From 22 September until 10 November 1994, the 46th Corps Support Group (CSG) (Airborne) participated in Operation Uphold Democracy. But the road to Haiti actually began long before at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Fort Eustis, Virginia; and Camp LeJeune, North Carolina. At these installations, during the XVIII Airborne Corps' Super Thrust I and Super Thrust II exercises in April and June 1994, the group formed its concept of logistics support for operations in Haiti. These exercises laid a framework for synchronizing critical operations tasks.
The 46th CSG began planning for Operation Uphold Democracy in August. The group had to simultaneously plan for two contingencies: a permissive entry in Haiti (Operation Uphold Democracy) or a forced entry (Operation Restore Democracy). Crisis action planning for Operation Restore Democracy stopped when former President Jimmy Carter's negotiations with Haiti's General Raoul Cedras proved successful.
Preparing For Permissive Entry
The 46th CSG's primary logistics concern was obtaining facilities. The facilities the group planned to use during a forced-entry operation now had to be obtained through contracting.
The group's support of Joint Task Force (JTF) 190 and the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) presented no unusual problems. The 10th Division's requirements and support base did not differ significantly from the 82d Airborne Division's, and the corps base units participating in the operation were principally from Fort Bragg-the 46th's usual customers.
One major difference between Operation Restore Democracy and Operation Uphold Democracy was the projected end-strength of the theater-a personnel increase from 10,000 to 20,000. This meant modifications to the time-phased force deployment list (TPFDL) for both personnel and equipment. Major units added to the 46th CSG Task Force (TF) organization and the TPFDL were the 548th Corps Support Battalion (CSB), Fort Drum, New York, and the 189th CSB (-), Fort Bragg. These units significantly increased the group's support capabilities.
Critical combat service support units and equipment had to be slated for early arrival. During crisis action planning, the need for a viable intermediate staging base surfaced. After careful evaluation, Brigadier General John M. McDuffie, commander of the 1st Corps Support Command (COSCOM), selected the island of Great Inagua in the Bahamas for this purpose. (See General McDuffie's article in the July-August 1995 issue of Army Logistician.)
Great Inagua
Before the entry of ground forces into Haiti, TF 189th CSB (-) left Fort Bragg for Fort Eustis to load its equipment onto 7th Transportation Group landing craft utility (LCU's). The TF then proceeded to Great Inagua to establish a key theater logistics node. The Joint Logistics Support Command directed TF 189's movements to coincide with the movement of the 2d Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, to Cap-Haitien.
An element of the 101st Corps Support Group-the 102d Quartermaster Company-departed Fort Campbell, Kentucky, for Fort Bragg while TF 189 was en route to Fort Eustis. The 102d would eventually link up with TF 189 on Great Inagua and provide the petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) storage and distribution that were essential to TF 189's mission of providing water and POL.
Lines of Logistics into the Theater
While TF 189 was en route to Great Inagua, critical water production and fuel storage and distribution equipment was being moved from Fort Eustis through the Port of Wilmington, North Carolina, and on to Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital. Arrivals in Haiti included four 5,000-gallon water and six 5,000-gallon fuel tankers, emergency rations, and water production equipment.
The assault echelon of the 46th CSG TF meanwhile was preparing for air transport to Port-au-Prince International Airport. The assault echelon contained command and control personnel for the operation, a 3,000-gallon-per-hour reverse-osmosis water purification unit (ROWPU), a fuel system supply point to refuel aircraft on the airfield, and a 5,000-gallon fuel tanker. With the addition of TF 548 (the 548th CSB), TF 46 significantly added to its transportation, maintenance, and field service capabilities and quickly reached an end-state that would allow the group to provide a support base for the theater of operation.
POL and Water
Establishing fuel operations was a high priority for TF 46 and the COSCOM. The 1st COSCOM selected two key logistics nodes to support the theater: the refinery at the Haitian America Sugar Corporation (HASCO) in Port-au-Prince and the airport. HASCO was the main petroleum reception facility in Haiti and had a total fuel storage capacity of 350,000 gallons. This facility, operated by the 110th POL Supply Company from Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia, used petroleum barges as the main means of providing fuel to the JTF. One of the fuel barges was compartmentalized for the storage of both JP5 and motor gasoline (MOGAS). MOGAS was essential to refueling operations for mobile kitchen trailers and the Coast Guard's patrol boats.
Initially, a 3,000-gallon-per-hour ROWPU production site established adjacent to the airport served as the backbone for water production; two additional 3,000-gallon-per-hour ROWPU's were added to meet increasing demands and reduce distribution requirements.
Water distribution operations, on the other hand, were not without challenges. The primary consumers of water were the two field service companies operating the laundry and bath sites, but as many as 21 3,000-gallon onion-skin bags were dispersed throughout the area of operation to provide water to customers by geographical area. During Operation Uphold Democracy, TF 46 produced more than 4 million gallons of potable water.
Rations
An emergency resupply of 27,000 rations arrived on D-day. Initially, the bulk of the rations for the theater arrived by sustainment barges. However, for some period of time the theater relied on the air line of communication (ALOC) for rations to increase the ration support base.
Sixteen refrigerated vans for rations, fresh fruits and vegetables, and ice were deployed. Perishable rations also were to be transported by intratheater aircraft. However, palletizing the rations in advance of aircraft arrival at the airport created some risk of spoiling. To solve this problem, reefer vans were shuttled to Cap-Haitien. Eventually, when Air Force intratheater airlift became routinely available, the ALOC became the primary means to move perishable rations.
Transportation
Transportation support also was essential to successful logistics operations in Haiti. TF 46 used a variety of transportation modes to distribute materiel. Initial ground transportation support was provided by the 546th Transportation Company. With the arrival of TF 548 and the 57th Transportation Light Medium Truck Company, TF 46's capabilities increased tremendously.
The LCU's assigned to the 7th Transportation Group were instrumental in projecting logistics support out from Port-au-Prince. These boats allowed logistics to flow reliably to Cap-Haitien and other remote areas.
Part of the early arriving transportation resources were two rough-terrain container handlers. Once sustainment barges began to arrive, in excess of 250 containers per ship needed processing. This volume of containers required the establishment of a container-holding yard at the airfield to call containers forward as needed.
Ammunition
Ammunition, though not as essential in a permissive environment, proved to be a difficulty nonetheless. The challenge in ammunition was created by the JTF's very active and successful program of raiding suspected arms caches. The raids, combined with an aggressive arms-for-cash program, reduced the number of weapons held by Cedras supporters. It also produced a tremendous amount of ammunition. Unserviceable ammunition was temporarily stored until the JTF could provide disposition instructions and a location to destroy it. In early November, approximately 2,000 pounds of unserviceable ammunition were destroyed using four explosive shots.
The JTF also was extremely active in explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) incident response calls and area sweeps-particularly in the vicinity of the Presidential Palace in Port-au-Prince; nearly 3 tons of unserviceable explosives were removed from there alone. In total, the 48th EOD Detachment had more than 100 missions, or 1,000 response hours, in the first 30 days.
Maintenance Support
Maintenance support to TF 46 was provided initially by the 503d Maintenance Company from TF 264. The 514th Maintenance Company, from TF 548, later provided TF 46 a more robust maintenance capability. Mechanized units assigned to the theater deployed with their habitual maintenance support base, thereby eliminating the need for TF 46 to support equipment not traditionally supported at Fort Bragg. During the operation, TF 46 received more than 1,000 ground and 150 aviation maintenance jobs.
Mortuary Affairs
Mortuary affairs support was provided by the 54th Quartermaster Company from Fort Lee, Virginia. Although the TF was operating in a permissive environment, mortuary affairs personnel were essential to the theater. From late September until early November, the company processed the remains of 20 persons, only 2 of which were the remains of U.S. soldiers.
General Supplies
General supplies initially arrived in the theater by push packages that primarily consisted of sandbags, concertina wire, and other construction material and supplies for force protection. The push packages were developed jointly by TF 46 and the 2d Materiel Management Center. The 364th Supply Company (Direct Support) processed all general supplies entering the theater.
Storage space quickly became a major issue. TF 264 stored much of the general supplies in a warehouse adjacent to the airport. However, military-owned demountable containers (MILVAN's) often became temporary storage sites for general supplies and push packages.
Laundry and Bath Facilities
The locations of laundry and bath facilities were determined by the geographical location of units and population density. Both the 259th and 590th Field Service Companies supported the entire theater of operation. Laundry sites operated by the 590th were located at Bowen Airfield, the international airport, and Cap-Haitien. The 259th operated a large consolidated laundry point at the airport and another at the seaport. Shower points also were at these same locations and at the light industrial complex in Port-au-Prince and Camp Dragon.
Field Sanitation
Field sanitation presented TF 46 with one of its greatest challenges. TF 46 contracted for 10 waste management trucks and 650 portable latrines with chemicals. Local civilian contractors were used to operate the trucks and assemble the latrines. Though the group received only 7 of the 10 trucks, the waste management mission was still accomplished. But the field sanitation mission needed intensive operational and maintenance management, contracting support, and the almost total dedication of two noncommissioned officers.
Terminal Service
As the theater stabilized, JTF 190 began to redeploy units that were no longer essential for continued logistics operations. The 7th Transportation Group returned to Fort Eustis, leaving behind the 10th Terminal Service Battalion (TF 10) to provide essential services at the seaport. TF 10 was then organized under TF 46, making it JTF's prime mover of all materiel in country. TF 10 continued to maintain the sea lines of communication throughout the theater and simultaneously support the retrograde of equipment from the theater of operation.
Humanitarian Assistance
One of the great rewards of operations other than war is providing humanitarian assistance. TF 46 was one of the JTF's prime agents for this mission. Initially, TF 46 became involved through Operation Restore Power-a program dedicated to providing fuel and packaged POL products to power plants in Port-au-Prince. In total, the TF delivered nearly 100,000 gallons of JP5 fuel to the Varreux and Carrefor power plants in Port-au-Prince. TF 46 provided 5,000-gallon tankers to deliver fuel and provide packaged POL products (turbo oil) to Jacmel, Les Cayes, Jéréme, Gonaives, Port-Liberté and Cap-Haitien. TF 189 and TF 548 provided nearly 150,000 gallons of fuel to the power plant at Cap-Haitien alone. TF 46 also supported the delivery of 54 MILVAN's of United Nations-procured supplies for schools in Cap-Haitien and the delivery of fuel to public works vehicles in Port-au-Prince.
LOGCAP
The transition to Brown and Root Services, Incorporated, under the logistics civil augmentation program (LOGCAP) began before the 1st COSCOM's departure for Haiti and continued throughout the deployment. In mid-October, representatives of Brown and Root and the JTF began to develop a timeline for the transfer of logistics missions. In early November, TF 46 missions such as rations; retail fuel operations; class II, III and IV supply; and arrival and departure airfield control group (ADACG) operations transferred to Brown and Root control. By mid-November, Brown and Root had assumed all TF 46 missions except ammunition and mortuary affairs. TF 548, because of its routine support relationship with the 10th Mountain Division, received attachment of the 8th Ordnance Company (-) and the 54th Quartermaster Company. Along with the attached units and their assigned maintenance, transportation, and field service units, 548th CSB formed the support base for all corps units remaining in Haiti.
By the end of TF-46's mission in Operation Uphold Democracy, it had successfully transitioned from the support planning of a forced entry operation with the 82d Airborne Division to the execution of an operation in support of the 10th Mountain Division in a permissive environment. During the operation, water, fuel, and rations were never a problem for units in the field, and, though there were logistics challenges, TF 46 soldiers contributed to the JTF's success in a difficult operational environment. The group now is fully recovered and prepared for its next logistics challenge. ALOG
Major Gerald A. Dolinish is the executive officer, 264th Corps Support Battalion, 46th Corps Support Group (Airborne), 1st Corps Support Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He has served in a variety of positions in both the 101st Airborne and 3d Armored Divisions and as an instructor at the Army Command and General Staff College. He holds a bachelor's degree from Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida, and a master's degree from Kansas State University, Manhattan.