ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. -- A unique ammunition upload mission coincided with a family's tour of their namesake's ship.
The Joint Munitions Command, through its Security Assistance Management Directorate, succeeded in adding a July 5 port visit to San Diego for the BRP (Ship of the Republic of the Philippines) Ramon Alcaraz (PF-16), named after World War II hero, Commodore Ramon Alcaraz.
The ship was named after the deceased Commodore of the Philippine Fleet, Ramon A. Alcaraz, who was awarded the Silver Star for shooting down three low-flying Japanese planes during World War II.
As a bonus, the family of Alcaraz, including his widow, was able to visit the ship during the ammunition upload of small caliber ammunition. The ship was not originally scheduled to visit San Diego, after leaving Mayport, Fla., where crewmembers had been training with the U.S. Coast Guard. The ship was formerly the USCGC (U.S. Coast Guard Cutter) Dallas (WHEC-716), and was acquired by the Philippines from the U.S. under the Department of Defense's Foreign Military Sales program for 400 million Philippine pesos ($9.26 million), May 22, 2012.
Gwen Hanger, a country manager with JMC's security assistance directorate, said former JMC commanding general Brig. Gen. Kevin G. O'Connell sent a memo to U.S. Pacific Command to help arrange shipping of the ammunition to the Philippines. Before serving as JMC's commanding general, O'Connell served as the director of logistics for USPACOM.
"PACOM (Logistics) put me in touch with the Navy International Program Office in mid-April, and that's when the ball really started rolling," she said.
Hanger said JMC SAMD worked with multiple organizations to include USPACOM, the Navy, the Coast Guard, and Defense Security Cooperation Agency, to use the Alcaraz to transport some of the material the country purchased from the JMC through Foreign Military Sales.
"We orchestrated several (teleconferences) with various personnel to discuss timelines, necessary actions and provide a revised priority listing of ammunition for this ship," she said.
Headquartered at Rock Island Arsenal, Ill., the Joint Munitions Command provides America's Joint Forces, other federal agencies, and allied nations with ready, reliable and lethal munitions at the right place and time, in a cost effective manner, to enable successful military operations.
Navy Public Affairs Support Element West contributed to this story.
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