Courtesy Photo | Sgt. Michael "Lord Helmet" Zimmermans, assistant driver, keeps an eye out as the...... read more read more
Spc. David "Bear" Sandoval is an infantryman.
On cold Iraq October nights, he bundles up like his nickname and mans the turret of a 360th Transportation Company gun truck.
Escorted by Sandoval and his fellow members of the gun truck platoon, 360th trucks regularly travel to Forward Operating Base Sykes to provide Soldiers with all types of supplies.
The mission is neither easy nor safe. Until operations in nearby Tal Afar suppressed insurgents operating in that area, the company regularly encountered hostile action including improvised explosive devices and small arms fire, said Sgt. Michael Zimmerman, an assistant driver from the 360th.
"My vehicle has been shot up," said Staff Sgt. Mark Fullman, a mission commander and second squad, third platoon leader in the 360th. "I have a nice little bullet for a souvenir."
Before deploying, the unit trained with convoy live fire exercises at its home station of Fort Carson, Colo., to give the Soldiers an idea of what they would face, said Staff Sgt. Brandon Zackery, assistant mission commander.
"We've put that training to use," Zackery said, adding the unit has encountered IEDs and sniper fire, and performed combat recoveries.
About 40 percent of the Soldiers in third platoon are veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom I, with a lot of experience, Zackery said.
On the way out to FOB Sykes, Sandoval, Zimmerman and Pfc. Rob Mockerman, kept themselves occupied sharing war stories, reminiscing about previous runs and negotiating for their ride-along reporter to purchase the rights to a book one of the platoon members wrote. Zimmerman offered two bucks and a date with one of the gunners.
Small arms fire has hit their vehicle as well, and they have encountered their share of IEDs.
The 360th, or Backbone, is a medium truck company that originally deployed at about 80 percent strength, said Capt. Troy T. Kirby, company commander. The unit made up the slack by recruiting volunteers from combat arms, ordnance and quartermaster units on Fort Carson and training them in the unit's driver's training class.
After arriving in Kuwait, the Soldiers discovered they would be providing their own force protection to escort supply missions.
"The first sergeant and I decided to form a gun truck platoon from all our combat arms Soldiers and some of our 88Ms [truck drivers]," wrote Kirby in an e-mail. "We are very fortunate, and unique, to have combat-experienced Soldiers to run our gun truck operations."
In addition to the regular supply missions, the 360th also supported the recent constitutional referendum by delivering 713 force protection barriers to various locations.
"When we hit ground, we implemented the standard operating procedure that the battalion took and ran with it," Fullman said.
From the start, the company hit the roads in an extremely aggressive posture, ensuring that the gunners remained vigilant and all the Soldiers kept their weapons ready, Fullman said.
"Our Soldiers have done a phenomenal job," Kirby said. "No other transportation unit has transported more fuel or general cargo than the Backbone in the northern portion of Iraq."
The unit has racked up about 1.3 million miles, 28 percent of the 1225th Corps Support Battalion's total, in more than 230 missions since taking over from the 283rd Transportation Company, Kirby said.
The Backbone is scheduled to redeploy in December, said Fullman. For the incoming unit, he has this advice: "Follow that SOP. If you have any other ideas, bring them up â?¦ and keep driving on."
On the way back from FOB Sykes, Sandoval, Zimmerman and Mockerman trade ghost stories. This time, Sandoval is in the driver's seat, while Mockerman takes the turret.
"These Soldiers do an outstanding job. Our track record shows that," Zackery said. "There's no finer group of Soldiers out there."
| Date Taken: | 11.12.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 11.12.2005 05:55 |
| Story ID: | 3718 |
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| Web Views: | 175 |
| Downloads: | 58 |
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