Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Dalton Smith | Motor transportation operators, with the 773rd Transportation Company, based out of...... read more read more
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FORT BRAGG, N.C. – Soldiers of the 773rd Transportation Company prepared their trucks for Quality Day, or Q-Day, during the 2014 Quartermaster Liquid Logistics Exercise (QLLEX), operationally controlled by the 633rd Quartermaster Battalion here, June 9.
Motor transport operators with the 773rd TC, based in Queens, N.Y., cleaned all of their trailer tanks and hoses, hung the correct hazardous material placards on trailers, checked to make sure all lights were working on the trucks and ensured all rubber gaskets had not dry rotted.
“We will be working at the highest standards of safety and cleanliness for the communities we will be traveling through,” said Sgt. William Garcia, a motor transport operator with the 773rd TC. “Making sure there is no dirt or rust in the fuel tanks or hoses is the hardest part.”
Q-Day sets a high standard quality check that inspects the trucks, trailers and hoses of the 773rd TC before civilian contractors are allowed to fill up the trucks with fuel.
Q-Day is a daylong process requiring the drivers to wake up at early hours, drive long distances and wait in long lines. It will be a hurry up and wait kind of day, due to trucks breaking down during the convoy, said Sgt. 1st Class Ragendra Chandan, a motor transport operator with the 773rd TC.
“Our usual fuel missions send us out in small groups to satellite locations to provide fuel to local customers,” said Chandan, a native of Queens, N.Y. “This year at QLLEX we are merging everyone together and building teams to do mass convoys to select locations to deliver bulk amounts of fuel at once.”
Chandan said it is essential for their Soldiers to go on these mass convoys to refresh their knowledge of their equipment and how to work with civilians. QLLEX allows them to learn more rules and how to work at a high standard.
“Safety is our priority for this exercise,” said Spc. Rafael Marmolejos, a motor transport operator with the 773rd TC. “Our newer Soldiers have not worked around these trucks as much as us older drivers, and we will be placing our more experienced drivers with them.”
“By working with other transportation units, we will help each other prepare for the inspection and train to operate as one large group,” said Garcia.
Besides trucks being inspected for quality and teaching new Soldiers proper safety techniques, the drivers of the 773rd TC’s main mission will be recovering fuel from civilian contractors from different, far away towns. Once they have recovered the fuel, they will bring it back to Army and Marine Reserve fuel specialists to fill up their fuel bags for additional missions.
The rest of the missions for QLLEX would not be possible without the pass on inspection of Q-Day, said Chandan. Making this one of the most important days of the exercise.
| Date Taken: | 06.10.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 06.10.2014 18:53 |
| Story ID: | 132724 |
| Location: | FORT BRAGG, NC, US |
| Hometown: | FORT LIBERTY, NC, US |
| Hometown: | QUEENS, NY, US |
| Web Views: | 276 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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