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Dover airlifts 'City in a Box' to Soldiers overseas

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Kevin Wallace
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Dover Air Force Base's Super Port airlifted the Army's first 150-soldier Force Provider, nicknamed "City in a Box," aboard an Air Force C-17 here Feb. 23. 

The Army Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Mass. developed two Force Provider packages, said Jonathan Givens, Natick SSC physical scientist. One is a 550-soldier tent city that was developed about 15 years ago, as the Army's answer to quality-of-life issues in deployed locations. The other is a new expanding-canister system that allows the Army to pack an entire 150-soldier tent city into one C-17 flight. 

"The original Force Provider was designed after Desert Storm," said Mr. Givens. "It was the premier deployable city of its time. It allowed the Army to deploy a 550-soldier tent city." 

Improving the quality of life with hot meals, hot showers and a comfortable place to sleep are some everyday things that Force Providers, strive to offer servicemembers in the field, said Army Lt. Col. Robert Bean, Natick SSC assistant product manager for Force Provider. 

The original Force Provider typically took about 60 Soldiers one week to assemble, said Mr. Givens. The 150-soldier system can be assembled in less than four hours with the same man power. 

"The key to the new systems small size and rapid assembly capability is the recreational vehicle technology that we incorporated into them," said Mr. Givens. "Much like a standard RV, these containers expand for a rapid set up or collapse to be transported." 

The Force Provider was designed as a modular system of housing, food service, laundry, water and fuel storage and distribution, waste-water collection, electrical power, showers and latrines, said Colonel Bean. 

"The problem is the Army often needs to deploy smaller units to various locations," said Mr. Givens. "The original Force Provider could not be broken up into smaller units. With the new 150-soldier cities, we can deploy smaller and more tactical units to several locations with tent cities at each location with very little effort as an entire city fits inside one aircraft." 

Airmen and civilians from the 436th Aerial Port Squadron here have been working a 24-hour-a-day operation supporting the enormous challenge of transporting Army tent city deployments to overseas locations, said James Ewing, 436th APS traffic management officer. 

"The operation has been a Herculean effort for Dover's Super Port," said Mr. Givens. "The Air Force here has stepped up to the plate for the Army and has palletized dozens of canisters already." 

Although Dover Airmen previously packed and airlifted the first 150-soldier Force Provider, there is still much work to do, said Mr. Givens. 

"The work done already is just the tip of the iceberg," he said. "We are currently working on the packaging and shipment of three 550-soldier packages that were diverted from the sealift system to be expedited overseas from Dover." 

The Dover Super Port has received and airlifted 1,500 tons of equipment during the past 10 days, said Mr. Ewing. Dover's team of C-5s has been supplemented with additional 747s and Russian AN-124s to help tackle the additional workload here. 

"We have not seen an operations tempo like this since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom," said Mr. Ewing. "Actually, it's refreshing because stepping up to a challenge like this is what we are all about at the Super Port." 

The efforts being made at Dover to move a massive cargo of tent cities overseas will significantly impact the lives of the Soldiers there, said Mr. Givens. 

"For the Army, the Force Providers are about improving Soldiers' quality of life," said Mr. Givens. 

The challenge of airlifting the 550-soldier and 150-soldier Force Providers was a weight placed on the shoulders of Dover Airmen, said Mr. Givens. 

Dover has stood up to the challenge and lugged the weight, he said. If there is something to be learned from the experience of working with Airmen here, it is that they are mission minded and have the capacity to rise to and overcome any challenge. 

Dover airlifted the last 550-Soldier Force Provider to the Central Command Area of Responsibility March 4.