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| A roll-on/roll-off discharge facility, or RRDF, serves as an area for
loading and off-loading cargo at sea. The RRDF, assembled off Saipan in
preparation for Freedom Banner/Cobra Gold 2011, includes nine connected
modules, which are powered by two warping tugs and a power module. U.S. Navy photos by Ensign Justin Bennett |
The Roll On- Roll Off Discharge Facility is perhaps the most under reported part of the sea base....but its also arguably one of the most important.
I never realized it and the Marine Corps website doesn't play it up, but the sea base as envisioned isn't revolutionary at all...its actually evolutionary. From the actions off the coast of Normandy to the work done in the Pacific even the work done by the Riverine Forces in Vietnam with their floating motherships which serviced not only watercraft but also aircraft are all building blocks upon which the modern sea base is being built.
When looked at in that light this is a common sense solution to historical problems.
