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Containers go to War

Containerized shipment of ammunition was tested during 1970 to support the Vietnam War. Some 226 containers were loaded with military explosives at four inland production plants and one depot. The containers were moved by highway to the Naval Weapons Station at Concord, California, where they were loaded aboard a crane-equipped container ship, transported to Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam, offloaded, and moved by a combination of coastal vessel and highway to Ban Me Thuot, Qui Nhon, Pleiku, and Landing Zone ENGLISH. No intermediate handling of the ammunition was required between the production plant and the Vietnam destination.

Participating in this test were the Army Materiel Command and the Military Traffic Management and Terminal Service. Because the test was a one-time operation to be completed at an early date, certain adverse features were unavoidable. For example, moving loaded containers to the west coast by road instead of rail increased land movement costs considerably. The combination of a large container and a 75-percent safety limit on the lifting crane resulted in a low cube utilization of the container. Blocking and bracing standards imposed by the U.S. Coast Guard resulted in a complex blocking arrangement that was costly to install and remove and added significantly to gross weight. Furthermore, the one-time test did not allow negotiators to offer continuing shipments to highway and ocean carriers, which meant higher costs for one-time transportation.

Operationally the test demonstrated that real benefits could be attained through the shipment of containerized ammunition. Vessel turnaround was improved by 500 percent over break-bulk handling. Manpower efficiency was increased by 600 percent. These improvements promise a significant increase in the port throughput (berth and anchor discharge, onward movement, destination reception) capacity over that achieved in break-bulk handling. Increased manpower work loads at points of origin and destination were more than offset by over-all savings. The number of handlings was reduced from a possible eight by break-bulk to only two. The ammunition was in better condition on delivery, and lot integrity was preserved. The reduction in pipeline time would foster pipeline inventory savings when containerized shipments were routine. As fiscal year 1970 closed, actions were being taken to develop a total system for the containerized shipment of ammunition.

Sealift remained a critical consideration in Army planning and operations. Economic factors had compelled the civilian maritime industry to convert merchant ships from a break-bulk to a container fleet. The Military Sealift Command predicted that there would not be enough break-bulk dry cargo ships after 1972 to meet Department of Defense cargo requirements. Since the Army must rely upon the commercial maritime industry to transport the bulk of its cargo, it was imperative that the Army logistics system be compatible with the civilian maritime industry. Experience in Vietnam revealed that containerization offers a potential means for reducing logistical cost and improving the responsiveness of the logistical system in both peacetime and wartime. The Department of Defense had been using commercial container services to distribute a significant portion of its materiel to locations worldwide. But by the early 1970s military facilities, equipment, concepts, and doctrine were inadequate and incompatible with the newly developed commercial container system, and the Army's logistical capability in the 1972-1982 decade would be impaired unless the potential of the commercial industry is capitalized upon.

Within the Department of Defense a steering group comprised of service representatives was established in September 1971 to coordinate surface and air container systems development and provide systems managers with guidance and direction. A Department of Defense project manager's office was established, jointly staffed, to handle surface container-supported distribution systems development, and located with the Commander of the Army Materiel Command. This office prepared and the services approved a master plan that addressed funding, equipment, research, and evaluation. In addition, improvements in the container chassis (MILVANS) were under study to improve surface mobility.