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

to be shipped anywhere in the world, and you can be sure that
when it gets there, it will be a safe and secure shelter for your
product. Just plug it in and start.”
STORAGE CONTAINERS
Making the most of the interior of modular containers as
Baker described is the business of Stanley Vidmar Tough Storage
Solutions. Echoing Baker’s thoughts is Melvin Hamner, government
sales manager for Stanley Vidmar. “The traditional 20–40
foot sea/land containers are cumbersome, especially when you
get into Third World countries. That’s where these Quadcons,
Tricons and Bicons come into play.” He adds, “The Army is
tasked with inter-theater transportation, centered around primary
load systems [PLSs], trucks, flat bed trucks, etc.; a variety
of vehicles are used once the stuff gets in theater. We are trying
to meet the next great challenge for our military, and that
is to give them a dual-purpose platform for their tools, their
bench stock, nuts, bolts, etc.—where they can work out of these
cabinets and containers back in garrison, but then pick them up
with a minimum of effort, load them into these transportable
containers, block and brace them for sea lift, and move forward
to the war zone.”
The advantage of the modular concept of using the Quadcons,
Tricons and Bicons is the ability to break down shipments
to unit specific loads, i.e., a squad, a battalion or a company. So
when the consignment arrives in theater and the battalion needs
to split it up into various areas of responsibility (AORs), it is basically
already done. “It’s a major man-hour saver,” says Hamner.
“We used to spend days sorting out these containers when they’d
arrive. There were many containers never even opened during
Dessert Storm, because no one really knew what was in them.”
To avoid anything like that happening again, Hamner says
changes need to be made, but you don’t necessarily have to reinvent
the wheel. “Stanley Vidmar is partnered with several of the
major container companies, and we work in unison with them,
but our goal is to work with [the military’s] existing assets. We
don’t want them to necessarily have to buy a container just to
move their stuff, which is why we have developed these container
inserts that also act as stand-alone cabinets, and combined tool
boxes.”
EQUIPMENT CASES
From standard to special ops, today’s military deploys a lot of
equipment. Much of that gear is sensitive and fragile. During the
course of shipment or troop movement, essential communications
and weapon systems will experience pounding conditions.
Wind, sand, extreme temperatures, shock and vibration are just a
few hazards to sensitive military equipment. A piece of gear does
a soldier no good if it’s DOA, and that’s where specialized cases
made “military tough” play an essential logistical role.
“Typically the real purpose of a case is to protect the equipment
inside, and get it into the field in one piece so the soldier
has the tools he or she needs to do his or her job,” said Paul Britton,
national sales manager for Zarges, a major supplier of rugged
aluminum cases to the military. He continued, “Increasingly
over the years, more and more of that gear is commercial gear.
So it just has not been designed to operate in the environment
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DECEMBER 23, 2008
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