Rodeo fosters esprit de corps with transporters

Photo By 1st Lt. Nathan Lavy | Sgt. Jeffrey Killingsworth, a squad leader with the 319th Transportation Company, 749th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 224th Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), and a Augusta, Ga., native, and Spc. Tremain Pryor, a heavy wheel vehicle operator with the 319th Trans. Company, and a Savannah, Ga., native, compete in a tow bar drag event in a maintenance rodeo competition Feb. 11 in their company motor pool on Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq.  

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, IRAQ

02.11.2011

Story by 1st Lt. Nathan Lavy 

224th Sustainment Brigade

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq - Mechanics and heavy vehicle transporters with the 319th Transportation Company, 749th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 224th Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), came together to compete in a maintenance rodeo competition Feb. 11 in their company motor pool on Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq.

Hosted by the company’s maintenance section, the competition served not only as a way to bring its soldiers from various sections and platoons together, but to give them a break from their regular routines.

“The event was held to build camaraderie between sections,” said Staff Sgt. Joshua Heyward, motor sergeant with the 319th Trans. Company, and a Hephzibah, Ga., native, who organized and presided over the event. “We got to take a break from what we normally do; overall it was a good turnout, pretty good.”

Soldiers competed in three events: remove and swap front tires on a 915A3 truck, flip an M984A1 tire for a known distance, and a five ton tow bar drag for a known distance.

“It’s great when you can get all the Soldiers in your unit working together as a team,” said Capt. Nancy Sison, commander of the 319th Trans. Company, and a New Orleans native. “They work together on the road. The trucks cannot roll out without maintenance; truck drivers and mechanics working together.”

Winners of each event received a 319th Trans. Company Mechanics Coin of Excellence. Heyward commissioned the creation of the coins in 2010 to commemorate the success of his platoon and to remind the soldiers what they accomplished during their time at COB Adder.

“The tow bar drag was my favorite event; [During the tire swap] mud got on the nuts, we were fighting the bolts all the way, and the tow bar was heavy,” said Spc. Tremain Pryor, a heavy wheel vehicle operator with the 319th Trans. Company, and a Savannah, Ga., native, who received a coin for his efforts. “We had a lot of fun; we don’t do something like this every day. It was motivating.”

Sgt. 1st Class Simmons, a platoon sergeant with 319th Trans. Company, and an Orangeburg, S.C., native, and Sgt. William Williams, a heavy wheel vehicle operator with 319th Trans. Company, and a Tampa, Fla., native, placed first on the tire swap event with a time of 9 minutes, 40 seconds. Sgt. Jeffrey Killingsworth, a squad leader with 319th Trans. Company, and an Augusta, Ga., native, and Pryor placed first in the tow bar event, finishing in 13 seconds. Staff Sgt. Larry Harrington, a heavy wheel vehicle operator with 319th Trans. Company, and a Lakeland, Fla., native, and Spc. Crystal Pons, a heavy wheel vehicle operator with 319th Trans. Company, and a Lakeland, Fla., native, placed first in the tire flip event, finishing in 54 seconds.

“It was a good time seeing soldiers doing their assigned jobs and I enjoyed seeing my platoon compete against the maintenance platoon,” said 1st Lt. Will Burke, a line haul platoon leader with the 319th Trans. Company, and a Corvallis, Mont., native.

• Date Taken: 02.11.2011
• Date Posted: 02.20.2011 14:05
• Story ID: 65779
• Location: CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, IQ