A big move made easy at Abu Ghraib

BALAD, IRAQ

03.23.2009

Story by Capt. Michael R. Vincent 

81st Stryker Brigade Combat Team

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq – The commander of 2nd Platoon, Charlie Company Crazy Horse, 1-161st Infantry (Combined Arms Battalion), 81st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Lt. Joel Berkowitz, never would have imagined himself leading a convoy through downtown Baghdad with $6 million worth of industrial generators under his responsibility and the success of the 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command's mission at Camp Taji, Iraq, depending on his efforts.

However, the lieutenant couldn't have imagined anything better. As the radio sounded and the glow of a computer monitor filled the small cab of his mine resistant ambush protected vehicle, he gave the order: "Crazy Horse 24 RED CON 1, Scout 1 move out."

The vehicles peeled out of the staging area, the massive 20-ton containerized generators poised ominously on flatbed trucks, and waited for their position in the convoy and the order to move. The yard managers assured Berkowitz the generators would pass under the myriad of overpasses and highway signs that scattered the road to Taji. An impact of a generator against an overpass would be catastrophic and could cost millions in repairs, and also put the convoy in a very dangerous situation being stuck in the middle of a Baghdad neighborhood in the dead of night.

To mitigate the risk, the Soldiers of 2nd platoon employed a seemingly unlikely method of assuring each overpass was high enough to allow the convoy to pass. Each scout MRAP vehicle placed a post with a chemlite attached at the tip on its turret. This post was measured alongside each load to ensure it would clear the underpasses. As the scout vehicle approached an underpass, the gunner would observe the tip of the chemlite. If the lite impacted the underpass, the load could not pass and the convoy must turn around. If it cleared, the convoy could pass.

The moment of truth arrived. About an hour into the convoy, the first scout vehicle approached an extremely low overpass.

Staff Sgt. Eli Koemstedt, the 2nd Platoon lead scout, radioed the convoy, "this is as low as it gets, hold on." A minute that seemed like hours passed, and then Koemstedt radioed, "hug the left side of the road under the highest point of the underpass; we have about two inches."

Soon, each truck slowly moved to the left and passed underneath. Success. A collective sigh of relief could be heard up and down the convoy as the lights of Camp Taji approached.

As the lead convoy vehicles waited for the delivery of generators, a group of crew members gathered around.

"Just another day in the life of Crazy Horse," explained Staff Sgt. Candido Villalobos. "We'll be at it again tomorrow."

Just then, the dark silhouette of Berkowitz approached: "We're outta here, report RED CON status when you're up."

The convoy crews scrambled to their vehicles and the engine rumble sounded once again. A familiar order broke the silence: "Crazy Horse 24 RED CON 1, Scout 1 move out."

• Date Taken: 03.23.2009
• Date Posted: 03.23.2009 08:14
• Story ID: 31481
• Location: BALAD, IQ