German Hub: reinforcements train deployment to the Baltics

A company of 104 Tank Battalion from Pfreimd in Bavaria, Germany, is on its way to Lithuania. Their mission: under the command of 12 Armoured Brigade, the soldiers will train joint combat to defend Alliance territory together with the Lithuanian armed forces. The deployment is part of the exercise: in a conflict, deterrence can only be credible, and defence is only effective if military forces are available in due time, fully equipped, and combat-capable.

The reception, staging, onward movement and integration (RSOIreception, staging, onward movement and integration) in Germany is the first step. The combat vehicles of the battalion will be transported to the Rostock seaport by train.

From there, a roll-on/roll-off ferry will take them to Lithuania, the strategic deployment to the training area in the Baltics.

The field units drive their own tanks to the loading station. They are also the ones loading their tanks onto the railway cars – carefully, inch by inch. Special logistics personnel is not required for this task. All Bundeswehr elements have their own organic capability to deploy by rail. Today, however, the armoured forces will not join the railway transport. The servicemembers will receive their combat vehicles after their arrival in Lithuania. 1 Homeland Defence and Security Regiment is responsible for securing the loading operation.

About 20 hours later, the tanks reach the seaport of Rostock. During the next few hours and days, more Bundeswehr combat vehicles will arrive by rail: a total of roughly 160 different battle tanks, armoured infantry fighting and transport vehicles, armoured self-propelled howitzers, mine-clearing tanks, Bundeswehr lorries and more.

The 7th Company of 171 Logistic Battalion “Sachsen-Anhalt” from Burg – one of two Bundeswehr port handling companies – is taking care of the transshipment of weapon systems and vehicles. This includes unloading the train, transfer to the temporary storage area where the vehicles are staged for loading them onto the ferry, and the loading itself.

The challenge: tanks are not cars. Almost every vehicle requires a different driving licence. However, this doesn’t pose a problem for the 30 women and men of the port handling company platoon. Together, they can move anything that arrives via road and rail.

Homeland defence and security forces secure the parts of the seaport designated as a restricted military area for the duration of transshipment operations. There is a checkpoint bordered by concrete blocks and barbed wire. The main task of the reserve duty personnel from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg and Brandenburg is to check all persons and vehicles trying to enter the temporary storage area of the combat vehicles. They open all vehicle doors. They check the engine compartment and boot; they use mirrors to inspect the roof and underbody. They conduct frisk searches. Only then will access be granted.

At the same time, soldiers constantly patrol the perimeter fence surrounding the area. If they spot any suspicious persons or vehicles outside the restricted military area, they immediately report to the command post, who will contact the civilian police. They are responsible for resolving the matter. Inside the restricted military area, the homeland defence and security forces alert the Bundeswehr military police.

Suddenly, a UAVUnmanned Aerial Vehicle is buzzing over the heads of the homeland defence and security forces at the checkpoint. They stop checking persons and vehicles immediately and block the vehicle checkpoint. As a precaution, the soldiers take cover while establishing all-around security against potential threats. After all, UAVs cannot only be used for espionage but also as weapons.

They alert the counter-drone unit, who takes control of the drone and forces it to land. In addition, a dog handler with an explosive ordnance detection dog is called in. The all-clear will not be given until the service dog has examined the UAVUnmanned Aerial Vehicle: no danger. The UAVUnmanned Aerial Vehicle will be covered to prevent it from being relaunched, and will be handed over to the state police. Checks and searches at the checkpoint resume.

Once the ferry is in the port, time is of the essence. Lay time is expensive – and short. The combat vehicles have been sorted and readied for loading at the temporary storage area. The logistics forces have not simply moved them from the railway cars to the parking area but sorted them in rows according to vehicle type and weight: lorries, light and heavy combat vehicles, and more.

The company operations officer of the port handling company has received a storage list from the civilian contractor. Sorted by weight classes, divided between upper and lower deck, he must now determine how to proceed: What goes where? Who will drive it there? How much time will the soldiers have to get back to the temporary storage area to receive the next vehicle? And last but not least: How must the vehicles be organised and arranged in order to unload them as quickly as possible at the port of destination without unnecessary manoeuvring, let alone U-turns?

The capabilities of the members of the port handling company may become a bottleneck as well – after all, they all have different driving licences. This is why the loading plan and load planning must be coordinated as precisely as possible.

The homeland defence and security forces also keep a constant eye on the quay wall. While the combat vehicles are being loaded onto the ferry, the parking and vehicle manoeuvre areas in front of the loading dock are designated restricted military areas as well. There is no access without identification check.

On the water, additional naval forces secure the area around the roll-on/roll-off ship. Suddenly, a civilian boat gets too close to the ferry, seemingly by accident. While the naval soldiers prevent the boat from continuing and establish contact, another boat quickly approaches from another direction. A man climbs the quay wall, behaving suspiciously – is it a saboteur?

When confronted, the intruder tries to escape. The guard and security soldiers prevent his escape and temporarily detain the suspect until he can be handed over to the civilian police for further questioning. The loading process interrupted by the incident resumes.

The loading dock closes six hours after the ferry docked at the Rostock seaport. RSOIreception, staging, onward movement and integration is complete, and strategic deployment to Lithuania begins. The soldiers of the tank battalion will receive their vehicles at the port of destination and deploy to the Lithuanian training area of Pabrade – ready to continue their mission on NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization's eastern flank.