559th Quartermaster Battalion (WS)
"The Flow of Victory"
The 559th Quartermaster Battalion from Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Ga. is the Army's only active duty water battalion, and the only Reverse Osmosis Purification Unit, or ROWPU.
Water is the most essential provision of Bright Star 01/02, a 10-nation, 70,000-soldiers exercise conducted in Egypt. Approximately 23,000 U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines were involved in the exercise. For Bright Star, the 559th fell under the command and control of Third U.S. Army/Army Forces Central Command (ARCENT). As the Army component headquarters for Central Command, Third Army/ARCENT has responsibility for a 25-nation area that covers northeast Africa, the Persian Gulf and Southwest and Central Asia.
Under the command of the 24th Corps Support Group at Fort Stewart, GA, the 559th Quartermaster Battalion provided water support to United States and Coalition forces during Bright Star 2001. The battalion began planning for the mission in December 2000, after the initial planning conference by the 377th Theater Support Command (TSC). The 559th based many of its plans on experience from Bright Star 1999. One key difference between Bright Star 2001 and previous exercises was the use of bottled water. The TSC mandated that bottled water for drinking would be purchased only for the early entry and trail forces. This made accurate planning imperative so that water purification systems would be fully operable on the target date.
The mission required the battalion to deploy in two different groups. An advanced echelon (ADVON) deployed 5 Sep 01. The main body was scheduled to depart two weeks later. The ADVON's mission was to establish a connection with the water source and provide purified drinking water via supply point distribution by 14 Sep 01. The 512th Quartermaster Company [Tactical Water Distribution System (TWDS)] quickly tied into the Egyptian water source, a standpipe that connected to the water pipe supplying the city of Alexandria. After the 512th Quartermaster Company completed laying 0.7 miles of six-inch collapsible TWDS hoseline to the water purification point, the 202th and 205th Quartermaster Detachments were to purify water with two 3,000-gallon per hour (GPH) Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Units (ROWPUs) the next day.
However, after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, force protection requirements increased and restricted the movement of personnel. Two water support concerns related directly to force protection. The first was how to provide water from the purification point four miles away to Mubarek Military City (MMC), where the supported personnel were. The off-limits designation of the water purification point during darkness also was a problem. Both issues were resolved by moving a ROWPU to the MMC billeting area and coordinating with an Engineer unit in the US Army Reserve to transport water from the standpipe to the ROWPU.
The 559th Quartermaster Battalion's main body deployed to Egypt on September 26. The main body immediately prepared to occupy the field site and provide water and ammunition support to all Bright Star forces. On October 1, the entire battalion moved from the MMC garrison area to the field site at Pyramid Log Base (PLB).
The focal point for water operations was called "Four Corners." Located at the intersection of the roads that led to MMC and PLB, Four Corners was four miles from MMC and 0.25 mile from PLB. The Egyptian standpipe that was the source water was 0.7 mile from Four Corners. The 512th Quartermaster Company set up 50,000-gallon collapsible fabric tanks at Four Corners to store water from the standpipe delivered by the TWDS. These 50,000-gallon tanks provided the source water that the ROWPUs purified. The water storage tanks also ensured adequate water if the standpipe was sabotaged or access was restricted. The 202th and 205th Quartermaster Detachments deployed with 11 ROWPUs with the 3,000-GPH capacity. The detachments set up and operated six ROWPUs that purified water from the source tanks. The purified water was then pumped into 50,000-gallon fabric tanks and issued to customers.
The 512th Quartermaster Company had the task of laying TWDS lines across the Egyptian desert in two different locations. About four miles of TWDS were required to reach MMC to support laundry and bath operations. The 512th Quartermaster Company laid another three miles of TWDS to PLB, the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR) and US Marines. At PLB, the 512th operated a water distribution point with two 50,000-gallon collapsible tanks for the 1,300 troops staying there. In addition, the PLB water point supported the US Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) ice machine, which provided ice to US forces at both MMC and PLB. The TWDS from the 512th Quartermaster Company also provided water for showers at Rifles Base, the 3d ACR's base camp, and to the US Marine base camp.
Thousands of men and women enjoyed an unlimited supply of clean, pure water. Purified water is stored and sent via industrial-sized hoses to distribution points, in some cases miles from the 599th Quartermaster Battalion's operating base. The unit pumped approximately 600 gallons of unfiltered ground water per minute from an aquifer in Alexandria, Egypt. A "stand pipe," in place since the first Bright Star Exercise in 1981, pumps the water from about one mile underground. The water is then channeled through a puzzle of pipes, hoses, pumps, and specially designed filters before being ready for a soldier's canteen. A tightly regulated amount of chlorine (two parts per million) is then added to disinfect the water. The only thing cleaner than this is distilled water.
Bright Star ended in October 2001 and forces began redeployment. Collapsing water support equipment during the first two weeks of November required careful planning and coordination. Simultaneously, the battalion provided drinking water to the dwindling number of troops remaining at MMC, provided water to the wash rack for cleaning equipment before port call, and recovered its own equipment. As more units redeployed, customer demand decreased and ROWPUs were removed incrementally from operation. The TWDS recovery, a labor-intensive and time-consuming task, was synchronized to ensure that customers had access to bulk water until the day their units redeployed.
The final challenge of redeployment was getting the battalion's internal equipment washed and moved to the port of Agami for return by sea to Savannah, GA. Each piece had to be steam-cleaned and inspected by US customs officials. The battalion departed Egypt on 15 Nov 01 and returned to Hunter Army Airfield.
The 559th "Water Dogs" purified more than 3.4 million gallons of water and issued more than 3.1 million gallons during the course of Bright Star 2001. Once purification units were operating, costly bottled water was no longer a requirement. Despite increased security requirements, Bright Star 2001 was a great success for the 559th.
In an age of a possible nuclear, biological or chemical attack, an NBC filter is also readily available and is easily installed if any trace elements of NBC contaminants are found in the hourly sampling of the water.
The DUI (Distinctive Unit Insignia) was approved 11 August 1994. Description: Gold stands for the branch color, buff, of the Quartermaster Corps. The pale and color blue refer to the battalion's water mission. The sword denotes readiness and service to the individual soldier. Black stands for strength and steadfastness.
