'Durable' brigade ensures safe shipment of supplies to Iraq

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Aaron Duncan | Pfc. Brandon Turner , a Newberg, Ore., native assigned to 21st ICT as a cargo specialist, guides the Rough Terrain Container Handler driver to ensure the safe placement of the 20ft cargo container on the Iraq-bound 18-wheeler July 8 at the Iraq/Kuwait border.  

CAMP ARIFJAN, KUWAIT

07.08.2015

Story by Staff Sgt. Aaron Duncan 

1st Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait - As the sun began to rise above the dusty horizon, the Soldiers were already on the way to their destination on the Iraq and Kuwait border to meet Soldiers assigned to 21st Inland Cargo Transfer Company (ICTC), 541st Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 1st Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade. Each would play a part to ensure supplies were moving into Iraq to support the Soldiers assigned there July 8.

The movement of supplies is an essential function that every army has had to accomplish throughout recorded history. Modern day armies are no different. Each one of the units plays a role in accomplishing this task.

“It gives me a lot of pride to know that I am doing something important for the mission,” said Spc. Christian DeLeon, a Glenn Dale, Maryland native assigned to 140th MCT as a cargo specialist. “No Army can function without supplies.”

The 21st ICTC provides the muscle to move the supplies between Kuwaiti trucks and Iraqi trucks. With the massive Rough Terrain Container Handler looming over the heavy 20-feet containers, precision is not just necessary but critical. A misstep can result in massive damage to the supplies or even death.

“Moving the containers is dangerous work, but our Soldiers are well trained and we make sure that safety comes first,” said Capt. Ashley Jackson, the commander of 21st ICTC.

The 140th MCT ensures the Kuwaiti trucks reach their destination and that the corresponding documentation is correct. With as many as 25 18-wheelers behind them, the Soldiers escort them through the sometimes challenging Kuwaiti traffic. Along the way they stop to conduct safety inspections on the trucks to ensure they reach their destination.

With the modular nature of the 1st Sustainment Brigade, engaged leadership and thorough coordination is required.

“One of the things we focus on in 541st is expanding partner capacity, and the Kuwait border crossing missions are an excellent example of this,” said Jackson. “It takes no less than three units, and sometimes as many as five or six, for a successful mission to happen.”

With the equipment moving across the border and across the winding road through the deserted landscape, the Soldiers retreated to their vehicles with the knowledge that their part of the mission was accomplished successfully. It will not be the last time these two units meet. Soldiers require supplies to accomplish their mission and those supplies are these Soldiers’ business.

• Date Taken: 07.08.2015
• Date Posted: 07.17.2015 11:15
• Story ID: 170332
• Location: CAMP ARIFJAN, KW
• Hometown: GLENN DALE, MD, US
• Hometown: HONOLULU, HI, US
• Hometown: NEWBERG, OR, US
• Hometown: ST. PETERS, MO, US
• Hometown: WESLEY CHAPEL, FL, US