Blount Island team boosts maritime readiness in South Korea

POHANG, South Korea — With vehicles poised to roll ashore at Dogu Beach during Combined Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore 26, U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Mariah Aparicio moved through the USNS Sisler’s interior with a folded load plan in hand, checking placements before the next phase began. Working in lingering July heat until ventilation systems kicked in, she wore a red reflective vest marked “Blount Island Command” and verified gear positions to protect the ship’s discharge sequence.

“The goal at this point is to squeeze and compact,” Aparicio said as Marines from 3rd Maintenance Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 35, 3rd Marine Logistics Group finalized pre-offload steps. Two days ahead of schedule, the team had shifted the last cargo to the stern. “Now we need to fit everything in so we’re not wasting any space,” she said.

Aparicio arrived July 4 from Blount Island, Florida, to support CJLOTS 26, a July 10–20 combined exercise integrating U.S. and Republic of Korea lighterage and ship-to-shore connector capabilities. The equipment also underpinned Korean Marine Exchange Program 26.2, a follow-on event focused on alliance interoperability.

Some 21 service members, civilians and contractors deployed from Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island, which generates, sustains, modernizes and positions service-managed equipment supporting Marine Corps operations worldwide. As one of two embarkation specialists on Blount Island Command’s technical assistance and advisory team, Aparicio worked alongside 3rd Marine Logistics Group Marines to confirm placements and maintain the vessel’s planned sequence. “This is one of the easier decks,” she said, weaving between tactical trucks and generator carts. “There’s less stuff up here. Some of the others are a real puzzle.”

Every vehicle had to move in order. Missteps could trigger hours of repositioning to reach mission-essential cargo. “If you move something to another deck, it may not fit, and you could cause damage getting it there.”

A roll-on, roll-off discharge facility attached to the Sisler’s stern ramp enabled vehicles to drive onto Improved Navy Lighterage System causeway ferries assembled and operated by Sailors, who built on experience from recent regional exercises. As ferries pushed into Dogu Beach, vehicles rolled through the surf. U.S. Army watercraft moved selected cargo to the Trident Pier, a modular floating pier extending from shore.

Hundreds of pieces of equipment were offloaded, including nearly 300 vehicles, but that was only one phase of the mission. The accelerated timeline allowed Marines to begin joint limited technical inspections sooner with Blount Island maintenance contractors.

At a windswept staging area, Marines from 3rd Landing Support Battalion and Combat Logistics Regiment 35 executed arrival and assembly operations while blowing sand swept across rows of gear. Cpl. Seth Waite, a Blount Island Command supply quality assurance specialist, led the disassociation of roughly 200 pieces temporarily removed during offload to preserve the ship’s sequence, ensuring every item in the maritime positioning set remained fully accountable ashore. Nearby, Sgt. Abigail Raines, a Blount Island Command data systems administrator specializing in the Marine Corps Platform Integration Center, guided Marines through digital asset tracking as vehicles departed for training, with each scan updating location.

From sweltering cargo holds to salt-soaked causeway ferries and beach staging lines, the operation hinged on moving every vehicle in the correct order, to the right place, and keeping each asset tracked for follow-on maneuvers. Long after the last vehicle left Dogu Beach, Blount Island Command’s technical assistance and advisory team continued preparing the maritime positioning set for its next mission.

“CJLOTS reinforces that interoperability extends beyond ships and connectors,” said Col. Robert Fairley, commanding officer of Combat Logistics Regiment 35, 3rd Marine Logistics Group. “It includes the technical expertise, sustainment systems and responsive logistics that allow combined forces to operate together.” Watching activity at Dogu Beach, he added, “Every piece of equipment that arrives where it needs to be, when it needs to be there, strengthens our ability to rapidly respond to crisis or contingency alongside our Republic of Korea allies.”