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YAUSUBETSU MANEUVER AREA, HOKKAIDO, Japan – With any military
operation or exercise, logistical planning is required for both
troops and equipment to function at full potential.
For the
Marines with the administrative logistics ordnance command, 3rd
Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, meeting the logistical requirements
of the three artillery batteries operating in the Yausubetsu
Maneuver Area during Artillery Relocation Training Program 14-2 is a
constant and ever-evolving mission.
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U.S. Marine Corps Cpls. Daniel R. Roca, left, and Jarrod R. Allen check the oil on
a 7-ton truck Aug. 30, 2014 during Artillery Relocation Training Program
14-2 at the Yausubetsu Maneuver Area in Hokkaido, Japan. Marines
working at the administrative logistics ordnance command maintained
vehicles and equipment for three batteries during ARTP 14-2. Roca is
from Germantown, Maryland, and an automotive organizational mechanic
with 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III
Marine Expeditionary Force. Allen is from Amarillo, Texas, and a
motor vehicle operator with the battalion. (U.S. Marine Corps photo
by Sgt. Matthew Manning)
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“The ALOC tracks and handles all the logistics operating
within the battalion and ensures that each firing battery,
as well as, all the elements of the headquarters battery,
has exactly what they need in their respective class of
supplies as far as fuel, water, ammunition and food goes,”
said 1st Lt. Thomas J. Matson, a maintenance management
officer with 3rd Bn., 12th Marines, 3rd Marine Division, III
Marine Expeditionary Force. “We facilitate the movement of
these supplies throughout the training area or battle
space.”
Serving as a resupply and refueling point for
the batteries within the training area, the ALOC is also
home to a variety of equipment not seen within the
batteries, according to Lance Cpl. Morgan E. Chesnut, a light armored vehicle
repairer serving as an electra-optical ordnance repairman
with the battalion.
“Some examples of the different
equipment the ALOC has, that the firing batteries do not,
are the wrecker and the logistic vehicle system
replacements,” said Chesnut, from Seattle, Washington. “We
use the wrecker in the case of a vehicle needing maintenance
or towing, as well as a maintenance truck with a trailer
full of any tools the mechanics would need. We also have an
ordnance contact truck, which has all the tools and nitrogen
tanks needed to ensure the cannons are functioning properly.
We also have several LVSRs, which enable us to keep more
supplies on hand than what the firing batteries are able to
bring with them.”
Supporting three separate batteries
across the vast training area has kept the Marines of the
ALOC well occupied, according to Cpl. Daniel R. Roca, an
automotive organizational mechanic with the battalion.
“In every training location, you have to battle the
elements,” said Roca, from Germantown, Maryland. “It is part
of being a Marine. You just have to accept the fact that you
will be dirty. This training area has very thick mud, and
with the mud, vehicles get stuck. We had to perform several
vehicle recovery runs while we have been here in which we
need to use our wrecker to tow vehicles.”
Along with
the different equipment, the ALOC is home to the Marines who
operate it, according to Matson, from Marengo, Illinois.
“Most of the mechanics are going to reside within the
ALOC,” said Matson. “Each battery will have some mechanics
on hand to ensure proper user maintenance is being performed
on all the equipment, but the ALOC is able to provide that
higher level of maintenance than what the batteries are
capable. So instead of having to send a vehicle or (an
M777A2 lightweight 155 mm howitzer) back to the rear for a
maintenance issue, we are able to send a team of mechanics
to the battery to perform that maintenance and get that
equipment back in the fight.”
The ARTP has taken
place since 1997, and is regularly scheduled training that
enhances the combat readiness of U.S. Marine forces and
supports the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and
Security.
By U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Matthew Manning
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2014
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