Twitter
Facebook
LEGHORN ARMY DEPOT, Italy — The 3rd Battalion, 405th Army Field Support prepared another shipment of humanitarian aid supplies to be delivered to Pakistan Sept. 9 at the request of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
This shipment, the second the battalion has prepared for relief efforts in Pakistan, included more than 182,000 wool blankets, 96,000 10-liter water jugs and two 10,000-liter water bladder kits. Northwest Pakistan recently experienced significant flooding caused by extremely heavy monsoon rains, and millions of Pakistanis were impacted by the natural disaster.
“This is one of the largest humanitarian aid support missions that the battalion has received,” said Lt. Col. Richard Pierce, commander of the 3rd Bn., 405th AFSB. “Our battalion is providing the personnel and equipment to prepare the
supplies for shipment and load them on locally contracted trucks for
transport to the airport.”
The size of the shipment does present some challenges to the battalion, but the workforce’s expertise and logistical capabilities will ensure the mission’s success.
“Fortunately, we have a lot of experience in preparing shipments, so although the larger shipment means a bit more work, it’s work we’re well prepared to handle,” said Alberto Chidini, who oversees the USAID warehouse operations for the battalion. “We will need more than 30 trucks to transport the supplies to the airport in Milan; however, we’re easily able to do that.”
Once the equipment arrived at the airport, USAID provided 747 aircraft to transport the goods directly to Pakistan during four different flights.
The battalion is uniquely qualified to support large logistical operations such as these.
“The Italian workforce at the battalion is extremely qualified and talented, and they have years of experience in this type of operation,” said Col. Ronald Green, commander of the 405th AFSB, which is headquartered in Kaiserslautern. “Furthermore, the battalion has easy access to rail, road, air and water
transportation routes, making it uniquely situated to support these types of missions.”
The 3rd Bn., 405th AFSB is responsible for the storage and maintenance of USAID emergency humanitarian assistance commodities under an interagency agreement between the Army and the U.S. State Department.
