Congressional Staffers Visit Army Reserve Facilities

By Capt. Christopher Larsen ( USARC)February 21, 2013

Walking
1 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – From left, U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Karen LeDoux, the commanding general of the 88th Regional Support Command, Lt. Col. Timothy Norton, and 364th Expeditionary Sustainment Command executive officer Scott McKean arrive at the Army Reserve's Pier 23 facilit... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Info
2 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Handshake
3 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Karen LeDoux, right, commanding general, 88th Regional Support Command, greets Pat Chiarelli, a congressional staff member from the office of Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., Feb. 12, 2013. Reserve senior leaders visited Army watercraft ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Chatting
4 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Army Maj. Gen. Karen LeDoux, right, commanding general, 88th Regional Support Command, greets Pat Chiarelli, left, a congressional staff member from the office of Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., and Zach Guill, from the office of Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Talking
5 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Scott McKean, right, command executive officer of the 364th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, a U.S. Army Reserve unit located in Marysville, Wash., talks with Zach Guill, left, from the office of Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash., and Pat Chiarelli, a st... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Walking
6 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – A group of Army Reserve senior leaders, congressional staffers and civilian guests visit Army watercraft units belonging to the 364th Expeditionary Sustainment Command in Tacoma, Wash., Feb. 12, 2013. The group received briefings and information abou... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

TACOMA, Wash. -- Maj. Gen. Karen LeDoux, new commanding general of the 88th Regional Support Command, met with Congressional staffers and Army Reserve Ambassadors here Tuesday, Feb. 12, to brief them on the state of readiness of local reserve units and facilities.

The meetings took place at the Port of Tacoma's Pier 23, home to several Army Reserve watercraft companies belonging to the 364th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, headquartered in Marysville, Wash.

LeDoux's 88th RSC has responsibility for Army Reserve facilities in 19 states.

Pat Chiarelli, from the office of Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), and Zach Guill from the office of Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Wash.) had the opportunity to sit down and talk with soldiers and Army civilians about the capabilities of the 364th ESC and its downtrace units.

Chiarelli is the son of recently retired Gen. Pete Chiarelli, the former Army vice chief of staff.

Army watercraft, which provide critical logistics support to U.S. forces, have played an important role in operations over the past dozen years, Army officials said.

The Tacoma pier was once the home of the last floating machine shop in the Army inventory. That shop was struck from the rolls in 2010, but not before the valuable machine equipment was removed and installed in a land-based shop.

"Keeping the machinery here saved the Army millions of dollars," said Scott McKean, command executive officer of the 364th ESC.

The delegation visited the 175th, 467th, and 709th Transportation Companies at the pier. The units have a variety of watercraft in their inventories, ranging from small tugboats to a 115-ton floating crane.

On Tuesday, the floating crane was in action, hosting joint training between the 175th and the 73rd Transportation Company, an active Army unit based at Fort Eustis, Va.

"This is a great training opportunity," said 1st Lt. Bryce Livingston, the 73rd's executive officer. "It's rare that we get a chance to get together with the Reserve side and share skills."

In addition to the tour of the pier, the delegation received briefings on each type of watercraft and to hear about contributions made by the units stationed there, such as last summer's rescue of a civilian sailor whose boat was foundering in rough seas off the coast of California.

The briefings were part of an ongoing series of presentations designed to raise awareness of the Army Reserve and its capabilities, officials said.