5-7 ADA conducts railhead operations in Kaiserslautern

By Mrs. Elizabeth Behring (IMCOM)January 16, 2015

Cutline: Spc. Myles Mendez, a PATRIOT launching station enhanced operator with 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 10th Army Air & Missile Defense Command, uses hand and arm signals to
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany -- It was the end of the line for the Humvees, trucks and various other large equipment and vehicles, literally.

Soldiers from the 10th Army Air & Missile Defense Command's 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, conducted railhead operations recently on Rhine Ordnance Barracks in Kaiserslautern, following 5-7's recent redeployment from Turkey.

Soldiers and civilians from U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz, in conjunction with the Deutsche Bahn, Germany's railway company, helped move Light Medium Tactical Vehicles, Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks and more, said William Dial, a traffic management specialist with U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz's Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security.

"The Deutsche Bahn moves the equipment, but the Soldiers and I load it. Deutsche Bahn then inspects it to make sure it's tied down and placed on the railcars properly," Dial said.

Dial, whose duties include the deployment and redeployment of Soldiers into and out of Germany, has worked railhead operations in Kaiserslautern since 2010. Dial estimates he's completed about 25 such assignments, which typically take between four and five days.

U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz is one of the only garrisons in Europe that still conducts operations in-house, said Dial. A logistics unit typically handles these types of moves, he added.

The 50-odd Soldiers tasked to assist as either loaders or truck commanders were taught what to expect back in November, long before the first items made it to the railhead.

In early December, the equipment, shipping containers and trucks were packed onto a ship docked at the Port of Izmir in Turkey. The load was then inspected to be sure all the correct paperwork was in order, the GPS tracking tags were properly affixed to the vehicles and the military shipping labels were placed on the sides of the containers, Dial said.

From there, it sailed to Bremerhaven, Germany, where it was transferred to Deutsche Bahn. As oversized cargo, the equipment could not travel along typical routes. For example, a passenger could travel from Bremerhaven to Kaiserslautern's main train station in just under seven hours, but a load like this one takes about 24 hours because it needs to be routed around tunnels and other hazards.

The entire process typically takes a contractor 30 to 40 days from start to finish, Dial said.

Its last stop is the end of the railway line, which runs right into Rhine Ordnance Barracks. From there, Soldiers used what they learned in the class--and a bit of muscle power--to offload and return the inventory to its rightful place.