Maryland Task Force 1 strives for seamless operations with Team Dover

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. – Days after completing Hurricane Matthew relief support, a Montgomery County’s Urban Search and Rescue Team, known as Maryland Task Force 1, trained here with Team Dover Oct. 18, 2016.

During the training, 19 members from Maryland Task Force 1 trained with Airmen assigned to the 436th Logistics Readiness Squadron, 436th Aerial Port Squadron and 9th Airlift Squadron, learning proper shipping documentation and packaging, vehicle weight and balance, as well as loading vehicles and equipment onto a C-5M Super Galaxy using the domestic operations Airlift Modular Approach Shoring, also known as DAMAS 26K.

“This type of training allows our loadmasters to see different types of cargo and loading situations using these ramps,” said Tech. Sgt. John Crowe, 9th AS loadmaster. “It gives us invaluable experience with running numbers and figuring out projection (loading angle) into the aircraft and how we are going to load it properly.”

Crowe also noted that using the compact lightweight modular ramps system, compared to the conventional wood ramps and shoring, takes fewer individuals to set up and is easily adjusted or reconfigured for different vehicles, saving on manpower, cargo space and fuel.

The Maryland Task Force 1 team trekked to Dover AFB in numerous vehicles containing equipment they would deploy with, ranging in size and weight from two Western Star and an International truck with a 53-foot trailer attached, down to a Chevy HD 3500 pickup truck towing a trailer carrying two 6-person boats.

“It’s a good training event for the civilian sector, especially for those which support the Federal Emergency Management Agency [or] any other Department of Defense agencies that are subject to interact with [the base] in support of contingency operations within the United States or abroad,” said Eddie Rodriguez, 436th LRS installation deployment officer.

Last Spring, Maryland Task Force 1 shadowed Fairfax County’s Virginia Task Force 1, a world-wide deployable unit during their training session. At the present time, Maryland Task Force 1 is only deployable within the continental United States or U.S. territory.

“The main objective of this training is to help the guys underneath me, in the logistics section of the task force, to understand proper annotations on hazardous cargo declarations, making sure all our boxes are packaged and marked correctly to save time if we were to get a deployment,” said Mike Crawford, Maryland Task Force 1 logistics manager. “By doing this now, we can make our corrections so the next time we come out, it should be seamless, flawless and we can be on the base, go through the check-in process, get on the plane and out the door in half the time it took today.”

After all the vehicles were weighed and properly marked for center of balance by 436th APS personnel, the equipment and supplies were checked for proper paperwork, in order for the cargo to be noted as airworthy.

“Every piece of cargo that goes out of Dover AFB has to have a safety data sheet,” said Anna Reed, 436th APS hazardous material inspector processor. “The SDS informs the aircrew everything about a piece of hazardous cargo, including vehicles, regarding proper shipping name, hazard class and the severity of the hazard.”

After all the equipment was inspected and documentation was complete, task force personnel took three of their vehicles to the flight line to be loaded onto a C-5M using the modular ramp system.

“This training is invaluable,” said Robert Freeman, Montgomery County, Maryland Fire and Rescue Service program manager. “We don’t fly our equipment much and normally take it by ground.”

Loadmasters and Maryland Task Force 1 personnel tried various configurations of the DAMAS 26K and driving or backing up the International truck and 53-foot trailer onto the Super Galaxy to achieve the best and safest result.

“I can’t begin to tell you how much I love working with Maryland Task Force 1,” said Reed. “They are so willing to learn more and more about the DoD’s transportation side of the house, they go above and beyond doing anything to rectify any issues.”

Whether response to humanitarian relief, natural disasters or a military contingency, being able to pick up and go at a moment’s notice is essential when time is of the essence. The ability for military and civilian agencies to actively learn, train and work together for a seamless process is invaluable for when the time comes to deploy.

Editor's note: The original story can be viewed on the Dover Air Force Base website.