FORT EUSTIS, Va. –
The 833rd Transportation Battalion uncased their unit colors in a ceremony at Fort Eustis, July 2, marking their arrival following a relocation from their longtime home in Seattle, Wash.
The 833rd Trans. Bn. is responsible for overseeing the movement of military cargo and sustainment by way of contracts and tariffs for terminal and stevedore shipping requirements. The battalion will work alongside the 7th Sustainment Brigade at 3rd Port.
The battalion, a subordinate unit of Ft. Eustis' 597th Trans. Bde., adds to the post's long legacy of the Army's transportation mission and objectives. The Army activated the unit July 28, 1942, as the Seattle Port of Embarkation, one of eight POEs supporting the U.S. war effort in the Pacific theater in World War II.
After decades of serving the Pacific Northwest, including the increasing military presence in Alaska, the battalion, part of the Army's Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, crossed the country to combine its traditional port operations with Ft. Eustis' expeditionary port capabilities at 3rd Port.
Despite being a much smaller unit than in the past, Lt. Col. Isabel Geiger, the 833rd Trans. Bn. commander, said the unit maintains its strategic significance.
"Our unit history is long and impressive," she said, noting the battalion's peak manpower was 19,000 personnel. "We're much smaller now, but that doesn't mean the mission is any less important." Geiger said the battalion will maintain a presence in Seattle, leaving behind the newly-formed Pacific Northwest Detachment.
The arrival of the battalion also unified the 688th, 689th, and 690th Rapid Port Opening Elements under a centralized command.
Since 1992, the 833rd has deployed personnel in support of various military and humanitarian operations overseas, including tours in Peru, Guatemala, Thailand, Australia, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. In 1999, the battalion first deployed a Deployment Distribution Support Team in support of Exercise New Horizons in El Salvador, and again in 2003, where they opened the Port of Qatar in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.