MOSUL, Iraq -- Soldiers with the 25th Brigade Support Battalion recently arrived in northern Iraq to carry on the significant task of keeping the Soldiers in northern Iraq supplied.
The Fort Lewis, Wash., -based unit is part of the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, the Army's second Stryker Brigade Combat Team to be deployed to Iraq. The 25th BSB replaced "Arrowhead Brigade" Soldiers of the 296th BSB, who served in the Mosul region for nearly a year with 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team).
Headquartered at Forward Operating Base Marez, the unit is responsible for the movement of supplies throughout the region, providing medical support and maintaining the brigade's vehicles and equipment. Each of the nearly 600 Soldiers in the BSB understands the important task facing them in the upcoming year.
"Our mission is critical to the brigade's success in the overall mission of creating a democratic nation," Lt. Col. Cheri Provancha, BSB commander, said. "You won't see vehicles moving if they're not maintained or don't have fuel and you won't see infantrymen if they don't have clothes, bullets in their weapons or even weapons at all."
Provancha said while there are logistical assets all throughout Iraq, whenever you take a maneuver unit and you don't give them dedicated logistical support, you're setting them up for failure.
"You're telling the commander "go out and do the mission but I'm not going to resource you" and that's unacceptable," she said.
Teamwork is a big part of nearly every mission the BSB performs, especially since the battalion is comprised of four companies, each of which have a very unique role in keeping the brigade's nearly 7,000 Soldiers mission ready and battle-focused.
"These Soldiers go even further to consider the brigade as their team, not just their section, company or battalion," Provancha said. "When the rubber meets the road and someone needs help, these Soldiers will drop whatever they need to and help their buddy."
Between moving supplies from the Supply-Support Activity warehouses to traversing the roads nearly every day to ensure Soldiers have what they need, it's up to the Company A "Wagonmasters" to ensure the battalion lives up to its motto, "Without Delay".
Company A is at the forefront of the BSB's mission. It serves as the supply hub for the brigade and is responsible for acquiring, organizing and delivering every type of supply available to the units, from "beans to bullets", replacement parts, water, fuel, medical supplies and even the Soldiers" mail.
Despite only being in Iraq a little more than a month, the company has logged over 22,000 miles, no small feat for a company that continues to train daily, ensuring each Soldier is prepared for any situation they may encounter on the roadways.
"These Soldiers are all about teamwork and have one of the best spirits in the brigade," said Sgt. 1st Class Jack Holden, platoon sergeant for Company A's transportation section. "We have our up and down days as does any unit, but when it comes to doing our mission, we pull together and make the mission happen."
Holden said other units are only as successful as the BSB is in getting the resources they need delivered safely and quickly. To ensure mission success, each convoy includes a series of briefings and drills incorporating every participant, from the drivers to the medics to the mechanics, so each Soldier knows how to react if their convoy is attacked.
"Our Soldiers never went through a training event at home that didn't include real-time enemy activity," Provancha said. "All the Soldiers have exceeded every single one of my expectations, have come here prepared, and I have never seen such a warrior ethos in logistics Soldiers before,"
Overseeing all of the battalion's operations are Soldiers of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, who are responsible for managing the logistical convoys, providing field-feeding teams for each battalion and managing Morale, Welfare and Recreational activities.
Serving as the 1-25's maintenance support center, Company B of the BSB operates as the Forward Maintenance Company, a vital part in keeping the brigade rolling and operational. When transportation assets break down, the "Bulldogs" are called on to get things fixed.
First Sgt. Eddie Sims, Company B first sergeant, said the FMC is important to the functionality of the brigade because they rely on working vehicles, tactical systems and generators to perform their individual missions.
Since the Soldiers arrived more than a month ago, they have started or completed more than 160 of the 200 work orders they have received and Sims expects the requests to increase.
"Many of the vehicles here are from the previous rotation and have taken a beating over the past 12 months," Sims said.
The FMC has four specialized areas of repair support: engineering and ground support equipment, electrical and missile systems, small arms and wheeled-vehicles.
Besides working in the maintenance shops, the FMC Soldiers often provide maintenance and recovery in convoys or work in one of the Combat Repair Teams located throughout the region.
"Keeping visibility of everything our Soldiers are doing is a challenge because the nature of our mission sends them all over the battle space," Provancha said. "It's forced us to rely on our junior leaders much more and I've had to ask them to grow up quickly to be multi-functional logisticians."
But that challenge doesn't change the goals of the Soldiers. "Customer satisfaction is the goal for each of us and that says a great deal about the Soldiers who work hard every day to put that vehicle back on the road or repair a weapons system that a unit needs so badly," said Provancha.
Providing medical aid is the responsibility of the Soldiers of Company C. While most Soldiers with serious injuries are transported directly to the nearby Combat Support Hospital, the medical clinic at FOB Marez offers many services, such as sick call, a mental health specialist, dental services and a physical therapist.
As many as 25 patients enter the clinic's doors every day, many of them with minor ankle, knee or back injuries because of the rough terrain. Lt. Col. Moses Mukai, a field surgeon, said his company's role here in Iraq contributes to the success of the other units by keeping the Soldiers healthy and performing at their peak.
"One of the biggest challenges we've seen with our patients has been the environment," Mukai said. "We've seen a lot of infection from simple insect bites and minor cuts that you would never see back home because of germs and bacteria most Soldiers" bodies are not accustomed to."
The "Cyclone" medics continue to train and hone their medical skills so they are prepared to face real combat-related injuries should they occur. They also perform drills to ensure all the medics know how to respond, stabilize patients and provide the appropriate care as quickly as possible.
"The Soldiers, especially the medics, have performed calmly under pressure and have worked to help Soldiers under fire without blinking an eye," Provancha said.
Despite having a long road ahead of them, Soldiers of the BSB are prepared to meet the challenges and are proud of the contribution they have already made to the success of the brigade.
"I'm sure 50 years from now, when these Soldiers look back at what they've done here, they're going to understand how important their work was because they're going to see a free Iraq," Provancha said. "There's no doubt that we're part of something very important here."
| Date Taken: | 11.10.2004 |
| Date Posted: | 11.10.2004 15:25 |
| Story ID: | 586 |
| Location: | MOSUL, IQ |
| Web Views: | 490 |
| Downloads: | 24 |
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