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A
pumping station and bladder on the beach are parts of
the U.S. Army’s Inland Petroleum Distribution System
(IPDS) built by soldiers from the 109th Quartermaster
Company with Korean Service Corps engineers and Marines.
The OPDS pumps from ship to the beach through an underwater
pipeline, then stored in the bladder and routed by the
Army as needed.
Photo by Capt. Benjamin L. Marx, USA
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A
Republic of Korea Navy landing craft prepares to dock at the
floating modular pier constructed to permit direct offloading
of supplies at sea.
Photo by SSgt Lee J. Osberry, Jr., USAF |
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One of the most
impressive sights on the beach was the elevated causeway. The causeway
was constructed in less than 10 days by U.S. naval engineers from ACB1
and ACB2, with assistance from the ROK Army, and was the first of its
kind to be built outside the United States. In a location with
no pier facilities, an elevated causeway enables around-the-clock transfer
operations in any kind of weather.
“Small craft which have to land directly on the beach to deliver
their cargo are inoperable in any seas higher than four to six feet
[1.2 to 1.8 meters],” said Lt. Eric Hawn of ACB1. “Therefore,
if we have bad weather, delivery operations essentially have to stop,
which can really hinder the operations in the field. The advantage of
the ELCAS [elevated causeway] system is that it can endure all kinds
of adverse weather, even light hurricanes. It’s really a unique
type of force multiplier which ultimately serves to keep our inland
personnel supplied with the equipment and cargo they need.”
According to the C/JLOTS naval forces commander and Commander, ACB1,
U.S. Navy Capt. Kenneth Butrym, the event was an exercise in overcoming
the challenges of combined operations. “We learned that combined
operations are hard,” said Capt. Butrym. “But more importantly,
we learned we could work through those challenges. Our success was a
confidence boost to both the U.S. and ROK forces, and we’re very
proud of everything we accomplished.”
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