JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. —
The 841st Transportation Battalion is scheduled to upload critical humanitarian relief equipment and supplies onto the Military Sealift Command’s USNS Brittin (T-AKR 305) at the TC Dock located on the Weapons Station, Saturday, Oct. 28, to be delivered to Puerto Rico.
JB Charleston was selected based on its location on the East Coast, equipment and supply staging areas and availability of Department of Defense personnel and facilities. JB Charleston offers the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other interagency organizations the unique capability to ship relief supplies by air and sea transportation means.
"As a result of FEMA issuing a ‘Request for Assistance’ to the DoD, JB Charleston is being used as a multi-modal transportation platform to transport critical lifesaving relief supplies and equipment to Puerto Rico," said Navy Lt. Brenton Breed, 841st Transportation Battalion operations officer. "The 841st Transportation Battalion is receiving this cargo on the JB Charleston Naval Weapons Station in preparation for upload on the USNS Brittin which is a Bob
Hope-class large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ship (LMSR) capable of moving 380,000 square feet of equipment."
This will be the first of up to six scheduled surface ship humanitarian relief deliveries by the Department of Defense funded by FEMA to Puerto Rico. The shipment will include commercial vehicles, stoves, cots, construction and hygiene equipment, 53-foot refrigeration units, and more than 300 generators. The commercial grade generators are capable of supporting hospitals, schools and larger facilities. Additionally, helicopters and other military equipment will be shipped to help distribute equipment in the port and throughout the island with the primary purpose of repairing Puerto Rico’s power grid and restoring electrical power.
The battalion currently has representatives from the Pennsylvania Incident Management Team, US Forestry Service, United States Army Corps of Engineers, FEMA and three reserve Army units supporting this mission.
TC Dock is located on the Cooper River next to the North Charleston commercial sealift terminal and is operated by the 841st Transportation Battalion on behalf of the United States Transportation Command and the Army Surface and Deployment Distribution Command.
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