KUWAIT 09.11.2020 –
The Army uses a myriad of heavy equipment and machinery. This ranges from trailers to tanks. One may wonder how this massive equipment finds its way to the battlefield.
Soldiers from the 1184th Deployment and Distribution Support Battalion (DDSB), based in Mobile, Ala., are responsible for the movement of over 400 pieces of equipment from several different units on this past shipment at the Port of Shuiaba, Kuwait.
The DDSB plays an essential role for the Army by relocating equipment which units rely on to carry out their missions. Transporting the equipment is also a large part of the redeployment process when units leave theater.
“For commercial bookings, four hundred pieces is a small to average load,” said Capt. Cherie Gough, the Chief Operations Officer for the 1184th DDSB. “We’re able to move thousands upon thousands of pieces on one vessel.”
“Army Prepositioned Stock Five (APS5) is our big move for this vessel,” said Gough. Army Prepositioned Stock is part of the Army’s ongoing relocation plan.
APS5 and the 401st Field Support Brigade had over 300 pieces combined on the vessel. That total includes 100 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All-Terrain Vehicles (M-ATVs), retrograde, and an armored brigade combat team’s (ABCT) cargo.
“We are relocating one-third of an ABCT on this vessel,” said Gough. We are currently in the process of relocating an entire armored brigade combat team back to the United States and Europe. We have completed most of it already."
“The 47th Heavy Cargo Transit Company had about 90 pieces on the vessel, and the 4th-133rd Field Artillery only had around 30 pieces on the vessel,” said Gough.
After 15 hours of labor in high humidity throughout the night and morning, Soldiers and contractors were able to get the vessel loaded and ready to move out.
“My favorite thing about this job is all the interactions with different entities and learning about all the different aspects of transportation,’’ said Gough. “It’s interesting to see how everything works together."