Photo By Staff Sgt. Engels Tejeda | Staff Sgt. Mike McCarron, an assistant squad leader from North Adams, Mass., inspects...... read more read more
New England Reservists from the 220th Transportation Company serving at Logistical Support Area Anaconda have mixed feelings about transferring to Al Asad.
They are excited to switch from supply hauling and escorting to fuel transportation.
"Most of our training was for fuel hauling," said Capt. Lance Oliver, the unit's commander. "So we are really excited to finally do that mission."
But after four months on post, they are also getting used to life out of Anaconda.
"It's like just when we got settled down, we've got to move," said Spc. Scott Bibeau, a mechanic from Swansea, Mass.
"It's all right though. It's the mission they need us to do."
That's most Soldiers" attitude because they plan to keep a fast tempo. "As long as the Soldiers are busy and doing a mission that's worth while, they are happy," Oliver said.
By that criterion, the unit's morale should be high, since they've been fully engaged since hitting the ground in Iraq.
The unit's two line-haul platoons and its security escort platoon have driven approximately 200,000 miles across Iraq, traveling as far south as LSA Cedar II, east to LSA WarHorse, north to LSA Speicher and west to Al Taqqadum.
They've transported all classes of supplies including: water, ammunition, and vehicle parts.
Moreover, the unit's mechanic shop has kept more than 60 vehicles running non-stop, a mission that keeps the mechanics working between 10 and 12 hours a day.
The Soldiers expect to keep up this mission tempo.
They also expect to continue facing and defeating the threat of the insurgency as they haul fuel throughout Iraq's roads.
So far, they've battled small-arms fire, improvised explosive devices and even sniper fire.
The unit has trained to face such challenges and they are prepared to accomplish the mission. Even more, the attacks have helped the Soldiers "grow up," said Sgt. David Gutierrez, a mechanic from Keene, N.H.
A 21-year-old biology major at Keene State College, Gutierrez said that before the deployment he generally got up at 11 a.m. to attend two or three classes and sometimes he worked two to three hours at his college's biology lab.
Now, Gutierrez said, he wakes up before sunrise and goes on the road at least once per week. As a member of the unit's vehicle recovery team, his task is to leave the safe haven of his armored truck to extract vehicles out of the "danger zone."
"I've matured a lot since we got here," Gutierrez said. "It's just a lot of responsibility."
Most of the unit is under 30. Some are on the road so often that they have become used to the attacks.
For example, Spc. Chase Boruch, a 19-year-old who was deployed to Iraq one year ago and volunteered to stay with the 220th for another year, said that after having his combat logistic patrols (CLPs) hit so many times, he's used to it.
He described his response when his vehicle got hit with an IED just two days before: "I thought, 'something just blew up." It probably wasn't the most appropriate way to put it, but that's what went through my head. I asked [the driver] if he was OK and then I reported it . . . I've gotten used to it by now," Boruch said.
Boruch said he has been directly hit twice, but his unit's CLPs often encounter enemy incidents. So far, no one has been seriously hurt.
During Barouch's recent IED incident, both he and the driver were fine, though their truck's radiator was broken and a 10-inch piece of shrapnel was lodged in the side of the truck.
The Soldiers say they owe their success in battling the insurgents to a series of factors, including strong armor on the vehicles, frequent leadership-led training, and experience, given that more than 50 percent of the unit is on their second deployment to Iraq.
The bottom line, according to the Reservists, is that they have been called to serve and the sacrifices will be the same whether at Anaconda or at Al Asad.
Those challenges include being away from their jobs and families. Staff Sgt. Mike McCarron, an assistant squad leader from North Adams, Mass., shut down his mechanic shop to come serve his second tour in Iraq.
He laments most missing his four children's high school years. Spc. Carlos Gonzalez, a mechanic from Bronx, N.Y., learned that he and his wife are expecting a second child in July.
Spc. Shawn White, a truck driver from Greenfield, Mass., said he had to find another relative to care for his grandmother because of his deployment.
Nevertheless, the Soldiers said they joined knowing that deployments are coming.
Some even plan to make the military a career, reenlisting despite a possibility that doing so will bring them back to Iraq.
"I miss my family really bad," McCarron said. "But I made a commitment when I got into the Army 11 years ago to serve my country and when they tell me to go, I go."
And it doesn't really matter to him whether he goes to Anaconda or to Al Asad.
usar
| Date Taken: | 03.23.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 03.23.2006 12:08 |
| Story ID: | 5822 |
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| Web Views: | 313 |
| Downloads: | 61 |
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