Harbormaster troops demonstrate expeditionary capability during RIMPAC 2014

By Staff Sgt. Gaelen LowersJuly 10, 2014

Harbormaster troops demonstrate expeditionary capability during RIMPAC 2014
1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Spc. Deangelo Harrison, an information and technical specialist with the 73rd Signal Company, sets up the Harbormaster Command and Control Center at Ford Island, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, July 8, 2014, to support and participate in scen... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Harbormaster troops demonstrate expeditionary capability during RIMPAC 2014
2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers with the 545th Transportation Harbormaster Detachment and the 73rd Signal Company set up the Harbormaster Command and Control Center at Ford Island, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, July 8, 2014, to support and participate in scenario... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Harbormaster troops demonstrate expeditionary capability during RIMPAC 2014
3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers with the 545th Transportation Harbormaster Detachment and the 73rd Signal Company set up the Harbormaster Command and Control Center at Ford Island, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, July 8, 2014, to support and participate in senarios... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Harbormaster troops demonstrate expeditionary capability during RIMPAC 2014
4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers with the 545th Transportation Harbormaster Detachment and the 73rd Signal Company set up the Harbormaster Command and Control Center at Ford Island, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, July 8, 2014, to support and participate in scenario... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORD ISLAND, Hawaii (July 9, 2014) -- When a natural disaster strikes in the Pacific, the safe movement of equipment, supplies, and people is imperative, and a smooth line of communication between a port and approaching ships and vessels makes that possible.

Enter the Harbormaster Command and Control Center; an expeditionary command that can be set up in less than six hours with the capability to track and provide communication between any watercraft within 10 nautical miles of shore, similar to the way air traffic controllers safely guide aircraft.

The 545th Transportation Harbormaster Detachment and 73rd Signal Company set up the HCCC here, July 8, to provide command and control of watercraft assets in surface/vertical lift, casualty evacuation, and Logistics over the Shore operations during the biennial Rim of the Pacific 2014 exercise.

"We are monitoring the traffic and flow of maritime vessels that are worth millions of dollars," said, Sgt. 1st Class Heath McManama, a harbormaster detachment non-commissioned officer with the 545th. "We set the priority and the timelines in a designated port. We manage everyone and everything. We are in charge of the safety of the vessels, crews, and cargo. We are the overall peacekeeper of the port."

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