PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii -- The 599th Transportation Brigade rang in the New Year with four port operations between Dec. 31 and Jan. 15.
The first mission was executed in support of Pacific Pathways at Pearl Harbor, where 2nd Infantry Combat Brigade, 25th Infantry Division cargo, equipment and aircraft were uploaded onto the Military Sealift Command vessel USNS Cape Hudson on Jan. 31.
599th traffic management specialists, Frank Viray and Sgt. Nashell Mendez, worked the one-day operation.
"The units for this operation were the 25th Infantry Division and Combat Aviation Brigade," Viray said. "The ship came in at 7:15 a.m. and began loading at 9 a.m. All cargo was loaded by 9:24 p.m., and on its way to Guam.
"Our team members for this move were Fleet Logistics Center Pearl Harbor, 25th Infantry Division, and Hawaii Stevedores, Inc."
Mendez said she had not worked this type of move before.
"Working an upload is very different from a discharge operation," she said "This was my first time with loading cargo, so that was interesting," she said. "I had never seen what happened when things wouldn't fit and they had to adjust the stow plan before."
The second move was a discharge operation on Jan. 6 from the M/V Ocean Glory for the Hawaii Army National Guard's 171st Aviation Regiment.
The ship moored at 10:45 a.m., and ship's crew opened the hatch at 2 p.m. Because other cargo was stowed on the 'tween deck, only one hatch could be used to offload the helicopters. The first helicopter was offloaded at 4:08 p.m.
"We practiced while waiting for the ship's crew to open the hatches," said traffic management specialist Davey Flores, "So that when the hatch was opened, National Guard Soldiers were ready to hook up the helicopters to the crane very quickly. The first helicopter was offloaded at 4:08 p.m., but then the others were all offloaded within an hour and a half.
"The Hawaii Army National Guard Soldiers performed excellently and executed the mission without incident or accident," Flores added.
The Ocean Glory had originally been scheduled to depart early on Jan. 7, but because it had engine trouble, its departure time was moved forward to noon on Jan. 8. It had to leave the dock by then because another port operation was scheduled for 6 p.m.
The third mission began on Jan. 8, as the Marjorie C conducted a night operation at Pearl Harbor to upload 25th I.D.'s 2nd IBCT and CAB for National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California.
"We had two CAB units together, but they worked in tandem to get the mission accomplished," said Jimmy Quilon, 599th traffic management specialist and contracting officer representative for the move.
"Hawaii Stevedores, Inc. were the contracted stevedores for the move on Jan. 8," said Flores. "They were very good and professional. The move started at 8:06 p.m., and the last piece was loaded at 12:30 a.m. on Jan. 9. The vessel waited until 6 a.m. to sail.
"In addition to our regular partners, we had good support from the ship's owners and crew for this move," he added.
The last move in 599th's New Year's quartet was an upload onto the M/V Jean Anne on Jan. 15 at Pier 1 in Honolulu. This move comprised the remainder of cargo from 2nd IBCT, 25th ID, destined for NTC.
"The move commenced at 11:30 p.m.," said Quilon. "The night shift of HSI stevedores uploaded about 30 percent of the cargo. The shift changed at 7 a.m., and the move ended at 1 p.m.
"The 599th command team received a tour of the vessel from the Pasha's night port manager during the move," he added.
"To do four separate port operations in a 14-day span is a remarkable accomplishment," said Carlos Tibbetts, 599th terminal operations chief. "This started the year off with increased operational tempo, much like the abundance symbolized by the upcoming Chinese New Year, the Year of the Pig."
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