DOD News – Joseph Clark – Specialized Army Unit Underway to Support Humanitarian Aid Delivery to Gaza

The specialized Army unit tasked with establishing a temporary pier off the coast of Gaza to deliver critical humanitarian assistance has wasted no time in making the complex operation a reality. The first of several watercraft used to construct the pier and manned by troops from the 7th Transportation Brigade began the weekslong transit from the unit’s homeport in Virginia to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility less than two days after President Joe Biden called on the military to conduct the emergency operation during his State of the Union Address. Today, four more Army vessels set sail from Joint Base Langley-Eustis to join the operation: USAVs Monterrey, Matamoros, SP4 James A. Loux and Wilson Wharf.

The brigade, a component of the XVIII Airborne Corps, is the Army’s premier watercraft unit specializing in Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS. JLOTS systems can jointly employ Army and Navy logistics assets to deliver critical supplies to troops or civilians in austere environments anywhere in the world. (…)

Delivering the capability involves the complex choreography of logistics support and landing craft vessels that carry the equipment used to construct an approximately 1,800-foot causeway comprised of modular sections linked together known as a Trident Pier. Once in theater, the unit will begin construction of the causeway off the coast of Gaza enabling the flow of critical aid from the sea to civilians affected by the ongoing conflict. The capability is expected to be operational in approximately 60 days. (…)

Once operational, the pier will be capable of delivering up to 2,000,000 humanitarian aid meals per day. (…)

Ryder stressed that the JLOTS capability enables the U.S. to continue delivering aid without putting boots on the ground in Gaza. “We’ll be working with partners in the region to be on the receiving end of [the JLOTS installation], but at no time will we require U.S. forces to actually go on the ground,” he said. “Our role will be essentially to provide the service of getting [the aid] to the causeway, at which point it will then be distributed.” (…)

 

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Photo: Soldiers with the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary) ready the USAV Monterrey to deploy from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., March 12, 2024 © Joseph Clark, DOD News

 

See also >>> https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3702071/dod-to-construct-pier-to-deliver-humanitarian-aid-to-gaza/