U.S. military to conduct large-scale cargo logistics exercise

U.S. military to conduct large-scale cargo logistics exercise    The U.S. military will conduct a large-scale cargo logistics exercise just offshore from Fort Story, Va., on June 11-21.
   The Joint Logistics Over-The-Shore (JLOTS) exercise will test the military’s ability to move troops and supplies without the benefit of a port. Cargo is discharged from ships anchored in a harbor onto smaller vessels or barges for movement to shore.
   The Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC), which will oversee the operation, said the exercise is “designed to improve military readiness, increase interoperability among participating agencies and test new concepts.”
   About 150 containers and 30 pieces of wheeled equipment will be moved ashore during the exercise. The military conducted similar operations to support Operation Iraqi Freedom and to deliver humanitarian aid following the December tsunami in Indonesia.
   The containers will be discharged from the “USNS Red Cloud,” a large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ship, onto Navy barges using shipboard cranes. Navy tugs will take the barges to shore where the containers will be lifted by crane onto trucks for onward movement. The SDDC will also this part of the exercise to conduct radio-frequency identification cargo tracking tests.
   The “SS Chesapeake” will be used to test the military’s offshore petroleum discharge system. The ship is designed to incline and launch a single anchor leg moor. The ship delivers petroleum products within 48 hours after arrival, discharging at a rate of 1.4 million gallons per day up to four miles offshore and at a water depth as shallow as 200 feet. The ship is capable of carrying more than 10.7 million gallons of jet or other required fuels.
   The Navy’s Military Sealift Command will have operational management of the “SS Chesapeake,” which is crewed by merchant mariners employed by private ship operating companies under contract to the Maritime Administration.