Rock-It Cargo Team Aids the Fight Against Terrorism

Rock-It Cargo expanded its repertoire of military cargo movements with a project for Aria International, a provider and operator of surveillance and communications systems. John Gerten and Greg Galbreath were the Rock-It agents responsible for transporting a three-part shipment from Montebello, California to Thailand. The cargo included an Air Ship, a “Grizzly” MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) armored vehicle, and high-tech surveillance and camera equipment to be used in the fight against terrorism in Thailand.

Rock-It agents are accustomed to handling time-sensitive shipments that have multiple logistical challenges; the Aria project required all these capabilities.  Gerten and Galbreath began by securing licenses from the U.S. State Department, then calculated a plan for addressing the difficult material limitations of the shipment – weight and size constraints and regulations for transporting products containing toxic and hazardous chemicals.

These physical logistics proved to be the most demanding part of the process. Some of the components were three times heavier (per square inch) than a typical 747 aircraft can handle. Rock-it Cargo called on engineers from Boeing, the airplane’s manufacturer, to confirm the weight distribution requirements and carefully loaded the components accordingly. To fit the Grizzly MRAP through the aircraft doors, Rock-it Cargo altered the vehicle by removing the special military tires and replacing them with steel rims from a manufacturer in New Jersey.

The transport of the Air Ship, a blimp-like aircraft, along with some high-tech military surveillance equipment, was equally challenging. The Air Ship weighed approximately 50,000 pounds and had to be packed into nine separate crates. The shipment also contained hazardous materials that required adherence to strict packing and shipping procedures.  Once the shipment arrived in Bangkok, it was re-assembled in a Thai Airways hanger—the only hanger large enough to accommodate the size of the Air Ship.

Despite the logistical challenges, all three components of the shipment were delivered on time and without incident. The shipments were personally escorted to their final destination with Rock-It Cargo personnel on hand at all times.  John Gerten escorted the Grizzly MRAP vehicle from California to its final destination, stopping along the way in Korea and India before arriving in Bangkok. Afterward, Gerten commented on the success of the project. “Where there is a will, there is a way to ship,” he quipped.