"The fact that we're moving large pieces of equipment — in the day, at
night, in sandstorms, 24-hours — can make ports lethal," Maj. Eric
Delellis, an operations officer at Shueiba, said.
Officers said Kuwait has closed Shueiba numerous times amid sandstorms.
They said the Army has maintained a 10-day inspection period for vehicles
until
their transportation to Europe and the United States.
"High winds and sandstorms are prevalent," Delellis said. "It's a real
chess match."
The U.S. Army's transportation infrastructure, led by the 595th
Transportation Brigade, has been headquartered at Camp Arifjan. Over the
last few months, thousands of damaged and battle-worn armored vehicles from
Iraq arrived in Shueiba for inspection and then boarding for the United
States.
"The main thing is having everything done right before it gets to the
port," Sgt. Michael McMullen said.
The Army effort has been hampered by commercial traffic at Shueiba.
Officers said the Army also required cranes and forklifts
to move armored vehicles onto flatbed trucks and ships.
"Today's work in Iraq is tomorrow's work in Kuwait is next week's work
at the port," Lt. Col. Walter Chwastyk, a commander of the port operations,
said.
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