FORT EUSTIS, Va. (USTCNS) --- Maj. Edward Casazza claims he once heard a customer say: "Some units wonder what happened, some wonder how to make it happen, the 1179th makes it happen." Sgt. 1st Class Harvey Warshawsky nodded in agreement. Hype?

"Absolutely not, the Army Reserve's 1179th Deployment Support Brigade knows its role very well," said customer Rita Johansen, unit movement coordinator for Fort Stewart, Ga., and nearby Wright and Hunter Army Airfields.

"They send us expert quality control deployment support teams to assist deploying warfighters turn confusion into properly labeled, documented, and packed containers, equipment, and vehicles," Johansen explained.

The 1179th, headquartered at Fort Hamilton, N.Y., recently dispatched a nine-member team to assist the nearly 2,000 Fort Stewart soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division get ready for their upcoming deployment to Bosnia as part of the next round of stabilization force rotations.

Many of that same 2,000-strong force had just returned from a grueling National Training Center rotation at Fort Polk, La. The 95-plus degree heat, humidity, and fatigue from that training had clearly taken a toll on the soldiers; they were understandably weary at the thought of again packing up all their equipment and vehicles so soon for an even lengthier endeavor.

Approximately 400 containers and wheeled vehicles were packed and made ready for shipment by the Fort Stewart soldiers--a full plate for the 1179th's team to check--for proper packing, documentation, and measurement.

On top of this was the relatively short suspense in which all the containers and equipment had to be at the Port of Savannah, Ga., where the Deployment Support Command's 841st Transportation Battalion from Charleston, S.C., was waiting to load the ship.

"Our mission is to help move units to the port safely and quickly with no frustrated cargo when they get there," said Casazza, one of the team's senior leaders.

'Frustrated' is the term used to describe cargo or equipment that cannot be loaded aboard ship because it has been found to be packed incorrectly, have conflicting or missing documentation, or have some other problem that must first be corrected.

"Even minor labeling errors and safety violations can cause containers and cargo to be frustrated for hours while explanations and time consuming corrections are made-we can help them ensure that does not happen," added Maj. John Spagnoli, another senior team member.

According to Spagnoli, their relationship of trust with the movement officers and transportation staff at Fort Stewart began eight years ago. "The fact that we save them time and money has cemented our mutual cooperation and good working relationship," he said.

Spagnoli was quick to add that other units are now realizing what the Fort Stewart transportation office already knows-deployment support teams are critical in deployments.

"A couple years ago, a battalion deployed without requesting deployment support team assistance," said Spagnoli. "They loaded up equipment and vehicles on slightly more than 200 railcars that were bound for the port."

According to Spagnoli, his unit happened to be available to assist them when they were later loading up to return. "We managed to get that same equipment and cargo loaded on exactly 87 rail cars less than their original shipment," said Spagnoli. "Their commander was amazed at the savings and vowed never to leave home without us again."

"That was not an isolated case. Another large deployment required three ships to carry all the cargo," Spagnoli said. "The staging area for the first shipload contained more than 800 pieces of equipment and containers that had first been checked by deployment support teams. At the port, there were only five pieces of cargo that had problems.

"The third shipload, also assisted by a deployment support team had a similarly minuscule amount of frustrated cargo. The second shipload was another matter. Because a deployment support team had not been requested, 60 percent of that cargo was frustrated and the ship had to remain in port one additional day at tremendous cost to sort out all the issues," he explained.

This type of work-and tangible savings-is far from new for the 1179th. Sgt. 1st Class Tino Collura explained that his training goes all the way back to the REFORGERs (Return of Forces to Germany exercises) of the 1970s, and many other exercise as well.

"In the 1980s during Task Force Rushmore-part of the Fuertes Caminos nation building exercises in Panama-our five-member team received commendation medals for saving $250,000 on the redeployment of the South Dakota National Guard," said Collura.

Efficient cargo transfer from the fort to the port with few if any frustrated containers or equipment does not come without hard work and sacrifice.

Temperatures soared past 95 degrees under the Southern sky's unrelenting sun.

The 1179th soldiers spent more than four sweltering days from sun up to sun down climbing on and over containers and vehicles located in shadeless motor pools. Not one of the deployment support team ended the day without being exhausted and soaked in sweat.

Every container had to be checked first to make sure it was packed properly to minimize shifting on rough seas, and then for proper documentation to preclude frustration at the port.

Then, each container or vehicle was measured and checked against the inventory to ensure that proper dimensions were given to those who create the stow plan for the ship. The team found that more than a fourth of the containers, equipment, and vehicles were deficient in some way and had to be corrected.

Citing the importance of accurate measurements, Sgt. 1st Class Harvey Warshawsky said, "No one worries about the exact sizes until its time to load, then it's too late. Expensive and crucial space becomes wasted."

"If measurements for vehicles, which are supposed to fit tightly side-by-side across the ship, are off by only a foot too big, then for every ten vehicles another one could have been sandwiched in," explained Warshawsky.

"Worse yet, if the vehicles or containers are actually larger than the measurements given to the stow planners, there will be more vehicles than space to put them. As these vehicles displace other cargo, it could seriously alter the load plan and result in critical equipment being left behind," Warshawsky added.

The heat at nearby Wright Army Airfield was almost unbearable as the team's last day neared. A convoy of 140 vehicles was lined up on the runway tarmac. Each vehicle was being checked and measured by the 1179th soldiers.

Because the flight line was active, the soldiers were ordered not to wear headgear since lightweight items like caps or hardhats could easily get sucked into an aircraft engine.

The sweat was pouring off the unprotected foreheads of the Fort Stewart and 1179th soldiers under the fierce August sun, yet no one complained. The concept of 'One team-One fight' was alive and well this day. Of the 140 vehicles, the team found 20 that had problems with documentation-20 that would have otherwise been frustrated at the port.

"They are an irreplaceable asset that is often taken for granted by other units who try to go it alone at their own peril," Johansen said. "They have saved us inestimable time and expense by all but eliminating delays at the port-in a rapid response contingency, there is absolutely no question their participation could be responsible for the success of the mission," she added.

Maj. Tim Whalen, the extremely busy 3rd Infantry Division Headquarters Division transportation officer in charge of the equipment move, was equally sure of the deployment support team's vital role in this current mission. "What's their value added? We simply could not do it without them," he said appreciatively. (FROM MILITARY TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT COMMAND, DEPLOYMENT SUPPORT COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS).