Military Sealift Command large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ship USNS Pililaau anchored two miles off the coast of Camp Pendleton, Calif., July 22. A platform of floating Navy barges called a roll-on/roll-off discharge facility is attached to the ship's stern ramp and a motorized Navy causeway ferry approaches. During an at-sea offload, military personnel drive wheeled and tracked vehicles from the ship’s cargo hold onto the roll-on/roll-off discharge facility for staging and then onto the causeway ferry for transport to shore. Over the course of six days, Pililaau offloaded more than 210,000 square feet of Army cargo as part of Pacific Strike 2008 – a joint logistics over the shore exercise. Pililaau also discharged cargo via the ship's side ramp and shipboard cranes. JLOTS is the U.S. military’s method of transporting military and humanitarian cargo to shore from ships at sea.
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Brian P. Caracci