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BAMBERG STAGING AREA HELPS FIX PROBLEMS BEFORE UNITS LEAVE HOME STATION

V Corps Release

Release Date: 1/28/2004

By Cheryl Boujnida 279th Base Support Battalion Public Affairs Office

BAMBERG, Germany -- There's been an emphasis on tracks and wheels here lately.

Bamberg units, readying equipment for deployment, spent 10 days inspecting V Corps tactical vehicles thoroughly before shipment from here by barge or rail to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The 279th Base Support Battalion's Deployment Operation Center set up an Installation Staging Area Jan. 14-24 to make sure the vehicle were deployment-ready.

"When a unit is deploying from a home station, everything must be in order so there are no maintenance faults or documentation problems. This review process makes it easier to fix a problem here, rather than finding out you have a problem at a port or at the final destination. Essentially, the ISA process prevents equipment from getting stalled en route," said Capt. Stephen Maire, the 279th BSB Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment commander and ISA executive officer.

Maire noted the staging area is made up of six stations, and each checkpoint ensures tracked and wheeled vehicles are thoroughly inspected.

"Over a period of 10 days, approximately 900 vehicles will be checked at the ISA. We are averaging about 80 vehicles each day," he said.

At the starting point, Soldiers are briefed in the reception area. Each vehicle must undergo safety and maintenance inspections, document review, fueling and de-fueling and final inspection before reaching the convoy staging area, or final station. Vehicle flow through the ISA was calculated so Warner Barracks traffic patterns were not blocked or hindered.

"Since we only have a finite amount of space we have to maximize our use of it," said Sgt. George Kline.

The first unit to undergo stringent inspections was the 1st Battalion, 33rd Field Artillery. Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Kenneth Boehme said the unit passed through the ISA ahead of schedule, thanks to its great Soldiers and strong maintenance focus.

"With a strong and positive maintenance posture you can create more enhanced training opportunities," said Boehme.

In conjunction with the ISA, servicemembers with Kaiserslautern's 29th Support Group and 191st Ordinance Battalion oversaw operations at Bamberg's Marshalling Area Control Group for wheeled vehicles en route to the barge site.