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    Trey Duce competes for best team in truck rodeo

    Truck rodeo winner

    Photo By Spc. Rochelle Prince-Krueger | Spc. Edgar Cardenas, left, assigned to 32nd Composite Truck Company, 541st Combat...... read more read more

    CAMP ARIFJAN, KUWAIT

    04.30.2015

    Story by Spc. Rochelle Prince-Krueger 

    3rd Division Sustainment Brigade

    CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait - The Soldiers of 32nd Composite Truck Company, 541st Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade are highly competitive. No matter what the Trey Duce Soldiers are doing they want to compete against one another. With that being said, these Soldiers were no stranger to the competition of the truck rodeo at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait April 29—30.

    “Since before we left Fort Carson, Colorado, to come on this deployment, 32nd has always been competitive,” said Spc. Edgar Cardenas, a motor transport operator assigned to 32nd CTC. “It doesn’t matter if it is platoon verses platoon or Soldier verses Soldier, it is dog eats dog competition for everything from physical fitness to best uniform.”

    First Lt. Grant Hardy, a platoon leader in 32nd CTC, was charged with organizing the event. While in Kuwait, the Soldiers of Trey Duce are responsible for driving various cargo to different locations throughout Kuwait. They utilize the Heavy Equipment Transport System and 915 Tractor Trailer- Line Haul Truck , more commonly called a HET and 915 respectively, which can transport almost anything the Army has including tanks, connexes and other vehicles.

    “The events were chosen based on what we do here in Kuwait,” said Hardy. “They tested physical, mental and technical skills of our drivers to see who gets to hold the title of being the best within our company.”

    The company paired one noncommissioned officer (sergeant) and one Soldier (private-specialist) together as a team.

    “We wanted to keep squad integrity and this helps build comradery within each platoon,” said Hardy. “We paired one experienced Soldier (the NCO) and one novice Soldier together to make it fair.”

    Though it is still only spring in Kuwait, the temperature on both days of competition rose to over 100 degrees, the heat was no match for any of the Soldiers at the truck rodeo. The first event started while the sun was still down at 5 a.m. with a combat physical fitness test.

    “The combat pt test was the hardest for me,” said Sgt. Jody Halovsky, a team leader in 32nd CTC. “With our teammate we had to do a tire flip, chain drag, another tire flip, climb over 3 trailers, carry two full five-gallon water canteens, then come back through the entire course ending with the last tire flips.”

    The average time it took for a team to complete the course was about four minutes, 30 seconds.

    “We chose to incorporate tires and chains in the combat pt test because we as 88 [transportation] series utilize chains and tires almost every day,” said Hardy. “After the combat pt test we moved on to tie-downs.”

    Each team was timed on both types of trailers. The 915 trailers had two pallets of cargo that they had to use ratchet straps on. The HET trailers had a Caiman-mine-resistant ambush-protected multi-theater vehicle that needed to be properly tied down with chains.

    “The tie-downs were the easiest for me because I do it every day; I didn’t have to thank about it I just did it,” said Cardenas, who primarily drives a HET. “This was my first rodeo so I was not sure on what to expect.”

    After the tie-down competition they took a physical break and challenged their mental abilities by taking a written test which consisted of true/false, multiple choice and fill in the blank answers. Once completed with the written exam, the Trey Duce Soldiers were back outside in their truck completing a radio test.

    Each team had to hook up the radio in the truck and fill it with the proper information to do a radio check. The final event of day one was a preventative maintenance checks and services.

    “PMCS on our vehicles is a must for us because we drive them so much,” said Halovsky who was paired up with Cardenas. “We had five minutes to find 10 deadline faults that the mechanics in our company set up.”

    The next morning all of the Soldiers competed in a timed 5K ruck march. Their total combined weight had to equal at least 70 pounds. Then the Trey Duce was on the last stretch of the truck rodeo, with the driving test.

    “I thought the driving was the easiest,” said Halovsky, who drove the 915 for the driving test. “There were some tight turns with the serpentine trail and backing up to a 90 degree angle was also tough, I’ve been driving for so long it didn’t seem that difficult.”

    Halovsky and Cardenas currently hold the bragging rights for 32nd CTC. They won the overall competition and were crowned best in the truck rodeo, receiving an Army Achievement Medal.

    “I was surprised we beat out some of my peers,” said Cardenas. “I am excited that we won.”

    “I always just want my Soldier to be the best and try to set that example,” said Halovsky. “And there is nothing better than being a team with my Solder and us being the best.”

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 04.30.2015
    Date Posted: 05.02.2015 09:17
    Story ID: 162036
    Location: CAMP ARIFJAN, KW
    Hometown: FORT CARSON, CO, US

    Web Views: 166
    Downloads: 3

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