Photo By Sgt. James Geelen | A convoy of 13 vehicles from 68th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 4th...... read more read more
FORT CARSON, Colo. – Typically on the open road, large groups of tractor trailers or convoys are illegal because they affect traffic and create trouble for anyone trying to drive on a highway. However, convoy operations are big part of life in the military. The military uses large convoys to maneuver Soldiers, weapons and critical supplies to help friendly forces in any theater of operations or training events.
For the ‘Spartans’ of 247th Composite Supply Company, 68th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 4th Sustainment Brigade, 4th Infantry Division convoy operations are an important part of their field training exercise known as War Horse Strike, since the Soldiers have been involved in two convoys a day, every day.
“Convoy operations are super important to our company,” said 1st Lt. Elizabeth Cortez, company executive officer, 247th CSC, 68th CSSB, 4SB, 4ID. “We have to backwards plan a lot to make sure that our crews receive the proper amount of rest, and that we have enough vehicles available to support the mission.”
War Horse Strike was a training exercise designed to test the lethality of 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division and the sustainment capabilities of subordinate and sister units.
“2nd Brigade has a lot of requirements that we don’t have an issue meeting,” Cortez said. “We’re pushing out two convoys a day that last anywhere from five to twelve hours a convoy. By the end of this training exercise, we expect to participate in 25-30 convoys.”
The ability to complete a large number of convoys was a demonstration of the capabilities of the battalion.
“I think (68th CSSB) is by far one of the best assets in the Division has to use,” said 1st Lt. Branden Jones-Adams, 4th platoon leader, 247th CSC, 68th CSSB, 4SB, 4th ID. “We have the capabilities to supply water, fuel, ammunition, everything you need to complete a mission. We move a lot of commodities for the rest of the division through our large convoys.”
The Soldiers constantly train in basic battle drills and tactics that help them become experts at their craft.
“We do a lot of sergeants time training and scheduled training to make sure we teach the Soldiers how they should react to contact, or what to do when they discover an IED, (improvised explosive device),” Cortez said. “This is super important to us as Soldiers who are very consistently on the road pushing supplies to have this knowledge, so we can successfully execute the mission while still defending the Soldiers and equipment.”
While the execution of the mission is always a priority, the leaders are proactive in looking to avoid unnecessary accidents.
“We always stress driver’s safety to the Soldiers during our convoy briefings,” Jones-Adams said. “At the end of the day before the mission, safety is our number one priority. We stress to the Soldiers that their safety is more important than meeting a deadline.”
The Spartans of 247th Composite Supply Company want the rest of the 4th Infantry Division to consider them a valuable asset.
“We want everyone to see us as competent, confident, logisticians that work really hard to be very skilled at our craft,” Cortez said. “We do this so we can provide the type of support and the commodities they need with as little disruption to training as possible,”
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| Date Taken: | 10.07.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 10.17.2019 17:10 |
| Story ID: | 346640 |
| Location: | FORT CARSON, CO, US |
| Hometown: | COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, US |
| Hometown: | MANSFIELD, PA, US |
| Web Views: | 27 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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