As the Gaza Pier Is Packed Up, Experts Worry About What It Portends for a War in the Pacific
U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary) transport the Trident Pier across the Mediterranean Sea in support of the Joint Logistics-Over-the-Shore mission off the coast of Ashdod, Israel, May 15, 2024. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Mikayla Fritz)
Military.com | By Konstantin Toropin and Steve Beynon
Published August 08, 2024 at 3:02pm ET
The U.S. Army, every few years, would break out a series of pontoons and boats and practice creating a pier where none existed before to land vehicles and cargo. It usually went pretty well, and it almost never generated any attention.
Sometimes, weather would get in the way, and so the last time the service successfully speared a pier into a beach was 2020. But it wasn't a capability that drew a lot of attention.
That all changed in March when the system, known as the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, was hauled out for a mission facing intense international scrutiny -- delivering aid to Gaza. While the pier would help offload nearly 20 million pounds of aid, a stream of issues, breakdowns, injured service members and delays have led to questions about the Army ability to build these piers and the health of the service's watercraft community.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/08/08/gaza-pier-packed-experts-worry-about-what-it-portends-war-pacific.html
