Task Force Provider showcases Army transporters’ capabilities on 71st birthday

Photo By Spc. Rochelle Prince-Krueger | Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Bellville, a Toledo, Ohio, native assigned to the 1487th Transportation Company, Ohio National Guard, teaches Task Force Provider Soldiers about the Heavy Equipment Transport system’s capabilities July 31, at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. Static displays were a part of the Third Sustainment Brigade-Task Force Provider’s birthday celebration for the U.S. Army Transportation Corps. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Rochelle Krueger, 3rd Sustainment Brigade Public Affairs)  

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AFGHANISTAN

08.01.2013

Story by Spc. Rochelle Prince-Krueger 

3rd Division Sustainment Brigade

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — Deployed soldiers celebrated the third youngest U.S. Army branch, July 31. During a ceremony held at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, the 3rd Sustainment Brigade-Task Force Provider showcased the Army Transportation Corps on its 71st birthday.

“We wanted to symbolize the capacity that the Transportation Corps provides, from escorting convoys to moving containers,” said Master Sgt. Paul Lloyd, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the 3rd Sustainment Brigade’s mobility section, and Orlando, Fla., native. “The opportunity to celebrate and remember the (Army) traditions speaks volumes of our command and allows the soldiers to be proud of their jobs.”

Though the Transportation Corps is young, the branch’s roots stem back to the Revolutionary War. Originally a part of the Army’s Quartermaster Corps, Transportation became an independent branch July 31, 1942, during World War II. Third Sustainment Brigade transporters—who support and sustain the war fighters throughout Regional Command South, Southwest and National Support Element West—shared excerpts of the Corps’ history as part of the birthday celebration.

Lloyd, who has 26 years of Army service, said he has seen many changes in his branch since the day he enlisted as a motor transport operator. He said that regardless of all military missions he’s been a part of, however, one thing remains the same—‘Nothing happens until something moves.’

The Providers showcased several military vehicles during the celebration to include the Mine Resistant-Ambush Protected-All Terrain Vehicle, Palletized Load System, Heavy Equipment Transport system and the Rough Terrain Container Handler.

“A transporter’s job is to maintain their vehicle, it’s their craft,” said Capt. Bill Gondela, a transportation officer assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, who organized the static displays. “These vehicles are a large part of what makes us a Transportation Corps.”

Gondela also explained that wheeled vehicles are not the only ways transporters move. The Corps is capable of operating amphibious crafts, ships, rail and air travel--even horse or mule-drawn carriages helped the military transport before motorized vehicles were invented.

The Scranton, Pa., native said joining the Transportation Corps was his ‘branch of choice.’

“Logistics is very powerful; there are so many moving pieces," he said. "In the end, we are here to support the war-fighter.”

Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Bellville, a motor transport operator with the 1487th Transportation Company, Ohio National Guard, Task Force Provider, said that he wouldn’t trade serving with the Transportation Corps for any other Army branch.

“This skill set can be taken directly to the civilian side of the workforce,” he added.

The Transportation Corps’ birthday ceremony concluded as the 3rd Sustainment Brigade Command Team, Col. Ron Novack and Command Sgt. Maj. Forbes Daniels, joined the unit's oldest and youngest Transportation Corps Soldiers, Staff Sgt. Donald Stevens, assigned to 1710th Transportation Company, Virginia National Guard and Spc. Troy Fritchman, assigned to 1113th Transportation Company, California National Guard, to cut a birthday cake.

• Date Taken: 08.01.2013
• Date Posted: 08.01.2013 09:04
• Story ID: 111175
• Location: KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AF
• Hometown: EMPORIA, VA, US
• Hometown: FORT STEWART, GA, US
• Hometown: ORLANDO, FL, US
• Hometown: PENSACOLA, FL, US
• Hometown: PIQUA, OH, US
• Hometown: SAN JOSE, CA, US
• Hometown: SCRANTON, PA, US
• Hometown: TOLEDO, OH, US