Safe Haven for supply convoys

Photo By 1st Sgt. Jessica Barnett | Entry control point security guard guides a truck in to the searching lane for inspection, Sept. 20, at ECP five at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jessica Rohr)  

IRAQ

09.26.2010

Story by Sgt. Jessica Barnett 

103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary)

IRAQ - Command and control of an area is crucial to U.S. Forces operating in Iraq. It lends itself to the highest possible safety for all involved.

A short time ago, convoys entering Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq, at entry control point 5, were backed up into Main Supply Route Tampa, which runs from Kuwait all the way through Iraq. This made the area a security risk and a road hazard for local citizens sharing the road.

Trucks stuck in the traffic jam outside the base were experiencing small-arms fire and thefts as they waited for their turns to enter the base.

“Prior to building the overflow lot, Adder saw significant congestion when convoys would arrive and try to get through the vehicle inspection point,” said Lt. Col. Samuel Wallis, operations officer with the 224th Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary). “Convoys were backed up on to MSR Tampa, and sometimes several kilometers down the road. It could take four hours or more for some vehicles to make it off of Tampa and to the inspection lanes. During that time they were vulnerable to possible enemy attack and posed a safety hazard to other vehicles on the MSR.”

Due to the drawdown of U.S. Forces, nearby convoy support centers, Contingency Operating Location Scania and Camp Cedar were slated to close. The traffic was re-routed to COB Adder, causing a significant increase in truck volume, according to Wallis.

To minimize the threat and gain control of the area, the 224th Sust. Bde. created the Safe Haven, an overflow parking lot with prioritized staging lanes prior to entering the control point.

This was done at the request of Brig. Gen. Randal Dragon, the deputy commanding general for support with the 1st Infantry Division, and a Harrisonburg, Va., native. Safe Haven gives trucks a secure waiting area off of MSR Tampa, keeping both them and the base out of harm’s way.

Many hours of man power were utilized for this project to become reality. Prior to the start of the project, a dirty yard was already next to the security control point. The original project bid offered by Kellogg, Brown, and Root, Inc., was $464,000.

With the lion’s share of the work done by 1st Platoon, 328th Engineer Support Company, 36th Engineer Brigade, and the use of reclaimed t-walls from COL Scania and Camp Cedar, the project was completed for a total of $18,600, according to Master Sgt. Steve Degnan, a former force protection noncommissioned officer-in-charge with the 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 103rd ESC, and a Warren, Mass., native.

After a thorough survey was completed by the Facility Engineering Detachment, the project was turned over to the engineers, who built the roads, complete with drainage and a retention pond.

First Platoon worked nine long, hard nights, sometimes for more than 18 hours. They moved approximately 6,380 cubic meters of earth, laid out 700 cubic meters of Getch (a clay-based soil that cements rocks together) and 2,000 cubic meters of gravel to complete the project, according to 1st Lt. Donald Frier, construction management supervisor with the 328th Eng. Sup. Co., 36th Eng. Bde., and a Chester, N.Y., native.

T-walls were placed by KBR contractors after the completion of the roads and drainage ditches to provide protection from small arms fire for the overflow lot. Safe Haven is now a reality, allowing vehicles off of MSR Tampa as quickly and as safely as possible.

“Safe Haven allows us to bring all the vehicles in and put them in a safe haven instead of having them backed-up on top of each other all the way out to MSR Tampa,” expressed Staff Sgt. Dwayne Sowells, force protection NCOIC with the 15th Transportation Company, 224th Sust. Bde., 103rd ESC, and a Brooklyn, N.Y., native. “Safe Haven, in itself, allows for us to manage inbound traffic a lot better. It gives us a lot of command and control as far as how many vehicles are out there.”

• Date Taken: 09.26.2010
• Date Posted: 09.26.2010 04:55
• Story ID: 56985
• Location: IQ