By Donna Klapakis
599th Trans. Bde. Public Affairs
599th Transportation Brigade traffic management specialists Greg Regpala (top) and Greg "Ben" Benjamin measure the height of a Stryker before loadout at Barber's Point.
Members of the 599th Transportation Brigade spent the day by the sea Saturday as the brigade conducted its fourth loadout from Barber’s Point Kalaeloa Harbor, Hawaii.
The cargo, belonging to four units, is headed to South Korea for an exercise. While the vast majority of the cargo and all of the Strykers belong to 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, John Manahane, 599th Trans. Bde. traffic management specialist, said the 8th Theater Sustainment Command, the 130th Engineer Brigade, and the 18th Medical Command also shipped cargo.
On July 2 and 3, the cargo was prepared for movement at Schofield Barracks’ alert holding area. It was trucked to the port in three convoys and began staging at Barber’s Point at 9 a.m. The loadout was completed at 4 p.m. July 6.
“We made our first move from Barber’s Point in December, but by now using the port has become commonplace for us,” said Carlos Tibbetts, 599th Trans. Bde. terminal operations chief.
The 599th arranged for the move through Central Gulf Lines as a liner service operation and the State of Hawaii for the use of the port. They, in turn, subcontracted for other necessities such as stevedores, security, etc.
Manahane said the unit appreciates the opportunity to get to know and work with the partners it needs to put together moves in strategic locations around the island.
Greg “Ben” Benjamin, 599th Trans. Bde. traffic management specialist, agreed.
“This move was a concerted effort in coordination with a lot of people involved: the Directorate of Logistics, Installation Management Command, the military units, the State of Hawaii, Central Gulf Lines; and we all played our parts and came together to make this a smooth operation,” he said.
In addition to advantages with the size and placement of the staging area and the more convenient drive from Wheeler to Barber’s Point, Manahane said it was fortuitous this particular cargo had been loaded out through Barber’s Point instead of Pearl Harbor.
“Right now, with Pearl Harbor concentrating on RIMPAC, cargo moves on commercial vessels aren’t going in and out of there,” he said. Held every two years, RIMPAC is a multinational maritime exercise that takes place in and around the Hawaiian Islands.
Six members of the 225th Brigade Support Battalion’s logistics support team were also on hand at the port during the 599th loadout.
“The stevedores can start and drive the Strykers, so normally they don’t need us,” said 2nd Lt. Robert Hawkins, officer in charge of the team. “But on the last move, there was an issue with starting one of the Strykers, so we brought out the team for support.”
Stevedores loaded the last item aboard the vessel at 3:26 p.m. Saturday, and it sailed at 6:10 p.m. The cargo is headed to South Korea where it will be offloaded by the 837th Trans. Bn.
Strykers file up the ramp on the Motor Vessel Green Ridge during a loadout by at Barber's Point.
