Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Bryant Maude | Soldiers with Company D, 2nd Battalion, 153rd Infantry Regiment, an Arkansas National...... read more read more
By Staff Sgt. Bryant Maude
1st Sustainment Brigade, PAO
TREBIL, Iraq -- Col. Kevin O'Connell, commander of the 1st Sustainment Brigade, smiled and kind of laughed a bit when he informed me it would take at least a week to get to Trebil; and he wasn't kidding - seven days to be exact.
Trebil is a small outpost along the Iraq/Jordan border and I was traveling there to visit the 266th Movement Control Team, a unit that originates from Fort Riley, Kansas, under the 1st SB. "I want you to cover each of our units from Riley and the 266th is one of them," said O'Connell during our meeting. So off I went bags packed and camera in hand.
Traveling from Camp Taji to Al Asad was a piece of cake. But after four days in a hot tent, and multiple failed attempts to get a flight to Trebil, I decided to look for alternate means of transportation.
I inquired at the desk, made a few phone calls and the next day I hitched a ride with Company D, 2nd Battalion, 153rd Infantry Regiment, an Arkansas National Guard unit, attached to the 39th Brigade Combat Team, 507th Corps Support Group, 316th Expeditionary Command, who was escorting trucks from Al Asad to Trebil. The next morning I was happy I did; "At least I'm moving in the right direction," I thought.
Company D is a highly skilled group of Soldiers brought together in an effort to provide convoy security for Multi-National Forces-West. They are a diverse group of national guardsmen with a large mix of job specialties.
"I'm originally a logistics specialist," said Staff Sgt. Johnny Woodley, a Little Rock, Ark., native, and team leader for Company D. Woodley and his two Soldiers made room in their truck, without complaint, and made me feel right at home during our two day trip to Trebil.
Our first stop was several hundred miles southwest of Al Asad at a small outpost called Camp Korean Village. Occupied by Marines, with a smattering of Army Soldiers, and civilians, CKV is a transportation stop for convoys traveling along the Main Supply Route Mobile.
I inquired about the unusual name and discovered it was named after the Korean workers who built the freeway years ago when Sadam was in power. The old faded green brick buildings stick out like a sore thumb next to the newly built wood Quonset huts and tents. It's here where I made my initial contact with members of the 266th MCT.
Capt. Michael Huber, a Virginia Beach, Va., native, the executive officer for the 266th MCT, attached to the 330th Movement Control Battalion, 316th Expeditionary Command, arrived in theater in April of 2007 and was initially stationed in Camp Taji were they ran the passenger terminal.
"Our initial mission was to support fixed winged operations into Taji," recalled Huber.
Six weeks later the mission at Taji changed and as a result, the 266th MCT was split up; the main body went to Trebil and a small element to Al Asad.
"I put him there [Al Asad] mainly because it was just he and I as officers at the time; and it's a big mission, so I felt he needed to be there," stated Capt. Fredrick Kelo, a Gurney, Ill., native, and the detachment commander for the 266th MCT.
Huber, a political science major from Christopher Newport, a small college located just outside of Fort Eustis, Va., is no stranger to deployments. After college he was commissioned in the transportation corps, but his first few years in the Army he spent with the 1st Infantry Division detailed as an Armor officer where he deployed to Iraq.
"This is my second deployment," stated Huber. "And being stationed at Al Asad was good duty."
While in Al Asad, his team supported the 507th Corps Support Group, managed 70 civilian personnel to include 20 linguists, and provided critical oversight on the Radio Frequency Interference tags. They pushed about 7,000 trucks per month thru Al Asad bound for 13 different destinations through out MNF-W; places like Fallujah, Ramadi, Taq Qadum, Habbaniyah, etc.
"We supported the war fighters with all 10 classes of supply less bullets and medical supplies," said Huber.
Some of the challenges they faced at Al Asad were dealing with the local nationals and all 7,000 trucks coming and going in various states of disarray. They also dealt with their medical needs.
"All our people are combat lifesaver qualified so we either treat them ourselves or send them to the Combat Support Hospital. However, when we send them to the CSH we have to provide an escort and that takes one of our personnel off the mission," affirmed Huber.
But, this little extra touch was necessary in his opinion to keep the local nationals happy. He felt that without the local national drivers the Army "wouldn't have the stuff we need; our dining facilities wouldn't have food, our Post Exchange shelves would be empty, we wouldn't have the lumber we need to build things like SWA Huts, etc ... we try to keep them happy so we can support the fight."
After ten months of hard work and long hours at Al Asad the small band of Soldiers moved a third time to CKV were they hope to ride out the remainder of their 15 month tour.
Huber speaks a good bit of Arabic now and enjoys learning not only the language but the culture. His team spends a lot of time out in the yard with the Jordanian drivers and they will sit and chat with them on occasion.
"They all have their own little kitchens attached to their trucks – so we drink Chi and eat with them some times," smiled Huber.
Before I left to Trebil I asked Huber if it's been quiet in this part of Iraq and he confirmed that it had.
"I forgot what a mortar sounds like...the Marines have done a good job keeping it quiet," declared Huber.
The following day started early. Huber's crew had all 95 local national trucks lined up, cleared of any last minute maintenance issues, and ready to roll out the gates. We loaded up the security vehicles, made final checks of gear, and pulled out of the local national yard bound for the Jordan border.
About two hours later our convoy pulled into the Trebil truck yard where I was dropped off by my friends at Company D and picked up by Staff Sgt. Ethan Braud, a New Orleans, native, and a movement control supervisor, with the 266th MCT. "Are you the Public Affairs Officer ?" He asked. "Yes I am." He tossed my bags onto the gator and smiled; "Welcome to Trebil," and took off down the dusty road.
After seven days of traveling I was happy to know that I had arrived and was looking forward to meeting the rest of the 266th MCT.
| Date Taken: | 06.12.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 06.13.2008 14:38 |
| Story ID: | 20448 |
| Location: | IQ |
| Web Views: | 245 |
| Downloads: | 60 |
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