SOUTHPORT, N.C. - National Guard Soldiers from six states participated in Operation Patriot Bandoleer this spring to provide the operational mission support to Army Materiel Command, moving Army Preposition Stocks to various military installations throughout the country.
Operation Patriot Bandoleer is a collaboration between Army Materiel Command, Army Sustainment Command, Army Surface Deployment and Distribution Command and the National Guard Bureau to create a process for National Guard units to participate in real world sustainment missions transporting munitions throughout the continental United States.
Maj. Gen. Beth Austin, the Assistant Deputy Commanding General, Army National Guard, Army Material Command facilitated the coordination between the commands.
"This is a great opportunity for National Guard units to exercise their personnel, equipment and validate mission essential tasks while providing support to the Army and the nation's strategic reserves," said Austin.
Soldiers from Georgia, Connecticut, Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma and North Carolina all brought mission ready heavy equipment and years of experience to the Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point to receive their payload.
Once at Sunny Point, the guardsmen are met by a team of active duty, reservist and contractors all working together efficiently and effectively moving large quantities of ammunition and explosive ordinance safely from ship to a staging area and lastly onto the vehicles.
Maj. Malcolm Day, an officer in the Canadian Army Reserve and the Northern Command, Theater Action Officer assigned to the Security Cooperation Branch at the National Guard Bureau, described how the collaboration works.
"Army Materiel Command provides a list of requirements, our planners calculate the resources necessary and then operations send out a packaged request to the states to provide assets," said Day.
Operation Patriot Bandoleer is the largest Army Guard, Reserve and Active Duty logistics event of its kind supporting Army Materiel Command. Leaders and logistician from all parties involved expect this event to become an Operation Mission Support Program that will continue for years to come.
"Operation Patriot Bandoleer will support future movements of our War Reserve Secondary Items," said Tim Fore, the Director for Army Prepositioned Stocks and Sustainment Operations at Army Sustainment Command.
Upon its completion this spring, Operation Patriot Bandoleer will move hundreds of containers and thousands of tons of munitions and repair parts.
"This is a strong concept and I encourage leaders and planners in every state to consider this support mission as an option for your logistics professional to have an opportunity to be involved in a real world mission while stateside," said Austin.
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