JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
The 841st Transportation Battalion joined its higher headquarters, the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command in celebrating its 50-year anniversary Feb. 15, 2015. The motto for the event was, "Continuing to Move the Force for Freedom." Although SDDC can track its lineage back to the Office of the Chief of Transportation in the 1940's and the battalion back to its roots at Joint Base Charleston as far back as 1918, the organization as it exists today became a jointly staffed headquarters and subcomponent of U.S. Transportation Command in 1965.
SDDC is responsible for surface transportation and provides ocean liner and traffic management services to deploy, sustain and redeploy forces around the world. The 841st Transportation Battalion is one of 12 battalions in SDDC that cover the entire planet with surface deployment and transportation expertise. Regardless of where the cargo is leaving from or where it is going, there is an SDDC battalion sending and a battalion receiving. From here at the joint base, the 841st executes its mission for government cargo along the entire Eastern Seaboard of the United States, from Georgia to Maine. It has supported every major contingency since World War I and most recently has been heavily involved with retrograde operations from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. During the last fiscal year, the 841st was responsible for the movement of more than 115,000 pieces of cargo to and from the United States with more than six percent actually coming to Charleston. Most recently, this battalion has received accolades as the recipient of the Major General Harold L. Small Award for SDDC Battalion of the Year and had nine Soldiers and Department of the Army civilians recognized by the Maj. Gen. Susan Davidson, SDDC commander, for their excellence in support of the commands worldwide mission at a banquet at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., celebrating the 50th anniversary of the command.
For 50 years and beyond, the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command and the 841st Transportation Battalion take the organizational motto of "Surface Warriors - Delivering Trust" and the 50th anniversary motto of "Continuing to Move the Force For Freedom" to heart, knowing that at the end of the long journey, the equipment they ship belongs to a Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine who needs their gear to defend America or its allies and nothing less than the best is what they deserve.