Familiar faces in unfamiliar territory

Courtesy Photo | (Middle) Spc. Russell Shiremen, a Columbus, Ind., native and Soldier with one of the 1538th Transportation Company's security escort platoons, undergoes training on the armored security vehicle in a maintenance bay in the 1st Battalion, 206th Field Artillery's compound on Camp Taji. The 1538th Trans. Co. is an Army National Guard unit from Elkhart, Ind., and arrived in theater in September 2008. Upon arriving to Iraq, a few of the Soldiers on the unit's convoy security team were attached to and trained with the 1st Bn., 206th FA, an Arkansas National Guard unit trained to conduct convoy security missions.  

TAJI, IRAQ

11.14.2008

Courtesy Story

1st Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade

By 1st Lt. Brett Monroe
1st Sustainment Brigade

CAMP TAJI, Iraq – When transporters from the 1538th Transportation Company, a National Guard unit based out of Elkhart, Ind., conducted their first Convoy Logistics Patrol mission Oct. 12, they were glad to see a few familiar faces in formation.

Under the direction of Staff Sgt. Terry Riggs, a Jeffersonville, Ind., native, and the mission commander, Soldiers from the 1538th Trans. Co. and other units around Camp Taji hauled cargo from the base to other locations in the Baghdad area.

Just as it was the first mission Riggs led since the unit's transfer of authority with the 515th Transportation Company, it was also the first mission for some of the Soldiers on the convoy security element.

Although these Soldiers were new to the security mission, they were not at all new to Riggs and the other Soldiers of the 1538th Trans. Co.

The security element, which is commonly known as gun trucks, consisted of Soldiers from the 1538th Trans. Co. who were attached to the 1st Battalion, 206th Field Artillery, an Arkansas National Guard unit trained to conduct convoy security missions.

The gun truckers, as they are called, from the 1538th Trans. Co. have trained for their security mission since arriving on Camp Taji, and that night was an important milestone in their training.

"It was a good mission. It was fairly uneventful. For our first mission together, Staff Sgt. Riggs did well," said New Albany, Ind., native 2nd Lt. Jacob Kruer, the gun truck commander for the mission.

For a gun trucker, "fairly uneventful" is a good night's work, meaning no opposition was met and no improvised explosive devices or ambushes were encountered along the route.

In addition to the Soldiers on the security element, there were also other familiar faces included on the mission. In attendance were Soldiers from the 991st Transportation Company, an Army Reserve unit from Salisbury, N.C., who went through mobilization training at Camp Atterbury, Ind., alongside the 1538th Trans. Co.

During the mission, the 991st Trans. Co. used Palletized Load System vehicles to deliver cargo while the 1538th Trans. Co. used more traditional tractor-trailer equipment.

"It's a lot of work getting a mission together. [There are] a lot of moving pieces, but we're all working together real well. Our gun trucks did great," said Riggs, who deployed to Iraq before as a transporter.

Even though the Soldiers of the1538th Trans. Co. are divided among the transportation mission and the security escort mission, they will come together many more times over the next year to conduct Convoy Logistics Patrols.

Many of these Soldiers are on their second tour of duty and come from around the state of Indiana, surrounding states, and as far away as Florida and New York. The 1538th Trans. Co. deployed in early September 2008 and is scheduled to return from Iraq in summer of 2009.

• Date Taken: 11.14.2008
• Date Posted: 11.14.2008 00:14
• Story ID: 26317
• Location: TAJI, IQ