GREGG K. KAKESAKO / GKAKESAKO@STARBULLETIN.COM
USNS Pililaau Chief Mate Jim Kobis explained life boat fundamentals yesterday to 25th Division soldiers assigned to maintain the 750 vehicles being shipped to the United Arab Emirates for duty in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan-bound
cargo gets set to sail12 Schofield soldiers will
accompany the gear on a Navy ship
Twelve Schofield Barracks soldiers for the next three weeks will get a taste of Navy life as they accompany 750 vehicles and 400 containers belonging to a 25th Infantry Division combat team that will spend a year in Afghanistan starting next month.
The Schofield soldiers and equipment bound for Fujayrah in the United Arab Emirates were to leave Ford Island tonight aboard the 950-foot USNS Pililaau, named for Medal of Honor recipient Pfc. Herbert Kaili Pililaau of Waianae.
Lt. Col. Dan Georgi, the division's logistics specialist, said 4,500 members of the 3rd Combat Brigade Team will begin leaving Schofield in early March and will relieve the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan on April 1.
The Pililaau is one of 19 ships belonging to the Navy's Military Sealift Command, but it is crewed by civilians working for Patriot Contract Services.
The ship's skipper, Capt. Karl Faulkner, said for this trip the Pililaau has a civilian crew of 33 augmented by 12 "super cargo handlers" from the 25th Division and another 12 soldiers who provide security.
On the Pililaau yesterday, Chief Mate Jim Kobis gave the soldiers a tour of the berthing areas and briefed them on what will be expected of them.
"Make sure you tie everything in the room down," he added. "There may be times that we will experience a 45-degree roll ... then everything that isn't tied down flies all over the place."
The job of the "super cargo handlers" is to inspect all of the vehicles in cargo each day, perform preventive maintenance and ensure they are operational when the Pililaau makes port.
The Navy transport USNS Cape Henry, which just took equipment belonging to the 1st Infantry Division to Iraq, will be here later this month to transport helicopters and cargo belonging to the Hawaii Army National Guard's 193rd Aviation, the Army Reserve's 411th Engineer Combat Battalion and 25th Division transportation units to Iraq.
