Marines from 4th Landing Support Battalion, 4th Marine Logistics Group, outfitted in red-patched camouflage uniforms, yellow safety helmets and reflective belts walked back and forth between humvees and 7-ton trucks answering questions and pointing people in the right direction here, May 29, as they supervised the vehicle and equipment wash-down of exercise African Lion 2011.
Aptly nicked-named ‘Red Patchers’ due to small squares of red cloth affixed to their uniforms, LSB Marines are the backbone of ship to shore and retrograde operations. They are the connoisseurs of loading and offloading personnel and equipment.
“We hit the shore as quick as possible and get our people and gear back on the ship even quicker,” said Sgt. Franky Fergurgur, platoon sergeant of First Beach Terminal Operations Platoon (reinforced), Company A, 4th LSB.
First BTO Marines supervised and ensured that Marines from units cleaned their vehicles and equipment to the condition that they were free of Moroccan soil residue before being shipped back to the United States.
“We can’t bring any contaminants back into the U.S. because that would destroy the agriculture,” explained Fergurgur, on the importance of a thorough cleaning. “Every little piece of dirt comes out of there. It has to be spotless.”
The vehicles and equipment being washed had endured weeks of Moroccan dust, debris and the rough desert grounds and bushes of Morocco during exercise African Lion 2011. African Lion is an annually scheduled, bilateral exercise between the Kingdom of Morocco and the U.S. that involves more than 2,000 U.S. service members and approximately 900 members of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces.
With convoys constantly rolling in, bringing vehicles and equipment from various training areas, two sets of a little more than a dozen 4th LSB Marines rotated 12-hour shifts of running the wash-down operations at the port here.
Junior Marines from First BTO platoon took on higher echelon billets of the port operations. Lance corporals and corporals assumed charge, manning various stages of the cleaning process. Their duties ranged from directing untouched vehicles coming to get washed and managing prewashing areas to overseeing the detail-washing area.
At the detail-washing area, the Red Patchers armed Marine work crews with 3,000 pounds per square inch power-washers.
With everybody working together, vehicles kept rolling into the inspection lanes for a pre-inspection by the Marines.
After a vehicle had gone through all stages of cleaning and the LSB pre-inspection, U.S. Customs inspectors took a turn at some final scrutiny. During their inspections, the Customs agents realized that teamwork, communication and superb Red Patchers’ management had amounted into immaculate products.
“They’re awesome; they work their tails off and just execute,” said U.S. forces customs inspector Andre Hutchinson about the LSB Marines. With a handful of moving parts at the port, the LSB Marines relentlessly harped on safety.
The Red Patchers were constantly scanning for safety hazards and ensuring all Marines wore proper eye protection.
“Safety is the most important thing,” said Fergurgur, a Berkley, Calif., native. “Everybody has to work together to get this done.”
The wash-down operation forced junior Marines into leadership roles and developed their communication skills, with regularly having to coordinate with senior personnel.
“Half of our day is communication,” said Lance Cpl. Miguel Wong, a landing support specialist with First BTO. “With running back and forth and talking to everybody, communication is the biggest thing.”