As the song goes, "The times they are a changing" and this TTU is going to write another verse and chapter to its long and varied history. The Transportation Terminal Unit Greece was established in 1949 as a port liaison team under the Transportation Division, Joint U.S. Military Aid Group, Greece (JUSMAGG) with one American officer and a small group of Greek employees. Ten years later, the TTU was officially designated as the Transportation Terminal Unit organized under the Director of Transportation, Department of the Army, with operational control still under JUSMAGG. This period also marked the beginning of our logistical support relationship with the 7206th Air Base Group located at Hellenikon Air Base (HAB).

In 1964, U.S. Air Force Europe (USAFE) assumed water terminal responsibilities under the "dominant user" concept and the TTU became known affectionately as an "Air Force funded terminal." This meant that the TTU commander wore three hats -- Army, Air Force, and Department of State. Since then, commanders have had fun figuring out how to wear all of those hats and get the mission accomplished. During this period, the TTU was moved to its present location at Keratsini Bay, Pireaus. Here, it shares pier and one end of a combination warehouse/office building with the Hellenic Military Port Command. In 1965, command of the TTU was passed to MTMC Eastern Area and then, in 1977, it was reassigned to the MTMC Terminal Command, Europe, which is now known as MTMC-Europe. Logistical and operating budget support continued to be provided by USAFE.

Our mission is to provide ocean terminal service at all ports in Greece for all Department of Defense sponsored cargo in support of U.S. forces and agencies. That mission is the same in peace as it is in war. In addition, the TTU is the Military Sealift Command's representative for Greece and Crete and it is frequently called upon to provide information on ocean transportation assets and capabilities of other Greek port facilities. The TTU acts as the transfer agent for the Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC) and overseas vessel operations involving foreign military sales (FMS) cargo to the Government of Greece.

The recently renovated terminal facilities include 2,831 square feet of modern office space; 17,847 square feet of expanded warehouse space; and 150,000 square feet of pier hardstand. The pier has two working faces. One is 397 feet long with a 127-foot roll on/roll off (RO/RO) ramp, and the other is 665 feet long. With a little coordination with the local fishermen, the 665-foot pier can accommodate vessels up to 770 feet, such as the Cape Domingo class RO/RO vessel. Although there are no fixed crane facilities at the TTU, there are sufficient wheeled and floating cranes with capacities up to 100 tons available from the Greek Port Monopoly. In addition, the TTU operates two portable ramps capable of handling up to three containers simultaneously for stuffing/unstuffing operations. Organic equipment includes two 10K-forklifts, two 6K-forklifts, two 600-gallon fuel pods, and one warehouse tug for cargo operations. Administrative use vehicles are all indigenous vehicles designed to reduce our profile during normal operations. Each of the two sedans, one carry all, and one pickup truck are equipped with land mobile radios.

A local stevedore contractor provides labor to help discharge and load vessels and containers. All other work, such as documentation, customs, warehousing, pier operations, port planning, supply, training, administration and accounting is performed by local national employees. Cargo clearance is a particularly cumbersome mission in Greece and often requires trips to one or more of the port's six different customs houses. The TTU maintains excellent relations with local customs officials and is often called upon to resolve customs disputes for DOD customers. During a recent visit, the Military Traffic Management Command commander noted that the TTU represented a model TTU because of its excellent facilities and ability to handle any cargo within its organic capability.

The announced base closures of the Naval Communications Station (NAVCOMSTA) Nea Makri and the 7206th Air Base Group (ABG) at Hellenikon marked the end of an era in American military presence on the mainland of Greece. The NAVCOMSTA was first to close-seven months after the Department of Defense announcement. The TTU dispatched documentation teams to the NAVCOMSTA early on to assist in the proper preparation of documentation and planning to execute this mission smoothly. Later, the Operations Branch of the TTU dispatched a supervisor and skilled labor personnel to teach proper packing and loading techniques for commercial SEAVANS. As a result, all cargo was properly accounted for and expeditiously moved. This resulted in a base closure 45 days ahead of schedule.

Personnel reductions at USAFE resulted in a loss of two TTU civilian spaces at the beginning of the Hellenikon Air Base closure process. Consequently, the TTU had to reorganize to accomplish the largest mission in its history. Anyone who has been around the military very long quickly learns to adapt to "doing more with less." The tough, resilient workforce ofthe TTUis no exception. With the lessons learned from the Navy drawdown, the TTU and HAB worked very closely, and they established a viable documentation and transportation system to complement each other's strengths and weaknesses. As of this writing, the HAB base closure is ahead of schedule and all of the major milestones have been accomplished. Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM were also successfully supported during the same period. Particularly noteworthy was the successful relocation of the 922d Strategic Squadron-Strategic Air Command from HAB to Souda Bay by sea in a 48-hour period without any interruption in their support to OPERATION DESERT STORM.

The TTU will miss its friends at the NAVCOMSTA and HAB and the excellent support they provided. We are looking forward to developing new relationships with the 7276th ABG on Crete and as always, we stand ready to provide ocean terminal services in support of any mission, anywhere in Greece. As we turn the final pages on this chapter in our proud history, we are already looking forward to writing a new one. The men and women of the TTU have operated in a tough, high threat environment, but through it all they have maintained a positive "can do" attitude. They have clearly lived up to the proud motto NOBODY DOES IT BETTER.