More than 50 truckloads, from five major commercial carriers, arrived, staged, loaded and departed Tooele Army Depot in a single day as part of a coordinated commercial carrier surge exercise Thursday, September 26.
This was the first time a commercial carrier surge exercise has ever occurred at TEAD.
"This exercise validated TEAD's ability to perform our primary wartime mission, to provide critical munitions to our warfighters anywhere in the world," said TEAD Commander, Col. Todd Burnley. "Actually, we exceeded our own expectations."
Commercial carriers participating in the exercise began arriving to the staging area on the Depot just before midnight. By the start of the work day, more than 25 large semi-trucks were staged and ready for the phased exercise.
"This is the first time I've been part of such a large exercise," said a driver from Kentucky who drives for Bennett Heavy & Specialized, LLC. "It's really impressive."
All participating trucks were successfully safely loaded, inspected and approved for highway travel before 3:30 p.m.
"The Department of Defense's contracted commercial Arms, Ammunition, and Explosives (AA&E) carriers provide DOD with the critical capability to safely transport AA&E across our highways to training sites or to other transportation nodes for onward movement overseas," said Burnley.
Extensive coordination was done beforehand that included ammunition operations, security support, safety and substantial commercial carrier contracting and scheduling.
"Everyone who deals with commercial AA&E carriers can tell you they're the most patriotic folks in this country," said Glenda Bender, chief, planning and support division, TEAD. "They love supporting the military."
Although the day's exercise was focused on validation of a surge in outbound shipments for munitions readiness, other Depot operations did not stop. Due to the exceptional coordination between all mission areas of the Depot, munitions operations continued to receive 20 inbound trucks to carry on requirements to support the warfighters around the world.
"Exercises like this test our ability to mobilize Depot resources to pack and load out the required munitions then surge our military and commercial transportation assets to successfully deliver the munitions wherever they are needed," Burnley emphasized. "This is about getting the right munitions to the right personnel safely and expeditiously to support the warfighter and ensure readiness."
Social Sharing