{"id":38852,"date":"2024-05-16T20:06:19","date_gmt":"2024-05-16T20:06:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2024\/05\/16\/militarys-novel-floating-pier-arrives-in-gaza-amid-security-concerns\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:23:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:23:35","slug":"militarys-novel-floating-pier-arrives-in-gaza-amid-security-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/mideast-africa\/2024\/05\/16\/militarys-novel-floating-pier-arrives-in-gaza-amid-security-concerns\/","title":{"rendered":"Military\u2019s novel floating pier arrives in Gaza amid security concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Since President Joe Biden announced during his State of the Union address that the U.S. military would build a humanitarian aid pier on the Gaza Strip, and that \u201cno U.S. boots will be on the ground\u201d in Gaza, Keith Robbins and other retired military logistics officers have been watching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And on Thursday, after weeks of preparation, security planning and weather delays, the Pentagon announced that a trident pier had been stabbed into the Gaza beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pier is essentially an erector set-like assembly of metal pieces built at sea and sitting close to the water that can assume a variety of lengths depending on the mission requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Retired logisticians like Robbins are seeing a long-neglected but nonetheless vital military capability getting its time to shine, even as concerns remain about the security of the sailors and soldiers handling the undulating, 1,600-foot pier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The capability, known as Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, will be used to help bring aid to civilians in Gaza <\/b>as Israeli operations to destroy Hamas continue in the wake of the Palestinian militant group\u2019s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, and is <\/b>expected to cost at least $320 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before his retirement as <\/b>a lieutenant colonel in 2007, Robbins spent the last tour of his career as the JLOTS program manager for U.S. Transportation Command, and oversaw three JLOTS exercises, including one in Guatemala before he got out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Military Times also spoke with two retired senior Army officers, a <\/b>retired senior Navy supply officer and an active-duty Army officer, who all spent years of their service focused on JLOTS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Except for Robbins, the retired and active-duty officers all requested anonymity to speak candidly about the capability and the Gaza mission. Military Times confirmed their identities and their military service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo few people know what a JLOTS entails,\u201d one retired Army transportation officer told Military Times. \u201cYou can\u2019t go walk the halls of the Pentagon and find two people who know what they\u2019re talking about, because it\u2019s such a small niche capability that\u2019s very, very specialized.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Troops move a trident pier built at sea by U.S. soldiers and sailors toward a beach in the Gaza Strip Thursday, in preparation for stabbing the beach with the causeway. (DOD)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

JLOTS is a feat of military engineering, in which 1,000 soldiers and sailors first build a massive floating platform at sea, where ships carrying screened cargo from Cyprus can be <\/b>offloaded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trucks are then ferried to the trident pier by vessels that are essentially motorized pier sections, and driven from there onto the beach, where U.N. relief workers will oversee distribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashore, Israeli military engineers guided the pier into place, according to Navy Vice Adm. Bradley Cooper, deputy command of U.S. Central Command, which oversees all U.S. forces in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIDF engineers prepared the beach at Gaza and secured the temporary pier to the beach,\u201d Cooper told reporters Thursday. \u201cThis group of engineers were specially trained for this mission by U.S. Army engineers in the preceding weeks on a beach in Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while the trident pier has purportedly been attached to the beach without U.S. service members setting foot in Gaza, retired military logistics officers who spoke with Military Times questioned the use of the \u201cboots on the ground\u201d term by the White House and the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A retired Navy supply captain, the equivalent of a colonel in the other services, called the term \u201ccode talk in Washington for no risk to U.S. forces.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But even if the Gaza mission can be pulled off without a single American service member setting foot on the beach in Gaza, those soldiers and sailors will still be at risk, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just want honesty, that\u2019s all,\u201d the officer said. \u201cThe military is trained for this, they understand it. But let\u2019s be honest about boots on the ground, and that they will be at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an inherently risky endeavor when you\u2019re not in complete control of the land and sea and air around it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the JLOTS exercises he partook in, the Navy officer said there were \u201chundreds\u201d of U.S. troops on the beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOr they\u2019re in very close proximity to the shore, because that\u2019s where all the stuff operates,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cooper said Thursday that 500 tons of aid could be flowing off the pier and into Gaza in the coming days, and he emphasized that U.S. and Israeli forces were in close coordination to keep the U.S. troops taking part in the pier mission and the U.N. aid workers safe during the mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn the force protection side, I\u2019m not going to be able to talk about specifics, other than to say that we\u2019ve been coordinating very closely, as I mentioned, with the Israeli Defense Force to address any potential issue in every domain that exists,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. and Israeli forces have had \u201cextremely close coordination\u201d in the past six weeks \u201cto work out every single operational detail,\u201d Cooper added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The officers interviewed by Military Times noted that keeping a trident pier stable and in place involves using <\/b>heavy anchors buried in the sand, as well as <\/b>Army tugs that look nothing like a traditional tugboat and are generally used to keep the pier in place as it bobs in the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such an arrangement inevitably requires U.S. troops to be close to shore, if not technically standing on the beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also noted how doing a JLOTS evolution is inherently risky <\/b>for troops involved, even under the best conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re moving 40-ton and 20-ton containers on an environment that is moving, so anything can happen,\u201d the retired Navy captain said. \u201cSomebody gets crushed, falls overboard or gets run over.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the security risks and challenges, several of the officers said they think JLOTS is tailor-made for the Gaza mission, delivering much-needed relief via the sea where no port is available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
After digging a slot trench and a so-called “duck pond,” U.S. troops prepare for a trident pier to stab the beach during a Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore exercise in 2015. (Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How they stab the beach<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To stab the trident pier into the beach, a platoon\u2019s worth of soldiers first use military bulldozers to dig a massive slot trench on the beach, which leads the pier into a so-called \u201cduck pond,\u201d basically a water-filled entry point for the pier to mate with the beach, the officers said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the duck pond is established, which usually takes a day or so, the pier is rammed at four or 5 knots into the sand, and must get at least 40 feet in, according to one retired Army officer who spent decades in the transportation corps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After that, a mix of buried anchors and Army tug vessels keep the pier in place as trucks start rolling on and off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThose anchoring systems need to be constantly maintained, to hold the pier in place, securely and stable so that they can do discharge operations safely,\u201d Robbins said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It remains unclear whether U.S. or Israeli forces will be in charge of keeping the pier stable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Security concerns<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The retired Army transportation corps officer said JLOTS is \u201cbuilt for a less-kinetic environment,\u201d and using it in Gaza could come with risks, and additional challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Typically, a JLOTS deployment would follow a Marine Corps amphibious assault on a given location, he said, referring to JLOTS as \u201cLOTS\u201d for short.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cForced entry, they secure the ground and they move inland and create standoff,\u201d he said. \u201cAfter the Marine Corps provides the ground or the space, the Army then moves in for a long, enduring operations, where we bring in LOTS capability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s usually not the kinetic environment we see now in Gaza,\u201d the officer added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Already, aid groups ashore were mortared last month, and Hamas has said the group will resist any foreign presence associated with the project, The Associated Press reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several of the officers interviewed worried about the Israeli and U.S. militaries\u2019 ability to counter lower-tech threats, such as mortar rounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s also the matter of keeping the pier safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The military has limited JLOTS sets, the Navy officer noted, and one being used in Gaza can\u2019t be used for something else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The capability has been neglected and underfunded over the years, particularly Army watercraft, the officers said, but a conventional war with China has resurrected a desire for such capabilities, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s plenty in the military that are clamoring for more JLOTS-type enablers,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a great opportunity for the U.S. military to show why the investments in technology like this matter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The JLOTS capability in action during a 2012 military exercise. (DOD)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How to do JLOTS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The JLOTS system involves several parts: a massive discharge platform, where cargo ships can offload aid, the trident pier, or causeway, and a series of pier sections-slash-boats that will move the aid from the platform to the pier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the parts are built from the same sectional modular pieces, which are put together like an at-sea erector set, the retired Army transportation officer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe just build an acre of causeways all connected together\u201d for the discharge platform, he said. \u201cAnd then you build the causeway ferries, which are built from causeway sections, causeway pieces \u2026 with a powered section at the end. Kind of looks like a pier, but it\u2019s powered and you can use it like a boat and you can build them, 300, 400, 800-feet long.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey almost look like a piece of causeway section with a pilot house on it,\u201d the Navy officer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those ferries can then \u201cmarry up\u201d at the trident pier, allowing trucks to drive off and toward land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all made from the same parts and pieces, it\u2019s just how you erect it,\u201d the Army transportation officer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trident piers sit just a few feet above the water, and are susceptible to volatile and choppy sea states, the transportation officer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Soldiers and sailors assemble a sprawling at-sea discharge platform in the Mediterranean Sea off the Gaza Strip in April. (Army via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Other officers recalled how trident pier missions had to be scrapped because of uncooperative waters in past JLOTS exercises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pentagon said earlier this month that the pier was delayed due to weather, and the retired Army officer said that opposing winds and currents can whip up that stretch of the Mediterranean Sea, but that bad weather passes relatively quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cooper, the deputy CENTCOM commander, said Thursday that how weather affects using the pier will be \u201csituationally dependent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne variable we cannot control here is the weather,\u201d he said. \u201cSo we\u2019ll just see what that looks like. It\u2019s very favorable here in the coming days and week or so. And our goal is to move as much humanitarian assistance as possible during that period, and then we\u2019ll make assessments going forward, as we would with any military operation and the weather.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pentagon has indicated that contractors will drive the aid trucks down the trident pier and onto the beach. Officers who spoke with Military Times questioned whether a non-military truck driver would be up to the daunting task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome of that\u2019s a little dicey for a commercial truck driver that probably has never driven on a causeway section before,\u201d one officer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
U.S. soldiers build out a floating staging platform in the Mediterranean Sea in April. (DOD)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018It\u2019s very risky even to put the damn causeway together\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But even without the security threats that a mission like the one in Gaza poses, <\/b>JLOTS is a potentially <\/b>dangerous undertaking for troops involved, even under the best of circumstances, the officers said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very risky even to put the damn causeway together,\u201d the active-duty Army officer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The massive ships at sea crane-load and dangle massive platform and pier sections over the side, and everything is assembled via human labor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re talking about building and erecting an erector set of equipment in the water,\u201d the retired Army transportation officer said. \u201cThere\u2019s just a huge risk in doing that, and the processes have to be done in ideal conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A soldier takes part in a Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, exercise in 2016. (DOD)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rolling out JLOTS requires \u201crelatively good weather, good sea conditions, to be able to put and stitch all of that stuff together,\u201d one officer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sections used to assemble the discharge platform, the ribbon bridge ferries and the trident pier are all massive and heavy, and soldiers have been crushed carrying out the mission in the past, the officers said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once everything is in place, moving the cargo <\/b>can be equally harrowing, <\/b>the officers said. Cargo trucks have to drive down a 50-degree sloped ramp from the cargo ship to the floating discharge platform, and those soldiers may not be <\/b>trained in JLOTS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s usually the soldier driving his own tank, or his own truck, who\u2019s not a watercraft soldier, he\u2019s not a causeway soldier, this is not his environment, and you\u2019re directing him to get him to shore so he can get back into his environment,\u201d the officer said. \u201cThose soldiers who are unpracticed or inexperienced at that tend to be just frightened to death, operating in the water like that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going down that sloped ramp requires particular leaps of faith for the drivers, even with soldiers on the ground guiding them, and it all gets \u201cexponentially worse at night,\u201d the retired senior Army officer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drivers generally take a right turn to get off the cargo ship and onto the ramp, with little visibility regarding where they\u2019re going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey see nothing except water, they cannot see the discharge platform and they have to trust in their skill, and they go off this thing and then down and make a left-hand turn onto the discharge facility,\u201d he said. \u201cThat in and of itself is a scary thing \u2014 where\u2019s the edge?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Soldiers drive off of a trident pier during a Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, exercise in 2016. (Army National Guard)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Once onto the ribbon bridge ferry or trident pier, the path back to land is undulating in three dimensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s up, it\u2019s down, it\u2019s sideways,\u201d the officer said. \u201cIt\u2019s a really dynamic operational environment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pier itself is about 24-feet-wide and \u201cway smaller when you\u2019re driving on it,\u201d the senior officer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One section goes one way, while the one ahead goes the other way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re all connected but they move to some degree independently,\u201d he said. \u201cEverything\u2019s moving, nothing is stable, and until you get used to that and trust your own ability to just go straight and not worry about it, that\u2019s an interesting experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Military Times Editorial Fellow Riley Ceder contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated Keith Robbins\u2019 JLOTS-related position. He was JLOTS program manager for U.S. Transportation Command.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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