Joint Task Force-Port Opening Provides Mobility Solutions During Turbo Distribution Exercise

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, ILLINOIS--A top priority at U.S. Transportation Command remains preserving readiness in order to successfully execute assigned responsibilities under the Unified Command Plan (UCP), especially as the Global Joint Mobility Provider.  Exercise Turbo Distribution 15-4, a Joint Task Force-Port Opening (JTF-PO) field training exercise recently conducted in Agadir, Morocco, tested the ability to rapidly deploy and employ a JTF-PO Seaport of Debarkation (SPOD) enabling capability in direct support to a regional combatant command.

Leveraging partner engagements and combatant command military exercises, TD 15-4 delivered mobility solutions to an exercise Combined Joint Task Force, while contributing to USTRANSCOM’s future organic readiness. 

Working at the Port of Agadir, Morocco, a joint task force of more than 60 soldiers, sailors, and attached Marines executed seaport operations April 16-25 in advance of U.S. Africa Command’s exercise African Lion 2015 in May. 

African Lion 2015 is an annual joint multi-lateral exercise sponsored by USAFRICOM, with Marine Forces Europe and Africa as executive agent and hosted by Morocco's Royal Armed Forces.

Displaying the flexibility and capabilities inherent within the JTF-PO construct, the joint team overcame numerous challenges to successfully offload 419 pieces of Marine Corps equipment within just 19 hours.  According to Lt. Col. Nicole Heumphreus, the JTF-PO SPOD commander during TD 15-4, the experience was “absolutely beyond what I thought it would be.”

Heumphreus, currently the commander, 838^th Transportation Battalion, Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC), said she could not have been more proud of the teamwork displayed during TD 15-4. 

In spite of arrival delays of more than 50 JTF-PO main body personnel that shortened JTF-PO integration and rehearsal timelines, Heumphreus noted that “no kidding, [within] 12 hours we were standing on the commercial pier ready to discharge.”    

While the main effort, the vessel offload represented only one of the overall exercise objectives.  The mission for USTRANSCOM during TD 15-4 was twofold. 

First, a Joint Assessment Team (JAT) was deployed to conduct a rapid assessment of the commercial port at Agadir, and the forward node approximately three miles away at a Royal Moroccan Navy base. 

Led by Lt. Col. Alex Arnold from the 833^rd Transportation Battalion (SDDC), the 12-member JAT included personnel from the 597^th Transportation Brigade (SDDC), the 838^th Transportation Battalion (SDDC), a Marine Transportation Specialist from Military Sealift Command (MSC), and two personnel from the 7^th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary) out of U.S. Army Forces Command.  A key training objective involved the JAT compiling and transmitting a go/no-go mission report back to the USTRANSCOM Deployment and Distribution Operations Center within eight hours.

For Sgt. Nathan Watt, a member of the 688^th Rapid Port Opening Element (RPOE), the JAT experience proved highly rewarding.  “To work in a different environment like this…and still make things happen [was] a challenge.  But it was really good.  We all worked together really well, and had good communications,” he said.

Second, the JTF-PO SPOD main element, in cooperation with Marines from Combat Logistics Regiment-2 out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, would execute the offload, staging, accountability, and ground movement to a forward node of the U.S. Marine Corps equipment in preparation for the African Lion 15 exercise. 

The JTF-PO SPOD comprised soldiers, sailors, and civilians from SDDC and MSC:  the 838^th Transportation Battalion (SDDC), the 833^rd Transportation Battalion (SDDC), the 688^th RPOE (SDDC), and the Expeditionary Port Unit 107 (MSC).

Using Universal Services Contract-07, SDDC chartered the Motor Vessel Liberty Pride, a U.S.-flagged commercial roll-on/roll off vessel, to transport the equipment from Jacksonville, Florida, to Morocco.

Upon offload of the equipment, the JTF-PO SPOD would establish a radio frequency/in-transit visibility network using portable deployable kits, and flow the equipment out of the clearance yard to the forward node.

Once the exercise began, multiple unanticipated real-world challenges emerged, creating a highly realistic training environment that tested the JTF-PO SPOD’s ability to adapt and overcome to accomplish the mission.

The C-17 aircraft carrying more than 50 JTF-PO personnel was grounded for two days in Rota, Spain, because of mechanical failures.  This event delayed their arrival at Agadir until almost exactly when the Liberty Pride docked at the commercial port. 

Requirements for force protection, operating space, and offload and movement procedures had to be deconflicted and adjusted between the JTF-PO, vessel captain, the contracted local stevedore company, and host nation port authorities and armed forces, in order to prevent operational delays.  

Finally, the Liberty Pride unexpectedly pushed for an aggressive offload timeline that forced the JTF-PO commander to accelerate discharge operations.  

The JTF-PO SPOD met every challenge, completing the offload of all 419 pieces without accident or incident.  Working in tandem with Combined Joint Task Force-African Lion Marines, the JTF-PO SPOD ensured 100 percent accountability of the equipment prior to transitioning responsibility and shifting to preparations for redeployment to both overseas and continental U.S. home stations. 

Overall, the JTF-PO SPOD was evaluated by a command Observation Team on 25 tasks supporting USTRANSCOM’s Joint Mission Essential Tasks for JTF-PO operations.

Collective joint enabler training outcomes and lessons learned from TD 15-4 will positively contribute to the command’s priority to preserve organic readiness capability now and in the future, in order to execute UCP-assigned missions as the Global Joint Mobility Provider. 

As with this exercise in support of African Lion 15, the Joint Training and Exercises Division will continue to seek opportunities to integrate Turbo Distribution exercises into regional combatant command exercise programs and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s Exercise Program to support command training and readiness priorities.

“I think overall, we integrated pretty well with the Army,” offered Chief Petty Officer Erika Bayro.  She is currently assigned to Expeditionary Port Unit 113 but was attached to Expeditionary Port Unit 107 as the medical lead for the JTF-PO SPOD during TD 15-4.  “It was a successful exercise.”

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