Expeditionary support across austere locations in Afghanistan

Photo By 1st Lt. Verniccia Ford | Soldiers assigned to the 10th Mountain Division, 2-14 Infantry Regiment, Golf Forward Support Company end their day at the distribution yard where they manifest, stage, and load all fixed wing resupplies that is delivered across the southern and western regions of Afghanistan on Kandahar Airfield  

AFGHANISTAN

02.14.2019

Story by 1st Lt. Verniccia Ford 

101st Division Sustainment Brigade Public Affairs

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – Adequately managing sustainment operations while deployed to a combat zone can be complex. Logisticians and other support military occupational specialists understand the importance of mobilizing supplies across the Middle East to ensure service members, contractors, Department of Defense Civilians, and local nationals have the necessities to complete their mission.

Soldiers from the G Forward Support Company, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, are the subject matter experts for accomplishing any mission appointed to them.

“I have approximately 51 Soldiers deployed, and we directly support a combined Task Force of more than 1500 Soldiers. We also provide support to units across the southern and western regions of Afghanistan,” said Capt. William Hill, a Texas native and company commander of the FSC. “Our team has a myriad of different roles and responsibilities. With the wide array of support requested the result is that every Soldier has more than one job to do.”

The FSC not only supports their parent unit, the 2nd Bn., 14th Inf. Regt., they also support the 812th Romanian Infantry Battalion, a Bulgarian contingent, the 42nd Engineer Company, an Explosive Ordnance Device Detachment, and countless other organizations across the Kandahar providence area of operations.

Due to the complex mission set, Soldiers of FSC are crossed trained on multiple occupational specialties to ensure all operational requests are fulfilled.

Spc. Kyle Yang, an ammunition support specialist, from St. Paul, Minnesota, fully embraces the complexities of his daily tasks.

“My job can be very demanding; I spend most of my time on the forklift transporting things around the distribution yard prior to them being shipped out to requesting units,” said Yang. “So far my most memorable experience was when I supported an expeditionary support package… I worked long hours offloading food, water, and T-Walls in support of the mission. Although I was tired, I knew what I was doing really impacted the livelihood of Soldiers at that location.”

Pfc. Benjamin Richards, a welding specialist, from Hillsborough, Oregon, also performed various tasks in support of the unit’s mission.

“As a welder back home I spent a lot of my time in the motor pool; since we’ve arrived in Afghanistan I learned how to operate forklifts, refuel aircrafts, along with how to sling load materials,” Richards said. “Everyone here really embodies the total Soldier concept, working together to accomplish the mission.”

As the deployment draws to an end, this team remains motivated and take initiative to find areas that need improvement.

“Our Soldiers insert themselves into problem sets with the intent to find solutions,” said 1st Lt. Alyssa Pegues, a Georgia native, who serves as a maintenance control officer and platoon leader. “The amount of personal and professional growth exhibited across the formation is astounding, and a true testament to character and grit that they possess.”

• Date Taken: 02.14.2019
• Date Posted: 02.14.2019 01:06
• Story ID: 310651
• Location: AF