Life-Cycle Management - Army Logistics University - U.S. Army

the Sea Mounting Centre is also financially astute; the
Defence Logistic Organisation saves the fees that it otherwise
would have to pay to commercial companies to
load and unload ships, and Headquarters Land Command
does not have to pay for the use of modern port
facilities for training purposes.
Equipment
As you might expect of a specialist logistic regiment
of its type, 17 Port and Maritime Regiment has
a wide variety of equipment. Looking from ship to
shore, the first piece of battle-winning equipment one
notices is the ubiquitous mexeflote. This vessel is a
raft propelled by two outboard engines. The hull of
the raft consists of metal boxes locked together.
These boxes can be arranged in any number of configurations,
depending on the lighterage requirements.
Commanded by a corporal with a crew of
five, the mexeflote is moved into theater either lashed
alongside a specially designed landing ship logistic
or unassembled in boxes on the deck of a conventional
ship. The mexeflote is robust and capable,
with enough lift capacity to hoist a bombed-up Challenger
tank. None has ever foundered; they even
withstood strafing by the Argentinean Air Force during
the Falklands War in 1982.
The other major maritime asset of 17 Port
and Maritime Regiment is the ramp craft logistic.
Like the mexeflote, it can lift a main battle tank and
can be used to conduct a volume offload over
a beach. Unlike the mexeflote, however, it can
self-deploy along the coastal waters to Asia, Africa,
and Europe.
On the land side, the regiment has the Case
rough-terrain forklift. The Case, as it is commonly
known, can carry pallets to and from ships over a
beach in either cold or warm climates. The regiment
also uses the 53,000-pound capacity rough-terrain
container handler (RTCH) RT 240, which is
well-known to U.S. logisticians. Other assets
include rail locomotives that are owned by the
Defence Logistic Organisation and a variety of other
watercraft and trucks.
38
Looking from ship to shore,
the first piece of battle-winning
equipment one notices is
the ubiquitous mexeflote.
This vessel is robust and capable,
with enough lift capacity to hoist
a bombed-up Challenger tank.
How It All Works
Loading. Let us suppose that there is trouble afoot
somewhere in the world and that Her Majesty’s Government
has agreed to support the United States in an
intervention operation. This support could consist of a
joint force made up of a commando brigade, an armored
brigade, and the necessary combat support and
combat service support elements. Let us further suppose
that a friendly nation would allow U.S. and U.K.
forces to transit its territory.
The soldiers of 17 Port and Maritime Regiment
would be engaged immediately. Commando assets
would flood into the Sea Mounting Centre—the sea
point of embarkation—and the regiment would load
the assets onto specialist amphibious assault ships.
Before sailing, a squadron from the regiment would
embark. The armored brigade’s assets then would pour
into the Sea Mounting Centre for loading onto U.K.
strategic lift ships. If more space was needed, other
ships taken up from trade (STUFT) would be
employed to transport the cargo. Concurrent with the
loading, the regiment would hand over the running of
the Sea Mounting Centre to its reserve component—
165 Port Regiment—so that the balance of the regiment
could break clean and move its manpower to the
Air Mounting Centre for airlifting into theater. The
strategic ships then would sail either immediately after
loading or as part of a convoy if the threat conditions
required it.
Discharging. Let us assume that the enemy has
been far more aggressive than expected and that the
host nation airfield and port have been disabled
through terrorist actions. Possible responses would be
for the commando brigade to conduct theater entry
over a beach using assault landing craft or by air using
helicopters. Using its mexeflotes and ramp craft logistic,
17 Port and Maritime Regiment would support the
commando brigade’s assault landing craft in the
amphibious operation. After the Royal Marines had
secured the beachhead, the deployed squadron from 17
Port and Maritime Regiment then would be assigned
the role of developing the beach into a sea point of disembarkation
(SPOD).
Once the Royal Marines had secured the airport and
an air point of disembarkation had been opened, the
rest of 17 Port and Maritime Regiment’s manpower
would arrive by air from the Air Mounting Centre. On
arrival, the troops would move swiftly to the SPOD.
As the strategic lift ships and the STUFT arrived, the
regiment’s port operators would be ferried to the ships
lying at anchor to offload the armored brigade using
skills unique to the regiment. The soldiers would man
the ships’ cranes and offload cargo onto mexeflotes
and ramp craft logistic, which are crewed by the regiment’s
seamen and marine engineers.
MARCH–APRIL 2005