THUNG PRONG, THAILAND (USTCNS)---When this port city was announced as a Cobra Gold 02 port, it made marine cargo specialist Fred Artis wary.

A 15-year veteran of Cobra Gold exercises, Artis knew the port of Thung Prong had a history of presenting challenges to MTMC port operations. As the members of the deployment support team were to find out, Cobra Gold 02 would prove to be no exception.

That became evident with the arrival of the USNS Seay. There were 16 ammunition containers to discharge, but the 950-foot Large, Medium-Speed, Roll-on/Roll-off vessel did not have clearance room at pierside. It would be a two-day delay to secure approval to discharge the ammunition at Chuk Samet. After conferring with representatives of the Military Sealift Command and Royal Thailand Navy, the decision was made to unload the containers in-stream using a tug and barges.

The in-stream discharge was a success. The final ammunition container was lifted from the barge to the pier just as dusk approached. Due to safety factors, nightfall would have ended the day's operation.

"Timing for lifting the last container was critical because failure to do so would have resulted in a significant half-day delay of Seay's arrival to Chuk Samet and delay the customers' receipt of critical equipment," said Artis, of the 835th Transportation Battalion, who served as the team's operations officer. "However, we kept in mind that the safety of our personnel remained paramount."

Customer satisfaction was the key in making the decision, said Lt. Col. Joyce DiMarco, Commander, of the seven-member deployment support team. DiMarco is also Commander, 835th Transportation Battalion, Naha, Okinawa.

"There was equipment on the ship that many soldiers and Marines desperately needed," said DiMarco. "In-stream operation was the more difficult course of action, but I had every confidence that we could pull it off given the team's expertise and work ethic."

The 599th Transportation Group's deployment support team was in Thailand from April 13-May 4 to discharge three vessels at two different ports. Unit equipment and general cargo were discharged in three separate operations at the port of Chuk Samet. All ammunition was unloaded at Thung Prong.

Successful deployment support teams are flexible, competent and respond positively to changes. During the operations, the team faced numerous challenges,including the physical environment of the port. Because of strong currents, Seay had to anchor a considerable distance from the pier-causing extended transit times. The deep-well barges and the vintage tugboat available to us slowed the speed of our discharge.

In addition, there were language and documentation problems. In the remote area, a cellular phone worked sporadically between the ship and pier.

But the challenges were met and the exercise was deemed a success.

Other team members included: Master Sgt. Felton Head, Sgt. 1st Class Charles Brass and Staff Sgt. Kory Buckhout, of the 835th Transportation Battalion; and Maj. David Preston, Sgt. 1st Class Jacqueline Pickering and Marty Keck, of the 836th Transportation Battalion, Yokohama, Japan.

(FROM MILITARY TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS)