OCTOBER 5, 2024 – Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, Jr., underscored the indispensable role the U.S. military plays throughout the globe as he met yesterday with the soldiers behind the Defense Department’s Joint Logistics Over the Shore mission to flow humanitarian assistance into Gaza.
The 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary) returned recently to their home port in Fort Eustis, Virginia, after concluding its mission in July to construct and operate an at-sea pier in support of U.S. Agency for International Development-led efforts to surge critical aid to citizens in need.
The efforts successfully opened an additional pathway to deliver high volumes of humanitarian assistance into Gaza and led to the successful delivery of nearly 20 million pounds of much-needed aid.
This mission exemplified the U.S. military’s commitment to humanitarian efforts and showcased the logistics capabilities essential for maintaining a robust warfighting posture.
During his visit to the Fort Eustis pier, Brown commended soldiers assigned to the unit for their ability to execute the mission and adapt to the challenges they faced while on station in the Mediterranean.
“You not only executed the mission, but you also enhanced your skills,” the chairman said.
He added that the complex logistics capability they demonstrated, while applicable for delivering humanitarian assistance, is also foundational to the United States’ warfighting capability.
“I have the opportunity to go all around the world and engage my counterparts, and I will tell you they want to be like us,” Brown said. “Day-in and day-out, that’s the feedback I get. They want to know how the United States military, how we do what we do.”
“You’re the most respected, most combat-capable force in the world,” he added. “I’ll make sure we stay that way.”
Brown’s visit to Fort Eustis was part of a series of engagements with soldiers and sailors driving efforts in the field and on the deck plates to ensure the U.S. remains as the world’s premier fighting force.
During a visit to Fort Stewart, Georgia on Wednesday, Brown met with soldiers from the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, a unit that recently led the U.S. mission to enhance interoperability and support NATO battle groups in Eastern Europe.
After taking responsibility for the mission in September 2023, the 3rd Infantry Division’s Task Force Marne led a series of military exercises, professional military summits and community engagements across Poland and the Baltic States before officially transferring authority for the mission to the 1st Cavalry Division in May.
Brown met with command staff to discuss the unit’s priorities aligned with warfighting and innovation. He also observed demonstrations of new capabilities developed by soldiers assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division’s Marne Innovation Center who design, build and implement warfighting solutions to fill key capability gaps.
Brown also visited the Navy’s Pre-Commissioning Unit John F. Kennedy, the unit spearheading the delivery of the Navy’s second Ford class aircraft carrier under construction at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipyard in Newport News, Virginia.
Throughout his engagements, Brown reaffirmed his dedication to supporting service members and their families while continually enhancing the nation’s warfighting capabilities.
“Personally, and professionally, I do not play for second place,” he said. “I do not play to lose; I play to win. We want to be so good at what we do that our adversaries wake up every day and say, ‘not today.'”
By Joseph Clark, DOD News