Theater Logistician Maj. Gen. Kenneth S. Dowd - KMI Media Group

Most people think that the latest communications or weapons
technology is what wins battles. Consider however what
happens if that high-tech gear doesn’t perform as designed
when it arrives, or of it is shipped to the wrong place. Containers
may not be exciting, but they save lives and lead to successful
operations by making sure gear and supplies get where
they are going—and work when they get there. One man who
certainly understands that would be Cody Baker, VP, general
manager of Charleston Marine Containers Inc. (CMCI).
CMCI was originally known as Sea Containers America. The
company has had a long and venerable relationship with the
military in the supply of sea-bound containers, and is still based
at the historic Charleston Naval Shipyard. “Around 2000 the
company was awarded a very large indefinite delivery/indefinite
quantity [IDIQ] contract with the U.S. Marine Corps for Quadcon
containers,” said Baker. “As we started producing on that
contract with the U.S. Marine Corps, we built approximately
17,000 containers under that contract. Now we are doing more
business with not only the Corps, but also the Army; we do some
business with the U.S. Air Force, and also do business with the
Navy. We support all branches of the military including the
National Guard.”
A Quadcon container is essentially a container that is onefourth,
or one quarter the size of a traditional 20-foot ISO
shipping container, hence the name. It represents the shifting
paradigm in logistical military containers to smaller, more
maneuverable modular transport containers. The concept also
includes Tricon and Bicon containers, which are one-third and
one-half the size respectively of the traditional ISOs. “There are
two trends that I see,” said CMCI’s Baker. “One is the need to
go from bigger containers to smaller containers, because they
are more mobile. You can pack them easier, and then once you
get them into forward positions, you can actually break them
apart and move them with equipment that has smaller lifting
capacity. This also means you can basically strategize your
pack out and your load, as opposed to using larger containers
where everything is in one container. The modular approach
allows you to compartmentalize, lending itself to more rapid
mobility.”
Sea Box Inc., located in New Jersey, has also been a supporter
of the intermodal transport concept for many years and
has several contracts with the military to provide containers of
various sizes. Sea Box has a multiyear contract with U.S. Army
TACOM to provide 20-foot ISO containers with single doors on
one end and side doors of varying interior dimensions. Under
the contract with TACOM, Sea Box is also providing the smaller
“module” containers, Tricons and Quadcons, which Baker
described.
Sea Box also has a similar contract with the U.S. Marine
Corps for double-door Quadcon containers. While these are Sea
Box’s current contracts, the company has been actively involved
in developing a range of customized shipping and shelter solutions
for all branches of the armed services and many primary
defense contractors to meet the unique requirements of today’s
rapid deployment strategies.
The other trend that Baker describes with these smaller
containers is that the industry is beginning to see the need for,
and opportunity to, add value to them. “We not only sell these
modular containers,” he says, “but we are adding value to them
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by installing within them cabinetry, weapon systems, and things
like capacity for storage of armaments.”
In this way these modular containers serve multiple purposes,
not only getting equipment and supplies to theater,
but in some cases delivered in ready-to-operate offices and/or
storage buildings. Cars and trucks that transform into robots
are the stuff of Hollywood blockbuster summer movies, but
Members assigned to Naval Expeditionary Logistics Support Force Forward Alpha, move cables
into place to attach to cargo containers being off-loaded from the Military Sealift Command (MSC)
fast sealift ship USNS Bellatrix (T-AKR 288). MSC Military Sealift Command is the transportation
provider for the Department of Defense with the responsibility of providing strategic sealift and
ocean transportation for all military forces overseas. [Photo courtesy of U.S. Navy]
containers that transform into shelters, offices and field housing
are a military logistical reality. CMCI’s Baker explains: “Our
company has a unit that we put aluminum panels into; it’s an
expandable Tricon, so actually once deployed you can open the
doors, and it triples in size. And inside the container is actually
a workable shower unit; it has four showers in it, it has laundries,
latrines and a kitchen—everything you need to house and
feed 150 men.”
Similarly, Sea Box military containers have been equipped to
meet all electromagnetic interference/radio frequency interference
requirements. They have been used for troop shelters and
forward medical operations, as well as command and control
centers. They come equipped with electronic and telecommunication
equipment, and power generation—so that according to
the company “your unique and individualized container is ready
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