By Capt. David Hankins
224th Sustainment Brigade Public Affairs
CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq — As the soldiers of the 60th Ordnance Company, 110th Combat Sustainment Battalion, 224th Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) from Fort Carson, Colo., approach the end of their deployment, many soldiers in the company took time to reflect on all the different missions they’ve completed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn.
“When we arrived last year, there was a lot of moving ammunition,” said Staff Sgt. Alan Zenz, a receiving noncommissioned officer with the 60th Ord. Company, and a Grants Pass, Ore., native. “Many units were turning in their excess ammunition that had been hoarded over the past seven years. It was a big time for amnesty turn-ins.”
Spc. David Warren, a unit movement specialist with the 60th Ord. Company and a Boston native, said that it took almost three months for the work to slow down so they could take a break.
“The unit was split between two separate Ammunition Supply Points (COB Adder and Camp Liberty), managing three-quarters of the ammunition in Iraq,” said Warren.
In March, the 60th Ord. Company from Fort Carson, Colo., was tasked with the unique mission of providing Crash Fire Rescue support to Contingency Operating Station Garry Owen, Iraq. The unit’s CFR team was well-prepared to take on this mission.
“Even though we didn’t have a CFR mission when we deployed, we brought all our gear and were fully trained to take on the job,” said Staff Sgt. Brandon Harris, a lead firefighter with the 60th Ord. Company, and a Nashville, Tenn., native. “When the call came down, we jumped at the opportunity. Running our own fire station was the best training these young firefighters would ever get.”
The month of May marked the halfway point through the deployment, and some interesting changes had taken place for the 60th Ord. Company.
“Our platoon at Camp Liberty was tasked to close down that ASP and take on the Corps Storage Area on Joint Base Balad,” said 1st Sgt. Stanley Bolton, first sergeant of the 60th Ord. Company, and a Beaumont, Miss., native.
“They quickly reduced the munitions on hand down to a fraction of the original size and moved north,” he added. “The real challenge was taking one an entire company’s mission at JBB with only a platoon. Once they did that, we became the only ammunition company left in Iraq.”
Another unique mission came up for the 60th Ord. Company in the month of June.
“We were tasked to provide field-feeding to COS Scania between the time the civilian contractor cooks left and the official closure of the base,” said Sgt. Joel Robinson, a food services NCO with the 60th Ord. Company and an Augusta, Ga., native. “It was quite a change of pace moving off of COB Adder out to such a tiny base. It was only a couple months, but I enjoyed my time there.”
With the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom in August and the established cap on U.S. forces in theater, the soldiers with the 60th Ord. Company were required to downsize and redeployed one platoon to Fort Carson, Colo.
“The workload didn’t change, but we had to make it happen anyway,” said 1st Lt. Christopher Weyant, executive officer of the 60th Ord. Company, and a Colorado Springs, Colo., native. “Our motto quickly became ‘Do More with Less.’”
Now the soldiers are looking forward to their unit’s relief-in-place and giving another unit an opportunity to excel.
“It’s been an interesting year,” said Capt. David Hankins, commander of the 60th Ord. Company, and a Bozeman, Mont., native. “We’ve worked hard and excelled at every mission. The soldiers of the 60th Ord. Company have managed every ASP in Iraq, established CFR support where none existed, provided quality food services to soldiers while retrograding thousands of tons of ammunition. It’s been a long year, and with just a few weeks left until we leave, we’re definitely looking forward to being back at Fort Carson.”
Date Taken: | 09.30.2010 |
Date Posted: | 10.18.2010 11:10 |
Story ID: | 58319 |
Location: | CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, IQ |
Web Views: | 299 |
Downloads: | 3 |
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