Two days after Winter Storm Grayson dropped nearly a foot of snow on Naval Station Norfolk, Sailors from Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) Fleet Logistics Center (FLC) Norfolk were among the first to return, Jan. 6, loading provisions onto USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) before she got underway.

According to NAVSUP FLC Norfolk Logistics Support Officer Lt. Tam Colbert, the 15-person working party loaded 15 pallets of food into storerooms aboard Vella Gulf.

"We take pride and satisfaction in knowing that the Sailors are taken care of," she added. "They deserve to have three fresh, hot, healthy and delicious meals a day, and we are happy to be able to do our small part in ensuring they are always ready for any tasking coming their way."

She explained that the NAVSUP FLC Norfolk Logistics Support Center provides this service to save ships in the fleet the otherwise numerous man-hours that would be spent striking boxes down to the storerooms.

Colbert added that the biggest challenge operating in winter weather is safety. She said normally there is only a small strip on the pier that gets cleared out and salted as an access lane for emergency vehicles. Often under these conditions the working party doesn't have a large area to stage the pallets to be moved by forklifts and run up a conveyor belt, so the entire evolution has to be accomplished by hand, which increases the time it takes and requires a higher level of operational risk management to avoid injuries.

"What we do here is very important; providing vital provisions that keep underway Sailors fed," she concluded.

NAVSUP Global Logistics Support (GLS) provides global logistics for a global Navy. The organization is made up of more than 6,500 military and civilian logistics professionals operating from 105 locations worldwide providing an extensive array of integrated global logistics and contracting services to Navy, Marine Corps, joint operational units, and allied forces across all warfare enterprises.

For more NAVSUP GLS news visit http://www.navsup.navy.mil/navsup/ourteam/navsupgls/news.

A component of the Naval Supply Systems Command headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, NAVSUP GLS is part of a worldwide logistics network of more than 22,500 military and civilian personnel providing combat capability through logistics.

For more news from Naval Supply Systems Command, visit http://www.navy.mil/.

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