Military loads vessel at JaxPort for Ebola mission

Wheeled equipment to support humanitarian effort in West Africa is being transported from the Port of Jacksonville.    The U.S. Army’s 832nd Transportation Battalion and stevedore Portus on Tuesday began loading about 800 pieces of military equipment onto a vessel at the Port of Jacksonville for transport to West Africa, where the equipment will be used in the humanitarian operation to stop the spread of Ebola.
   Humvees, dump trucks, forklifts and other support and construction equipment will be used as part of Operation United Assistance in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, which is tasked with providing assistance to international health organizations in the region.
   The wheeled equipment arrived at the Blount Island Marine Terminal by rail and road last week from various military bases around the country. It is being shipped to Monrovia, Liberia, where the command center for U.S.-led humanitarian efforts is located, according to the port authority. The machinery will be used to build up to 17 specially designed, 100-bed Ebola Treatment Units in Liberia.
   The Department of Defense is coordinating logistics for the mission in support of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
   JaxPort recently spent $12.4 million improving the heavy lift cargo berth at Blount Island to be able to handle extreme loads.
   Berth 31’s strength was doubled to 1,800 pounds-per-square foot, and its rating for pounds per axle was also increased.