By Spc. Steven J. Schneider, 28th Public Affairs Detachment
LOGISTICS SUPPORT AREA ANACONDA, Balad, Iraq -- Soldiers and civilians at the Joint Distribution Center here help keep Soldiers safe and off the roads with lanes designed to reduce convoys on the dangerous highways of Iraq.
"It's a little known fact that we're the logistic hub of all the forward operating bases around here," said Sgt. Elgin Smith, who works at the JDC as a cargo specialist.
"There really isn't a standard operating procedure for this. It's one of those things where we just created a way of doing things," he added.
The JDC here is the logistical hub for much of the Iraqi theater, said 2nd Lt. Nathan Fahie, JDC dayshift officer in charge.
He said the yard takes in more than a hundred trucks on a daily basis.
The cargo is then downloaded and separated into different lanes to go out to the forward operating bases in theater.
The yard recently opened two lanes that will take care of cargo for air traffic, which helps keep 10 to 12 convoys off the road each week.
Smith said he prepares about 25 to 30 pallets every day to be shipped out by air.
"We just take pride in keeping Soldiers off the road," Smith said.
Smith said it's important to get the cargo to troops quickly, and they make sure everything gets out within 96 hours.
Even though the work is hard, the job leaves the workers of the JDC feeling content.
"It makes me feel like I'm helping out in this area of the world," Fahie said. "I'm making sure I do everything I can to make sure people are getting what they need."
"I'm just a small piece. It's really the Soldiers and KBR workers that make it possible," he added.
According to Fahie, those workers brave almost any weather condition and the yard stays open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"You don't stop till you drop," Fahie said.
The way Soldiers and civilians work together at the yard is what makes everything possible, he added.
"Soldiers and KBR workers mesh together and make sure that one mission for the Army's part is done together and well," he said.
Even though things like the Convoy Reduction program are still a work in progress, they plan on opening two more lanes and reducing convoys even more.
Editors Note: Spc. Schneider is a member of the 28th Public Affairs Detachment from Fort Lewis, Wash. and is deployed to Iraq in support of units at LSA Anaconda.
| Date Taken: | 03.11.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 03.11.2005 14:43 |
| Story ID: | 1310 |
| Location: | BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 66 |
| Downloads: | 7 |
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