Army's Pier System Now Faces Second Watchdog Review After Troubled Gaza Mission

Following the seemingly bungled Army mission establishing a pier off the Gaza Strip to deliver aid to the region, the Pentagon's internal watchdog has launched an investigation into the service's capabilities to conduct such a mission.

The Department of Defense's Office of Inspector General earlier this month announced that it's investigating how the military runs so-called Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, operations -- in which troops construct piers either to deliver goods or personnel in places with limited infrastructure.

The Gaza Strip mission was mostly run by the Army's 7th Transportation Brigade, which encompasses much of the service's watercraft -- dubbed "the Army's Navy." But that unit, its tactics and equipment have long been an afterthought of the land service, especially coming off the heels of the landlocked post-9/11 wars.

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The watchdog said that it wants to evaluate the Pentagon's "capabilities to effectively carry out Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) operations and exercises" in a letter dated Aug. 5.

The Defense Department inspector general also noted that the investigation "is separate from and in addition to" its ongoing review "examining the DoD's involvement in facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza through the maritime corridor."

A Military.com investigation found that the Army's watercraft elements may not have been ready for prime time. The capability, which had lingered in obscurity for half a century, was suddenly tasked with one of the Pentagon's highest-profile missions in years.

The Gaza mission not only stress-tested a unit that had little real world experience, but also served as a pseudo test bed for how the Army may operate in the Pacific if a war with China ever breaks out. In a potential conflict, Army planners are anticipating a war could involve a complex island-hopping campaign akin to the fight against the Japanese during World War II. That campaign would push Army logistics to their limit, and could see watercraft units serve at the tip of the spear, moving troops into combat and carrying critical supplies to the front lines under fire.

The move for a deeper and official look at JLOTS comes after months of questions and coverage of the system's shortcomings in the mission to deliver aid to the starving people of Gaza, as well as questions and reports about the state of its equipment -- namely its boats.

Several experts and former community insiders told Military.com earlier this month that the system, while capable, has suffered from funding shortfalls throughout the 20 years of the Global War on Terror.

The Army's boats that serve to maneuver parts of the system and materials are old. Some even have engines that say they were built in "West Germany," according to a now-retired Army warrant officer who served on the vessels.

While the Pentagon has not offered any details on whether the ships suffered breakdowns or issues while conducting the Gaza mission, publicly available tracking data showed that at least one ship encountered problems early on.

Shortly after the fleet of ships carrying all the equipment for the mission set off from the East Coast of the U.S. in April, one of the small Army vessels was held up in Tenerife -- a small island that is part of the Canary Islands cluster off the west coast of Africa -- leading to concerns about the readiness of the Army's fleet.

However, while there seem to be few questions that the JLOTS craft have not been maintained to the best possible standard, experts have argued that the several public halts in Gaza aid operations due to weather conditions were not reflective of the system's readiness.

Dr. Salvatore Mercogliano, a maritime historian and former merchant mariner who worked with JLOTS during the 1990s, told Military.com in a previous interview that the choice to keep U.S. troops from stepping foot in Gaza made the mission far more challenging.

"That really makes it difficult to do because you would have other methods to land cargo beyond just the Trident pier," Mercogliano said, referring to the pier connected to the Gaza shore that ended up breaking loose in rough seas and then being removed for the same reason three times.

"You'd be able to bring watercraft right to the beach -- you'd be able to do just a variety of different things," he added.

Despite the issues, Pentagon officials have regularly stressed that the pier was able to deliver some 20 millions pounds of aid -- food that would have otherwise not have been able to be delivered to the war-torn region. At one point, the pier ended up providing the second-highest volume of aid from any entry point into Gaza.

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