From king of battle to king of roads

Photo By Capt. Monika Comeaux | Spc. Norman Cowan from Battery C, 6th Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery works on a HET in their motorpool on May 1. He removes a damaged 'pogo-stick' which holds the glad hands that supply air to the trailer. Cowan is originally a multiple launch rocket system crewmember who now drives Heavy Equipment Transporters all over Iraq.  

TAJI, IRAQ

06.03.2006

Courtesy Story

DVIDS Hub       

CAMP TAJI, Iraq - Like many other field artillery batteries, Battery C, 6th Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery from Fort Sill, Okla., was in for a surprise when told in January 2005 that they would deploy as a heavy equipment transporter company to Iraq.

As a result, the number of Soldiers tripled, and went from 100 to around 300 troops.
"It was a tough transition," said Capt. Ryan Zachry, battery commander.

Entire firing batteries were transformed into platoons, and put under his command.
Currently his battery consists of combat logistics patrol platoons, a maintenance platoon and a headquarters element. Two of the CLP platoons work on other forward operating bases.

Also as a result of the transformation, the battery was augmented with a truck master, Master Sgt. Charlie Stokes, who is an actual 88M, motor transport operator. Stokes said that he was received with open arms. "They were happy to see me."

Stokes brought a lot of experience with him. "There were a lot of questions that needed to be answered. They trained a lot, but they didn't have the actual first-hand experience on the way things should be done in transportation. When I got there, a lot of questions were answered," Stokes said.

It is not easy to go from being a multiple launch rocket system crewmember to driving HETs, "but you look at these guys versus the actual transportation guys we replaced, and they are on the same level," said Stokes proudly.

Battery C went from being the "king of the battle" to being the "king of the road" in a very short time, mostly transporting vehicles that are damaged or need to be repositioned in theater.

At one time, they delivered farming equipment to an Iraqi village, said Sgt. Steven McBride, a multiple launch rocket system crewmember, now a HET driver.

But if it wasn't for the outstanding work of the maintenance platoon, the CLP platoons could not perform so well, Zachry said.

"They have been able to maintain an operational readiness rate of 96 percent, which is unusually high for a HET company," he said.

Two other transportation companies had problems maintaining the HET systems, and the unit's mechanics helped out.

"I was pretty proud of the artillery mechanics training transportation mechanics on how to maintain their equipment," Zachry said.

Thanks to the great work of the Soldiers in all sections, the battery has not dropped a single mission since they arrived in November 2005.

When Battery C hits the road, they are usually gone for a couple of days at a time, spending their nights on bunk beds inside the cab of their trucks. It is more convenient than looking for someone to issue keys for the accommodations in the middle of the night, Stokes said.

Although most of the Soldiers didn't like the idea of becoming truck drivers, they have adjusted well and enjoy seeing other parts of the country.

"The culture here is pretty awesome when you get around the everyday people," he said.

• Date Taken: 06.03.2006
• Date Posted: 06.03.2006 02:26
• Story ID: 6648
• Location: TAJI, IQ