'Wolfhounds' conduct load out for PTA

WAIPIO POINT, Hawaii - Soldiers assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, loaded vehicles, trailers and equipment onto the U.S. Army logistics support vessel CW3 Harold C. Clinger at a slip, here, Jan. 15.

The cargo was to be transported to the Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island of Hawaii for future exercises and training.

First Lt. Robert Johnston, assistant operations officer, 2-27th Inf. Regt., stated that the vehicles and equipment from Bravo and Hotel companies were to be used as an opposing force in support of the 2nd BCT, 25th ID, during the Lightning Forge exercise, next month.

"We're also going a little ahead of time to maximize the PTA training area," Johnston said. "There's some good training opportunities there that are not on Oahu, so Bravo Company is going to get to do some individual and collective training up to a squad live fire."

Sgt. Steven Burns, movement noncommissioned officer, Company H, 2-27th Inf. Regt., was one of the leaders responsible for the load aboard the vessel.

"Today, I roughly have 22 vehicles and 36 pieces altogether," Burns said. "To load up today, I'm hoping to get done within four to five hours."

This was not his first time performing a load out with vehicles and equipment from the unit.

"I uploaded and downloaded the vehicles on several occasions from Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia," he said, "so it was the same crew that I worked with."

The crew members of the massive CW3 Harold C. Clinger did their part to help with the load out with taking control of the ground guiding once the vehicles touched the vessel's ramp.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Bobby Irvin, second mate, USAV CW3 Harold C. Clinger (LSV-2), was one of the crewmembers who helped to load the vehicles and describe the capabilities of the vessel.

"It is a 274-foot by 60-foot of beam, cargo vessel designed for loading and unloading equipment on improved or on unimproved ports," Irvin said. "It's designed to beach and retract, allowing logistics to occur in not-so-improved ports."

The CW3 Harold C. Clinger itself was tied down with its ramp lowered at an unimproved slip while the vehicles were loaded aboard it.

The distance between Oahu and Hawaii is a rather short one for the vessel, compared to the global sailing it is capable of on other missions.

"It takes 15 to 18 hours, depending on the weather, at about 10 knots," Irvin said.