, and although exhausted, did not stop working until the offload itself was complete.
"This is one of the largest offloads ever for such a small port," said Staff Sgt. Joseph Kelly, the landing force shore party staff noncommissioned officer with Combat Service Support Group 3. "But our Marines met the mission with full confidence and exceeded all of our expectations. We had expected the offload to take 24 to 36 hours, and they blew us away."
The offload consisted of various types of vehicles and weapons systems such as tanks, highly mobile multi-wheeled vehicles, medium tactical vehicle replacements (7-ton MTVRs), landing assault vehicles, amphibious assault vehicles, trams, logistical vehicle systems and howitzers, among many others. Once offloaded, Marines drove these vehicles in convoys to the disassociation lot located on the 2nd Fleet ROK Naval Base here.
During the disassociation process, Marine representatives from all of the major subordinate commands (such as 3rd Marine Division, 12th Marine Regiment, Force Service Support Group 3 and III MEF) assisted CSSD-77 and CSSD-33 Marines in removing all un-needed stock list (SL-3) gear off the tactical vehicles and equipment.
Because these vehicles and weapons systems are part of the MPF, they are configured for a crisis situation and include all of the components that may be needed. But since the equipment is only being used for training exercises, all of the excess gear must be removed, inventoried, shrink-wrapped and stored for preservation until the end of the exercises.
Once the major subordinate commands sign receipts listing all of the equipment and stored SL-3 gear they receive, the vehicles are moved to the Arrival, Assembly, Operations Element to prepare for travel to the appropriate training areas.
"The AAOE is the launch point for major subordinate commands," said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lyndon T. Snider, officer in charge of the disassociation lot, "and once these exercises are over, these vehicles will come back to my lot for reassociation, and finally regeneration.
"We are going to put it back the same way we received it - war materiel and all," Snider added. "It will be as ready as it was before."