• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

841st Transportation Battalion

The 841st Transportation Battalion conducts surface deployment and distribution operations at strategic seaports and military terminals located along the US East Coast. The seaport areas of responsibility include, but are not limited to, Charleston, South Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; Wilmington, North Carolina; Morehead City, North Carolina; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.; Hampton Roads, Virginia; Norfolk, Virginia; Portsmouth, Virginia; New York City, New York; Port Elizabeth, New Jersey; Port Newark, New Jersey; and Baltimore, Maryland. The Battalion's primary customers include XVIII Corps, 82nd Airborne Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, 3rd Infantry Division, and 10th Mountain Division. The 841st Transportation Battalion is the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command's (SDDC) primary unit for the execution of Task Force Deployment Operations. Additionally, the 841st Transportation Battalion supports the discharge of Military Sealift Command fuel tankers, which provide nearly 100 percent of all the required JP-8 aviation fuel to Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina.

The close proximity to the warfighting customer, the vast staging areas, a secure perimeter and deep-water piers, means that Charleston, South Carolina is the preferred strategic port in completing missions. However, the 841st Transportation Battalion is capable of deploying and conducting operations from any commercial seaport in the world. A majority of the 841st Transportation Battalion's operations occur in the United States, primarily at the Naval Weapons Station in Charleston, the Ocean Terminal in Savannah, and the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in Philadelphia. The Battalion can conduct operations simultaneously at all 3 locations.

In 1997, as part of the transformation of the Military Traffic Management and Terminal Service (MTMTS) to the Military Traffic Management Command (MTMC; which became the SDDC in 2004), the command's subordinate units were reflagged. This led to the formation of the 841st Transportation Battalion, assigned to the 597th Transportation Group (Terminal).

The Military Traffic Management Command's 841st Battalion joined with Army Reserve units to load 1,648 pieces of equipment onto the USNS Dahl from 31 August through 4 September 1999. This set a record for the most pieces loaded onto one of the Military Sealift Command's roll-on-roll-off vessels. The Dahl, one of the newest and largest roll-on-roll-off vessels, had deck space equivalent to 8 football fields. The Dahl was one of 3 ships loaded at the Georgia Ports Authority Garden City Terminal in Savannah, Georgia, in preparation for the annual Exercise Bright Star in Egypt. The other ships loaded were the USS Osprey and the USNS Capella, which loaded 800 and 700 items, respectively. Reserve units participating in the exercise included the 1173rd Transportation Battalion of Brockton, Massachusetts; the 1181st Transportation Battalion of Meridian, Mississippi; the 1189th Transportation Terminal Brigade of Charleston, South Carolina; and the 6632nd Port Security Company of Irvine, California.

By the early 2000s, The mission of the 841st Transportation Battalion was to synchronize Defense Transportation System surface cargo movements and provide Traffic Management and Single Port management for the Department of Defense in peace and crisis. The Battalion planned, coordinated, and accomplished the expeditious and economical movement and documentation of Department of Defense sponsored cargo and prepositioning cargo through terminals and facilities within its assigned area of responsibility. The Battalion also monitored contractor performance related to operating a vehicle processing center within its assigned area of responsibility. The Battalion would deploy/redeploy US forces as assigned by Commander, MTMC Deployment Support Command (DSC) and advised and assisted wartraced US Army Reserve units as assigned by Commander, MTMC DSC. The Battalion participate in Joint Chiefs of Staff exercises and was prepared to deploy military personnel and Emergency Essential Civilians outside of the continental United States. The Battalion also provided command and control of the 954th Trans Company at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

On 23 July 2001 it was announced that the Army had approved a sweeping reorganization of the Military Traffic Management Command that would make fundamental changes in the organization's structure, staffing and operations. All the changes were to be in effect by 30 June 2003. Implementation of the proposal was complete by 30 September 2001. During the transformation, the 841st Transportation Battalion remained assigned to the 597th Transportation Group (which later became the 597th Transportation Brigade).

In support of the Global War on Terrorism and Overseas Contingency Operations, the 841st Transportation Battalion was responsible for nearly 50 percent of the 597th Transportation Brigade's continental US workload and transported approximately 25 percent of all military cargo into the US Central Command (CENTCOM) theatre in support of Operations New Dawn and Enduring Freedom. The Battalion's homeport in Charleston had been the premier port for the shipment of more than 10,000 MRAPs and more than 3,000 Up-Armored HMMWVs. It was selected and utilized as the singular surge port when requirements increased in Afghanistan and the president announced a surge of 30,000 troops in that area of operations.

In 2011, the Battalion conducted all vessel operations in support of the Army Prepositioned Stocks program, including the download of the USNS Watson in the summer months, an upload of the USNS Watkins in October 2011, and a JLOTS exercise in April 2011 at Norfolk, Virginia. The 841st Transportation Battalion maintained a high operational tempo throughout 2011, safely and successfully handling more than 50,000 pieces of equipment on about 460 vessels, about 4,000 trucks and more than 200 rail cars.

By 2012, the 954th Transportation Company had been inactivated and its personnel converted to a detachment assigned to the 832nd Transportation Battalion.