773d LRS ensures mission readiness

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Javier Alvarez
  • JBER Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  A team of Soldiers with the 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, weighed and measured equipment to be shipped to Fort Irwin, California.

Humvees and Light Medium Tactical Vehicles are all part of the freight processed at the 773d Logistics Readiness Squadron Movement Control Center.

In three days, 33 pieces of rolling stock and 20 shipping containers moved through the MCC en route to the Port of Anchorage – with train and tractor-trailer as the last two vessels needed before the equipment reaches its final destination.

Efforts to ship the cargo predate the 7:30 a.m. reporting time, said Master Sgt. Michael Steffen, 773d Logistics Readiness Squadron noncommissioned officer in charge of mobility. More than six months of planning and groundwork has been done since the first Humvee rolled in through the shop doors.

The magnitude of shipments processed by the Arctic Warriors at the MCC is ever-changing, Steffen said. What and how much is shipped depends on the customer – at the MCC it’s primarily the Army.

It was around this time last year the team was preparing more than 670 total pieces to be shipped for the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana, Steffen said.

Soldiers ensured the serviceability of the items moved through the building as they prepared it for transportation.

Since part of the shipment includes hazardous material and all cargo processed at the MCC is transported by boat, Coast Guardsmen ensure proper packing and shipping procedures are followed.

It is likely there is no other place on the installation which encapsulates joint service efforts better than the 773d LRS MCC.

To say cargo is merely being processed for shipment in this station is oversimplifying the logisticians work.

Satellite tracking tags are placed on all items shipped, Steffen said.

“The work done [here] is important, because it helps makes sure everything is tracked and has the proper marking to keep accountability of the equipment,” said Staff Sgt. Robert Bonds, 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, unit movement officer.

Mission success depends on getting the equipment to its destination, he said.

“We have to get everything on the boat the most efficient way possible,” Steffen said. “We’re paying for all these spaces on the boat and it’s cost effective to make sure everything is correct.
Rain or shine – sleet or snow, the work goes on.”

It was past 4 p.m., and the doors to the MCC began to close. Shadows extended toward the horizon and the rhythmic pattern of vehicles entering the building had reached a near halt.
Outside, still waiting for inspection sat a Humvee and a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck. As the temperature dipped closer to 30 degrees, Soldiers continued to work on their vehicles.

In three days, the cargo would be on a boat. And with blips on a map, the logisticians can identify when and where an item is located and ensure mission readiness.