The triple-L of triple-P: logistics lessons learned from the Peleliu Pacific Partnership.

USS Peleliu (LHA 5) conducted a four-month surge deployment in support of humanitarian operations in several Western Pacific countries.

This mission, referred to as the "Peleliu Pacific Partnership" or "PPP," presented the ship and its supply officer, CAPT (Sel) Joyce Robinson and later CDR Matt Gibbons, with countless logistics challenges.

The plan to unite medical, dental, and engineering experts from all four DoD services, the Department of State, Department of Health and Human Services, civilian non-governmental organizations, and partner nations, and perform services to the Republic of the Philippines, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and the Royal Marshall Islands, meant the ship had to maintain an extremely tight schedule and operate in seldom-visited countries with little Naval support infrastructure, diverse cultures, unique political environments, and enormous distances to re-supply points.

This series of articles recounts the deployment as it played out in the summer of 2007 and some of the logistics lessons acquired from our experience.

PPP logistics readiness--lessons in flexibility

Tasking messages for the deployment came less than six months prior to its planned start date and two months prior to the ship's scheduled Supply Management Certification. Lacking alternatives, planning occurred simultaneously with inspection preparations and allowance reviews started immediately afterwards. With Peleliu tasked as the first large-deck amphibious assault ship to conduct a four-month humanitarian assistance deployment, following in the footsteps of USNS Mercy's 2006 deployment, many changes in terms of port visits and quantity and type of missions to be conducted in each port, occurred as planning progressed. By the day the ship left San Diego, many mission decisions remained up in the air.

In this environment, flexibility and worst-case scenario planning were essential to logistics success, and two planning structures supported these efforts. The first was a daily shipboard logistics meeting led by the Peleliu Assistant Supply Officer (ASUPPO) and Readiness Officer LCDR (Sel) Francisco Santos and acting Readiness Officer LT Brandon Flores.

Every afternoon through the first half of deployment (and later as a function of the daily Ops-led "Brudda's" meeting), key officers and CPOs from Supply, the Boat Master Unit, Assault Craft Unit, Seabee Battalions, Combat Cargo, Medical Logistics, HM-14, and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 31 met to discuss the fine points of logistics readiness, parts expediting, and load planning for each successive day of ground operations, as well as to resolve any supply services issues that arose, and foster esprit-de-corps.

Over time, this team developed a detailed and highly efficient logistics planning matrix; this matrix saved the mission significant time and money by squaring away daily requirements for each port's husbanding agent as early as possible and ensuring that dental, medical, Seabee, and COMREL teams arrived on site faster and fully supplied.

Until the level of detail in the matrix equilibrated the requirements of the hundreds of personnel flying or boating each day to multiple sites and performing varied missions would not be considered at each day's "Brudda's" meeting and would require later planning changes throughout the day and late into the night. This matrix and the team behind it helped bring logistics to the forefront of planning and helped ensure daily mission success.

The second critical planning mechanism was a weekly logistics phone conference, coordinated at first between Peleliu and Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMPACFLT) N4 (led by LCDR Rob Deguzman) and later by Commander, 7th Fleet (COMSEVENTHFLT) N4 (led by LCDR John Tencer). During these meetings, a multitude of stakeholders would share concerns, socialize and solve routing and supply sourcing issues, catch up with data calls on the spot, and prepare responses together for the weekly task force video-teleconferences (VTCs).

Representatives from COMPACFLT, COMSEVENTHFLT, Commander, Fleet Air Western Pacific (CFWP), Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific (CLWP), Fleet and Industrial Supply Center (FISC) Yokosuka, FISC Det Guam, Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (DSCP), FISC Det Singapore, Commander, Naval Surface Forces, Naval Operational Logistics Support Center, and FISC San Diego Logistics Support Center were among the most frequent participants.

Agendas were coordinated by the conference line host prior to each meeting and shared via email; frequent topics of discussion included flight availabilities, distinguished visitor plans, and medical supply status.

While these forums were great tools for collaboration, they could be indispensable to small-deck amphib SUPPOs if their ships are tasked with a similar mission in the future.

One area open to future improvement is in planning medical missions, since one third of all supplies required for medical missions during PPP were purchased after Peleliu deployed on 23 May. One partial explanation for this situation is that the personnel who would eventually perform procedures in each port were not always the ones to screen patients as members of the advanced parties prior to deployment.

Another reason is that the list of ports to be visited by the ship was not finalized until halfway through the deployment.

A third cause for the lack of necessary supplies at the outset of PPP is that what happened in each port was not always what was planned, e.g. though the small number of patients seen in Vietnam was almost exactly what their government promised that the ship would see, the number of people in the Philippines who showed up at MEDCAP sites was exponentially greater than the number expected.

In any case, the ship flexed well to evolving medical supply needs throughout deployment, and the addition to the crew of two medical logistics officers (one an Air Force captain and one a Fleet Surgical Team lieutenant) greatly enhanced the expertise and visibility of all supplies ordered by the ship enroute.

PPP Financial Management lessons learned

Six pots of money were made available to the Pelelieu's Stock Control Division during Pacific Partnership (PPP). The division, led by LCDR (Sel) Francisco Santos and SKCS Ceferino Cudal, used the funds to perform the PPP mission: Title X (a.k.a. humanitarian and civic assistance (HCA) funds, specifically allocated for medical and engineering supplies to be used in humanitarian assistance projects on foreign soil), Operations and Maintenance Navy (O&MN), training and travel funds (TADTAR), EEE (funds to cover feeding host-nation patients and patient escorts, partner nation military personnel, and embarked non-governmental organization civilians), Official Representation Funds (ORF), and Community Relations Funds (COMREL).

Expending these funds proved to be as much an art form as a science, and as seen below, the actual expenditures were significant.

PPP spent $2,594,949 in purchases utilizing local economies, $1,885,184 of which came from O&MN dollars and $709,765 of which came from Title X funds. An additional $1,355,235 of Title X funds was spent outside the local economies (i.e., through the supply system or non-husbanding agent contracts). When broken down by individual port, the ship spent the most ($692,000) on humanitarian assistance (HA) in the Marshall Islands.

The second highest amount spent on HA, $518,000, occurred in the Bicol Region of the Republic of the Philippines.

Third, Papua New Guinea operations cost $362,000. Work in the Solomon Islands cost $301,000 and $110,000 was spent during the ship's visit to Vietnam.

Finally, HA in the Joint Operating Area (JOA) of the Philippines totaled $102,000.

Deciding whether to use Title X or O&MN money in each purchasing situation depended on multiple factors that included the personnel who would benefit from the material to be purchased, the user of the materials, and the location at which the materials would be expended.

TADTAR funds expended totaled $502,270, covering both Supply Beach Det and DESRON advanced party personnel expenses. Advanced planning of projected expenses involved creation of a detailed Beach Det travel plan, including determination of how many personnel to send ahead of the ship or remain in each port temporarily after the ship departed (usually a total of six) and at which supply hubs to station personnel (primarily Atsugi, Japan, Singapore, and Manila while in the Philippines). Close coordination with the COMNAVSURFOR Comptroller and Budget Analysts was also critical to approving and securing these funds prior to deployment.

EEE funding in the amount of $130,000 was granted to Peleliu at the beginning of deployment, though actual spending came to only $47,376. This funding was tracked by the ship's Food Service Division in a matrix that accounted for all authorized consumers of the funding embarked each day per the ship's muster report.

The total rations consumed and paid for under this funding source were reported to Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) with the division's end of month returns. One lesson learned through this reporting was that the current ration rate had to be revised from month-to-month when the rate increased during PPP.

Total ORF spending at completion of PPP was $24,366, despite an initial grant of only $15,000. Our initial estimate of ~$4,000 per 300 person event (including food, drinks, and mementos) and one of these large events per humanitarian assistance port closely approximated actual expenses. Each port tended to also include at least one smaller event that had to be budgeted for, as well as several encounters with local dignitaries at which presentations of small mementos were appropriate. Ship tours also abounded in each port, averaging 30 personnel per day, and these people were always provided with snacks and beverages due to the time and effort it took them to reach the ship.

Community Relations (COMREL) funding was granted separately, with $40,000 granted and the same amount spent; this spending was reserved almost entirely to give-away items for large-scale public affairs and community relations events, such as flag pins, crayons, bubbles, pencils, basketballs, etc. Some of this funding was also used towards support of permanently displayed plaques outside the Modilon Hospital in Madang, Papua New Guinea; the hospital erected a memorial wall there to commemorate the work of USNS Mercy and USS Peleliu and to offer their thanks to the U.S. Navy for these services. When community relations projects involved manual labor such as painting or construction projects, supplies in support of such projects such as gloves, bags, shovels, etc., were primarily paid for with Title X funds.

The need to procure supplies during deployment afforded two lessons learned. First, to expedite high priority parts, four sources were used: (1) Beach Det local buys with purchase cards or 1155 contracts; (2) Husbanding Agents; (3) Contracting office support from FISC Yokosuka Det Singapore, FISC San Diego, and PMO Bremerton/FISC Puget Sound for high priority parts; and (4) home guard support for embarked units (eg. ACU5, NMCSD San Diego, and HM-14 all purchased and/or expedited parts to the ship during PPP). In the case of home guard support, special attention needed to be placed on communication between the home guard and the ship to ensure the Beach Det could track incoming shipments, prioritize them on routine Commander, Fleet Air Western Pacific (CFWP) flights, and/or pick them up upon local arrival.

Second, adding multiple lines of accounting (Title X, Consumable O&MN, Repairable O&MN, Aviation Funding, and COMREL) to a single credit card in the possession of a cardholder allowed for streamlined buying before and during deployment while abiding by credit card regulations. By annotating on purchase card request forms which pot of money the buy would come from, the correct lines of accounting could be charged by Stock Control and certified individually by the approving official at the end of each month.

Ship's Services lessons Learned from PPP

A large part of the Pelileu Pacific Partnership (PPP) logistics mission involved creating and maintaining a shipboard living environment that met the needs of a widely diverse crew. Here, the Food Service, Sales and Services, and Disbursing divisions rose to the occasion and exceeded the expectations of all concerned.

Food Service

Peleliu's Food Service Division, led by CWO4 Ernesto Ordaniel, CSCS Ernesto Camara, and CSC Manangan, served 15,565 EEE-funded meals throughout PPP. This total included 3,888 meals to non-governmental organization (NGO) civilians from Aloha Medical Mission, University of California San Diego Pre-Dental Society, and Project Hope; 5,742 meals to partner nation military doctors, dentists, veterinarians, and engineers from India, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, the People's Republic of Vietnam, Japan, and the Republic of Korea; and 3,939 meals to host nation patients and patient escorts who boarded the ship for treatment or surgical procedures.

To exceed patient expectations, the division set up high-class serving lines using chafing dishes in the medical ward. These lines eliminated the need for patients to find or walk to the crew's mess, making their visits more efficient and enhancing security for the ship. They also gave patients top-notch service comparable to that provided during receptions for distinguished visitors. A wide menu selection was also made possible by obtaining a waiver for the 21-day cycle menu specifically for this deployment.

The division created over 12,000 boxed lunches for crewmembers operating on the ground each day. These lunches were created by the galley night watch in quantities determined by the A large part of the Pelileu Pacific Partnership (PPP) logistics mission involved creating and maintaining a shipboard living environment that met the needs of a widely diverse crew. Here, the Food Service, Sales and Services, and Disbursing divisions rose to the occasion and exceeded the expectations of all concerned. logistics planning matrix and were ready by 4 a.m. each day.

The contents of the boxed lunches evolved over the course of the deployment to accommodate the recommendations of the crew; the typical box by the end of PPP included two chicken patty sandwiches, two cans of juice, an apple, an orange, a granola bar, chips, two cookies, carrot sticks, celery sticks, and a chocolate bar.

For many, this was just enough to satisfy their lunchtime hunger; for others, the size of the lunch allowed them to fill up and still have extra to share with local children or local volunteers, enhancing the air of relationship building.

In order for boxed lunches to stay cool in the sweltering Pacific summer heat, the division sent them to the beach in Cambro coolers that team leaders would pick up each morning and return each afternoon. The division also had plenty of occasions to use the bags of ice they loaded out their reefers with before deployment.

For crewmembers RONing (remaining overnight) in mission areas, the Food Service Division maintained an inventory of meals ready-to-eat (MREs). These meals were popular with Environmental Protection Medical Unit, Seabee, and non-governmental organizations (NGO) personnel due to the variety of meals available and the opportunity for the full deployment experience. Vegetarian, kosher, and halal MREs were also loaded and served as backup meal options for any embarked patients or partner nation personnel who requested them.

Several special meals enhanced morale during PPP. Monthly birthday meals were served to the crew, incorporating surf and turf menus and decorated cakes. Three steel beach picnics merged sporting events and barbecues for the entertainment of the crew.

Ice cream, nacho, pizza, and wing socials were held up to twice a week in the evenings, and a different association, department, embarked unit, or NGO sponsored each event. A unique Crossing-the-Line ceremony that incorporated partner nation and NGO personnel was thrown toward the end of cruise with the support of the division.

Finally, PPP ended with a seven-day Tiger Cruise from Pearl Harbor to San Diego with a feeding schedule and menu to rival any cruise ship.

Sales and Services

The Sales and Services Division of Pelilieu, led by LTJG Kevin LaFeir and SHCS Ioapo Puaatuua, impacted crew cohesion and morale during PPP in three ways. First, the division offered enhanced services to embarked NGOs, partner nation personnel, and distinguished visitors (DVs).

Ship's Store and Barbershop hours were extended and barbers were available on call for these personnel due to the late hours that personnel would arrive back to the ship each night from missions ashore (typically between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.).

Laundry folding services were made available to these personnel by request and were advertised in a welcome aboard packet that each received upon arrival.

Several Ships Store sales were advertised throughout PPP for the benefit of the crew, and hangar bay sales were used as needed for tour groups.

In a few occasions when incoming NGO personnel had their luggage lost by an airline, the ship's store was opened late and cash was accepted in order to make their arrivals more comfortable.

Second, the Sales and Services Division managed the inventory and distribution of bottled water throughout PPP. Tens of thousands of bottles of water were purchased primarily through ship's OPTAR over the course of PPP due to the ship's operation in extremely hot climates and due to the need of personnel going ashore to bring their own sources of hydration.

Several pallets of bottled water were also provided free issue by FISC Yokosuka Det Guam as Peleliu transited into the 7th Fleet AOR. The Sales and Services Division made these bottles available daily to all personnel going ashore via air or surface assets. Quantities needed each day were projected on the logistics planning matrix based on two gallons of water per person per day. A constant Navy Evacuation Operations (NEO) stock of bottled water was also maintained, and a fresh supply was requested with every underway replenishment (UNREP).

Third, the division selected and procured emblematics specific for the PPP deployment. Some of these emblematics were used as mementos for DVs: two different sizes of crystal blocks with 3D images of Peleliu inside them, a large ship's coin in a presentation box, and command ball caps with and without "scrambled eggs."

Other emblematics came from DESRON 31 and were made available in the ship's store for purchase by the crew and by visitors.

Disbursing

Disbursing Officer ENS Jason Parasco of the Peleliu ensured the availability of sufficient cash during Peleliu Pacific Partnership (PPP) and a smooth cash management process for individuals entering from or departing to foreign nations.

Prior to deployment, Disbursing defined the criteria and prepared the paperwork necessary to authorize tax-free pay to the crew while the ship operated in the vicinity of the Joint Operating Area (JOA) in JSTOF-P (Joint Special Task Force Southern Philippines). Specific information regarding tax-free pay requirements in this region is available from Peleliu upon request.

Disbursing prepared a statement distributed to all units and NGOs prior to their embarkation that described the Navy Cash® system on the ship. Peleliu learned later that this statement should be very specific regarding inability to accept foreign checks from partner nation personnel.

One partner nation doctor did not bring U.S. currency or an ATM card and tried to obtain cash from the Disbursing Office with a check from a bank in his home country. Peleliu Supply solved this problem by locating a Western Union in the Solomon Islands to which he was able to wire money from home, but this would not have been possible in all ports during PPP.

The DISBO obtained thousands of Navy Cash® visitor cards for embarkees that they could fill at the Disbursing Office by means of cash or check, and that they could use for purchases from the ship's store or vending machines.

The option of setting up personal Navy Cash® accounts was also given to personnel who were embarking for the entire deployment, but because it would typically take approximately four weeks for the ship to receive personal cards linked to an individual's bank account, most riders preferred to use guest cards and manually fill them at the Disbursing Office.

The DISBO loaded his safe with about $300,000 in cash prior to deployment and spent this amount down to approximately $75,000 by the end of PPP.

Cash was mainly taken in to fill guest Navy Cash® cards and disbursed prior to arrival in liberty ports (Vietnam, Singapore, and the Marshall Islands). One liberty port-related lesson learned was that the island of Majuro in the Marshall Islands has only one ATM, so having sufficient cash on-hand for the crew was particularly important before arriving in this port.

Another final lesson learned related to cash involved personnel RONing in JSOTF-P. The almost 30 personnel who RONed for one month in this area needed to have Filipino pesos on-hand when they arrived in order to pay for meals from a local vendor.

To accommodate this requirement, Peleliu first arranged for TADTAR funding from CPF to cover per diem for these personnel. All RONing personnel were then instructed to exchange a specific dollar amount of U.S. cash at airport currency exchanges in Hawaii and in Guam as they arrived (many medical and Seabee embarkees met the ship in these ports).

During PPP, currency exchangers in Hawaii and Guam would not come to the ship, so the ship arranged transportation to them at each airport.

Also, the currency exchange in Guam ran out of pesos before all personnel had sufficient quantities; the Husbanding Agent in the Philippines ultimately facilitated payment in local currency.

The lesson learned was to give all such personnel notice of this requirement as far in advance of deployment as possible, and for the Disbursing Officer to load out several thousand dollars worth of pesos as a back-up, despite the added administrative burden of carrying foreign currency.

Wardroom Division

The Wardroom Division of Peleliu, led by ENS Greg Belatti, CSCM Jack Fong, and CSC Andres Cayabyab, was one of the busiest on the ship during Peleliu Pacific Partnership.

The division managed 110 staterooms accommodating officers from all four services, partner nations, and NGOs, all with individual needs and expectations. Up to 12 O-6s rode the ship simultaneously, several of which were forced to share two-man staterooms due to the high number of embarkees and distinguished visitors.

By hosting 18 major DV receptions and entertaining a total of 935 DVs, the division became extremely adept at providing five-star hospitality at a moment's notice.

Three lessons applied to stateroom allocations.

First, keep DV staterooms empty since DVs will pop-up when least expected. Peleliu saved the third largest stateroom on the ship (after the DESRON Commodore's and the CO's import cabin) for the highest level of DV and designated it the "Ambassador Suite;" the ship's ACE and BLT Commander staterooms were also reserved and were frequently used for DVs simultaneously with the Ambassador Suite.

Second, completely fill the staterooms in which you assign Medical, Squadron, Partner Nation, and NGO personnel, whether they're two- or four-man staterooms, and even if you have others available; there were many occasions in which unscheduled media, host nation translator, or DV "entourages" needed rooms for a few nights, and having empty rooms for them made for better hospitality.

Third, re-allocate male and female heads to accommodate an almost 40/60 mix of females to males; the embarkation of doctors, nurses, NGO volunteers, and foreign media require far more female berthing and heads than the typical MEU deployment does.

NGOs and partner nation personnel were given special attention every day. A log of all comments from them was maintained by the division in order to help anticipate, communicate, and respond to their needs.

A number of these personnel were vegetarians and their food preferences were accommodated whenever possible.

Several partner nation medical officers were among the highest ranked medical officers in their countries' militaries, so special consideration was given to them in choice of stateroom despite their equivalent U.S. military rank.

Some NGOs expressed preferences in sharing staterooms with specific people, so room assignments were made in close coordination with the senior planners from their organizations.

Finally, many NGO personnel held positions of distinction in their medical institutions and needed to maintain e-mail connections throughout PPP; for this reason, several "Internet cafes" were set up on board to enable NGOs and partner nation officers to access their personal e-mail accounts (these cafes required "big Navy" IA-waivers and authorization to procure scores of additional computers).

The Wardroom Division created a hospitality guide specifically for PPP that enabled streamlined event planning and expectation management.

The book was filled with photos, menus, memento suggestions, and reception layouts compiled for easy selection prior to any major or minor event on board, similar to the options a wedding planner might present. It also included ORF documentation samples and SECNAV requirements.

Many hospitality supplies were loaded before PPP to enhance receptions and DV berthing.

For staterooms, the divisions stocked items such as throw rugs, pillows, comforters, DV amenities (similar to those available in hotels), towels/robes, flags, frames, potpourri, air fresheners, and hand sanitizer bottles.

For receptions, purchasing items such as tables, chairs, chair covers, canopies, chafing dishes, juice fountains, menus/name cards, lights, extension cords, hurricane fans, and tablecloths proved to be cheaper than renting them in each port would have been.

Borrowing a senior officer's sword for each cake cutting ceremony was a must.

Having plenty of brass and engraving needles was also essential to take care of constant engraving requirements (such as plates denoting staterooms reserved for "Peleliu Pacific Partnership Distinguished Visitors").

In addition to recommending mementos for DVs from the Ship's Store emblematic stock, the Wardroom Division discovered that "Cookie Diplomacy" was also very effective.

In the last reception in the Philippines, some of the guests commented on how much they enjoyed the ship's cookies, so each person was sent home with a bag of them.

When word got out about how effective and appreciated that gift was, other ships started coming to Peleliu when we were in port Singapore looking for our recipe!

Lesson learned--gift bags can come in handy in many ways, and good cookies make great low-cost gifts.

Cultural considerations were very important in reception menu planning. Two lessons learned arose regarding reception menus.

First, offer chopsticks in Vietnam. We encountered many reception guests who were not familiar with how to use a fork and knife.

Our reception in Da Nang included rice and stir fry dishes with bowls and chopsticks and was well received.

Second, do not serve pork or alcohol at all in the JSTOF-P region (around Cotabato, Philippines). Though we considered serving some pork and some non-pork options in this region because of the large Muslim population, we decided not to serve any pork or alcohol, and this decision was highly appreciated by our guests.

Finally, planning for all receptions required steady communication flow among all Supply Services divisions, the DESRON PAO, the ship's "Brudda's" planners, the ship's Beach Det, COMSEVENTHFLT (which provided ORF funding separately for each occasion), and the host nation embassy. Expectations of each embassy varied widely and were not always consistent with available ORF funding.

Lesson learned: communicate as often and as early as possible among all parties.

Aviation/LCU/LCAC supply support lessons

The Aviation Stores Division of Peleliu, led by LT Aldrin Cordova and SKC Alejandro Bernardo, managed parts support for all embarked help and boat units during Peleliu Pacific Partnership.

The ship carried four MH-57s from the start of deployment and left two in Singapore halfway through PPP for establishment of a forward-deployed squadron detachment. Consensus at the end of PPP was that four MH-57s provided the ship with sufficient redundancy to minimize repair impact on the mission, while two MH-57s were insufficient to maintain flexibility.

Aviation Material Condition Report (AMCR) responsibilities were negotiated with the HM-14 home guard prior to deployment; this simplified coordination throughout PPP.

Extra engine and blade spares were requested through CNAF prior to PPP to preclude having to expedite these bulky spares once in theater, and bringing these parts turned out to be among the best decisions of the deployment.

Ideal LCU and LCAC support in the future would also call for temporary load-out of spare engines.

Addition of several Rigid-Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBs) to the ship's complement afforded Peleliu with personnel movement options when either of the two LCUs or the one LCAC onboard were unavailable.

Contingency plans for boat and helo operations must always consider single points-of-failure in terms of qualified boat crewmembers and scenarios in which repairs of boats or helos are conducted ashore.

Supply Chain Management lessons

The remote, atypical destinations of the deployment challenged our expeditors and stock replenishment efforts on the USS Peleliu during Peleliu Pacific Parternship (PPP).

One way Peleliu overcame these challenges by forming three two-person Beach Det teams, led by LT Francisco Santos and SKCM Rey Delgado, to operate in hubs across the AOR.

A permanent Beach Det Team was established in Atsugi, Japan, while two mobile teams moved around the AOR and oversaw mail and material receipt and transfer in the temporary nodes of Singapore, Guam, Manila, Cairns, and Port Moresby. These personnel communicated information on all parts passing through their hands and could redirect parts on short notice. They also conducted test runs of local shipping options to ensure high priority parts could be received before they were needed.

As they found, commercial carriers were not always quicker than Navy assets, customs requirements in individual countries can delay receipt, and weekends and local holidays always need to be factored into expediting method decisions.

A second key to logistics success was the support with NALO flight scheduling from COMFAIRWESTPAC and TACRON 11.

Coordination of these flights had always to consider the fact that numerous fleet exercises competed for NALO assets. Routing flights into Vietnam proved to be a particular challenge, as the country required an itemized description for each piece of cargo, clearance authorizations were required from several Vietnam government entities, and use of helicopters to transport people into the country from the ship was forbidden.

A third aid to ensuring a steady flow of parts to the ship was scheduling Connected Replenishments (CONREPs) with COMLOGWESTPAC. Peleliu's stock replenishment plan followed the moniker, "get what you can when you can."

The ship conducted CONREPs every 10-14 days, with an optimum pallet count of 150-200 pallets and a three to four hour transfer time. Winged pallets turned out to be a commodity in theater--make sure you have plenty at deployment outset.

Fourth, Peleliu supply worked closely with embarked unit planners to maximize use of MH-53s, LCUs, and the LCAC for "last mile support."

Incoming and outgoing material weight always needed to be factored into mission planning as these assets would typically fill with mission-related material and as many personnel as possible on every run, as everyone was eager to be a part of the feel-good, paradigm-shifting humanitarian missions on ground.

The end result

Over the course of Peleliu Pacific Partnership, embarked physicians saw 31,684 patients, administered 13,661 immunizations, issued 45,060 prescriptions, and given out 10,170 pairs of glasses.

PPP surgical teams had performed 166 general, 98 eye, 21 pediatric, and 16 plastic surgeries.

Dental practitioners treated 2,738 adult and 1,504 pediatric patients, extracting a total of 5,526 teeth.

Medical training teams offered 422 classes to 5,547 host national contacts.

Engineers accomplished 44 total projects involving hospital refurbishment, school refurbishment, road repairs, flood control, solar panel installation, and playground construction.

Veterinarians immunized 1,793, de-wormed 1,746, and operated on 163 animals; they also trained 965 contacts in all countries.

Preventative medicine experts completed 1,609 services in the areas of public health, entomology, industrial hygiene, environmental, microbiology, and also trained their local counterparts in their roles as subject matter experts.

In COMREL, the crew expended 3,295 total man-days dedicated to hospital refurbishment, school refurbishment, erosion control, home construction, sports participation, and IT support.

The ship also distributed 180 pallets of Project Handclasp supplies throughout the region.

Embarked analysts are still compiling polling data to fully determine the public affairs benefits of the deployment; still, a breakdown of stories published by non-U.S. sources about local PPP efforts shows that regional, host nation, and local press reviews were overwhelmingly positive in tone (67 of 77 articles were favorable in tone, nine were neutral, and only one was unfavorable).

While the deployment metrics were impressive, the sea stories that came from the deployment will stick with the crewmembers longer.

We were visited by Aaron Kumana (one of John F. Kennedy's rescuers during World War II when PT-109 was sunk) while in the Solomon Islands; this was the first time he had ever boarded a U.S. ship or U.S. territory for that matter. The ship held a very moving memorial ceremony off of the Solomon Islands in which our command Chaplain, one of the most avid historians on board, pointed out the locations of supply chain routes and battles during the World War II Pacific campaign.

The CO of the ship and a few Sailors had the rare honor to visit the ship's namesake, Peleliu Island, and to deliver a memorial plaque there to commemorate the service of U.S. troops on the island in defense of her people in WWII.

Being part of the crew of the first large-deck ship to visit Vietnam since the Vietnam War and to see first-hand the enthusiasm of the common Vietnamese people to welcome us into their country was a deep and memorable experience.

Participating in a lavish underway crossing the line ceremony with civilians and foreign military was unique in itself.

Learning of the dolphin, lizards, and countless pigs and chickens the veterinarians treated was enlightening.

I personally value most the conversations and relationships was able to develop with the Indian, Canadian, Malaysian, Vietnamese, Papua New Guinean, Korean, Australian, and New Zealand officers who rode and worked with us throughout PPP.

I watched six Marshallese enlisting in the U.S. Army on board the ship during PPP.

Seeing the appreciation in the eyes of the kids and adults on the ground in each country ...

Sailors feeling like rock stars, surrounded by kids in the Philippines or PNG for autographs ...

Seeing people off the streets jumping in with the crew to dig, clean, or paint ...

Having the chance to host and meet the Secretary of the Navy, an Assistant Secretary of Defense team, the President of the Marshall Islands, 6 US Ambassadors, PACOM, COMPACFLT, COMSEVENTHFLT, and close to 1,000 other host nation civil and military officials and members of the diplomatic corps ...

All were things I'll remember for a liftetime.

In many ways, PPP symbolized the nation's new unified Maritime Strategy in the making. It improved lives and strengthened trust among tens of thousands of underserved people in Southwest Asia and Oceania nations, many of whom have been subject to disease, poverty, and destructive tsunamis.

It demonstrated the unique capabilities of an amphibious ship at conducting large-scale humanitarian operations; in fact, due to the success of this deployment, humanitarian assistance is destined to become a core mission of L-decks. And it accomplished the mission while enhancing cooperative relations between the U.S. military, the public, and many nations--Sailors worked side by side on the ship and on the ground with civilians from three NGOs, with service members from the Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, and U.S. Preventive Health Service, and with doctors, dentists, nurses, veterinarians, and engineers from ten partner nations.

PPP, and the logistics procedures developed during it, has laid the groundwork for future ops to have an even greater impact, preventing war rather than waging it.

For more information and countless stories and photos from PPP, visit http://www.cpf.navy.mil/subsite/peleliu/ index.html. Peleliu has also prepared a CD-ROM with key files and briefs used throughout PPP and provided it to USNS Mercy and USS Kearsarge; if your ship is tasked with an upcoming humanitarian mission and you would also like a copy, please e-mail [email protected].

LCDR Fred Dini, SC, USN

LCDR Fred Dini is a student at the Army Command and General Staff College. He served as Assistant Supply Officer on USS Peleliu (LHA 5) during Peleliu Pacific Partnership.

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Author:	Dini, Fred
Publication:	Navy Supply Corps Newsletter
Date:	Mar 1, 2008
Words:	5884
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