Logistical Training and Advisory Team Team Returns to Contingency Operating Site Marez

Courtesy Photo | The 515th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion Logistical Transition and Training Team (left to right) Sgt. 1st Class Salomon Trujillo, Capt. Edward Gonzales, and Sgt. Ernest Archuleta.  

MOSUL, IRAQ

12.15.2009

Courtesy Story

13th Armored Corps Sustainment Command (13th ESC)

By Pfc. John G. King

CONTINGENCY OPERATING SITE MAREZ, Iraq — The 515th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 15th Sustainment Brigade, 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), Logistical Training and Advisory Team returned here after four months in Al Kasik, Iraq.

Capt. Edward Gonzales, Sgt. 1st Class Salomon Trujillo and Sgt. Ernest Archuleta, all with the 515th CSSB, rejoined their fellow New Mexico National Guardsmen in early December at Contingency Operating Site Marez.

The Al Kasik base is controlled by the Iraqi army and part of their mission is to provide vehicle maintenance services for the 2nd and 3rd Iraqi Armed Forces Divisions, Gonzales said.

The purpose of the Logistical Training and Advisory Team, or LTAT, is to help train and assist the Iraqi armed forces to become independent as U.S. troops withdraw. The primary training conducted by the LTAT was repairing military vehicles and ordering the proper maintenance supplies from the Class IX warehouse, Gonzalez explained.

Gonzales, who supervised the LTAT operations on Al Kasik and had previous work experience with foreign military groups, enjoyed his time with the Iraqi army.

"The Iraqis are hard workers who make sure to complete their mission," said Gonzales.

He also enjoyed the chance to be a part of daily Iraqi life by eating, having chai tea, living next to, and sharing jokes with them.

In addition to training the Iraqi personnel with vehicle maintenance, Archuleta trained the dining facility workers on proper sanitation and cleanliness of the workspace.

Trujillo served as the maintenance shop supervisor and ensured that the Iraqi armed forces had everything they needed to complete their jobs properly. He received help from their team of translators to create numerous binders that listed vehicle parts and their stock numbers as visual aids and ordering references.

Al Kasik is the first Iraqi armed forces base to go into an over-watch phase, and will have only occasional visits from U.S. troops to ensure that they are progressing as an independent force.

"The position they are in now," said Archuleta, "I believe they have a better than average chance to stand on their own when coalition forces finally leave Iraq."

• Date Taken: 12.15.2009
• Date Posted: 12.15.2009 03:02
• Story ID: 42764
• Location: MOSUL, IQ