When our country needed them, the Army Reserve Soldiers of the 143rd Transportation Command were activated, mobilized and then deployed.

• Activation is the term used when the Army calls Reserve Soldiers to serve on Active Duty.
• When mobilized, Army Reserve Soldiers typically gather and train at their local Army Reserve Center, continue training at an Army Reserve installation (known as a "mobilization station") and prepare with their unit for deployment.
• During deployment, Army Reserve Soldiers are sent to a specific area of operations.

The Soldiers of the 143rd were deployed to Kuwait to create and maintain an enormous transportation system at the Port of Shuaibah.

While deployed at the Port of Shuaibah, Soldiers of the 143rd helped unload hundreds of vessels containing everything from food to Stryker vehicles to tanks. Shuaibah remains the primary port for the continuing rotation of troops and equipment.

The 143rd coordinated the offloading and delivery of supplies that arrive at the Port of Shuaibah. The equipment they used includes harbor cranes, palletized loading systems, tug boats, Humvees and haulers like the Heavy Equipment Transporter System (HETS).

This unit was tasked with establishing and maintaining a delivery system that supplied Soldiers with everything from military equipment to mail from home. Their supply lines stretched over an area the size of California and were the longest since WWII'some say the longest ever.