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Navy Recalls COMFISC Reservists to Support War Effort

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS041213-09
Release Date: 12/13/2004 1:31:00 PM

By Ron Flanders, Fleet and Industrial Supply Center San Diego

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Reservists assigned to Commander, Fleet and Industrial Supply Center (FISC) Reserve detachments were recalled in November to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The Reservists, from detachments assigned to FISCs in San Diego; Norfolk, Va.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Puget Sound, Wash.; and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, received one-year recall orders and joined the Naval Expeditionary Logistics Support Force's (NAVELSF) Oscar Battalion. Oscar Battalion will perform customs inspection duties for the Department of Defense at sea and at airports in Kuwait and Iraq.

While in the Middle East, the Sailors' mission will be to ensure that all gear returning to the United States meets Department of Agriculture standards and complies with customs regulations for re-entry into the United States. Nothing from Iraq can come home on tanks or vehicles, and certain artifacts or souvenirs cannot return home with the troops.

The deployment is unprecedented for the Naval Supply Systems Command and the Navy, as Naval Reservists who thought they would mobilize to support supply centers or a maritime mission are being ordered to the ground in a combat zone.

"This is not a maritime war, but the Army is being stressed in occupying the country," said Capt. Mike Schesser, Commander, Fleet and Industrial Supply Centers (COMFISC) operational support officer. "This customs inspection mission started off being an Army mission, it moved over to the Air Force, and now it's our turn."

The customs inspection mission was tasked to NAVELSF, which trains to operate in the expeditionary environment. But NAVELSF regular battalions were already engaged supporting the Army with cargo handling, so leadership at Naval Fleet Forces Command and NAVELSF opted to fill the customs inspection battalion with Reservists.

The challenge was to fill an approximately 400-member battalion with Reservists who could function as a cohesive team once they arrived in theater. For that reason, 82 Reservists from various COMFISCs Reserve units were recalled to constitute the core of the battalion.

"Our Reservists will be the glue," said Schesser. "Trying to bring 400 people together who didn't know each other until they were mobilized would be quite a challenge. But to take a fifth of the battalion who know supply and how things are built, it gives you a jump-start to building unit cohesion. The COMFISCs Reservists will be the enablers to help form this battalion into a cohesive unit."

While the news of the deployment and the mission came as a surprise to the unit members, the Sailors were unequivocal about their feelings about the mission.

"I am ready to go, and proud to serve my country," said Senior Chief Storekeeper Lito Agustin of FISC Pearl Harbor Detachment 220.

Storekeeper 1st Class Maribel Caro of FISC San Diego Det 119 also was proud to carry the flag for her country. "I love being in the military," Caro said. "I knew eventually someday they would call me and I am ready for this mission."

Though the mission is a new one for the Navy, leadership has no doubts as to whether these Sailors can handle the job. Lt. Cmdr. Christa Ford, commanding officer of FISCSD Det 219 from San Pedro, Calif., said the 11 Sailors from her unit who are deploying are true professionals who accepted their assignment without complaint.

"They are, each and every one of them, an asset to the United States Navy," said Ford. "I have the utmost confidence in their ability to go on this mission, get trained and ready, and execute it with hard work and dedication."