JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
The 841st Transportation Battalion here assisted in returning 909 pieces of equipment to the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team’s home station, Fort Carson, Colorado, Feb. 14, 2020.
The equipment included armored vehicles, tanks, containers, and rolling stocks which were offloaded at the JB Charleston Naval Weapons Station from the shipping vessel Green Lake and loaded onto different forms of transportation for final redeployment.
The 3rd ABCT equipment arrived at JB Charleston after a nine-month deployment in Kuwait. The shipment diverted to various ports on the east coast, including JB Charleston, due to congestion at the Port of Beaumont, Texas.
“Our major objective is to ensure that our supported unit’s equipment is safely discharged from the vessel,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Altwan Whitfield, 841st TB commander. “We find the proper mode of transportation so it can go back to its original home station. For this particular unit, their equipment needs to go into what’s called a reset program so it can be utilized again for a different operation.”
U.S. Army Capt. Herman Tisdale, 841st TB executive officer said missions like these happen on a weekly basis at the NWS.
“Our entire mission for us is we operate out of every port from Fort Drum all the way down to Jacksonville Florida,” said Tisdale. “There is no other unit that does this except for us. Even down in Beaumont, Texas, they only operate out of Beaumont, Texas. We operate out of Savannah, Charleston, Philadelphia, Wilmington, North Carolina, and Norfolk, Virginia. So having those strategic ports that we operate out of is a huge advantage, and no one else does that but us on the military side.”
Whitfield stressed the importance of rapid mobility, readiness and how crucial it is to get the job done correctly. Whitfield added that what the 841st TB does day-to-day in supporting the mission ensures units maintain the ability to rapidly deploy personnel and equipment across the globe.