KUWAIT NAVAL BASE, Kuwait - During a multilateral exercise, the 393rd Transportation Harbormaster Operations Detachment, 529th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, teamed up with Kuwait Naval Forces in support of Operation Eagle Resolve at Kuwait Naval Base, Kuwait, March 8.
"Eagle Resolve is a multilateral exercise that focuses on Naval, land and air," said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Ian Stewart, 393rd THOD Harbormaster. "It's designed to enhance regional cooperative defense efforts of the Gulf Cooperation Council and U.S. Central Command."
During the multilateral exercise the 393rd THOD and 32nd Composite Truck Company assisted in transferring a number of KNF military vehicles from Kuwait Naval Base to Failaka Island.
The vehicles were loaded onto the Landing Craft Utility-2013 vessel by Kuwaiti sailors with the assistance and guidance of U.S. Army Soldiers.
"During the loading and unloading phases, crew members of the LCU and KNF personnel worked as a team with one common goal," said Stewart. "The relationship has been mutually beneficial, as the KNF was able to get their equipment to its destination on time and the Soldier-Mariners on board the LCU-2013 got a chance to sharpen their skills in operations at unimproved ports and bare beach landings."
Operations such as Eagle Resolve serve as an excellent opportunity to build upon the partner nations' interoperability and working relationships.
"This exercise was a wonderful opportunity for our maritime forces to operate alongside our counterparts in Kuwait," said Brig. Gen. Rodney Fogg, commander of the 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) and deputy commander of the 1st Theater Sustainment Command. "It was a tremendous honor to support and facilitate training with our strategic partners, as we work towards our mutual goal of regional security, strengthening our friendship along the way."
Even though the operation seemed simple enough, there was a lot of planning that went into it. The planning started when Cmdr. Greg Francioch, Naval Forces adviser for the Office of Military Cooperation-Kuwait, sent an email on behalf of the KNF to Stewart asking if the army watercraft could support the movement of Kuwait Naval and Land Forces equipment.
"They wanted the move to happen in five days, which didn't leave a lot of room for planning," said Stewart.
The Watercraft Operations Team immediately began the research and planning process. The team had to research Failaka Island, which is a Kuwaiti Island in the Persian Gulf that's surrounded by shallow water and reefs. The island is 20 km from Kuwait City.
After the planning process was over, the unit had to develop a timeline based upon tide tables, depth of water, necessary loading ramp modifications, Kuwaiti equipment unit density lists, and processing of an agreement between Kuwait and the United States for transportation.
"This operation has been a tremendous help in increasing KNF-U.S. Army relations at KNB," said Stewart. "Working together on this mission has developed a stronger rapport within the leadership between the two militaries and created friendships among the vessel crew and KNF personnel."
"Maritime security in the region is as important to us [U.S. forces] as it is to our allies in Kuwait," said Fogg. "We look forward to continued partnership and furthering maritime operations in our host nation."
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