Recovery to the rescue

Courtesy Photo | Sgt. Rolando Estabillo prepares to tow a RG33. Estabillo is a member of Maintenance Troop, Regimental Support Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment.  

BABIL, IRAQ

03.02.2011

Courtesy Story

3d Cavalry Regiment Public Affairs Office

Story by: 1st Lt. Amanda Sharp

BABIL, Iraq - Across the five northern provinces of southern Iraq, soldiers from 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment stay busy performing numerous daily tasks in support of Operation New Dawn. One section of Maintenance Troop, Regimental Support Squadron, has the demanding mission of recovery support.

This unique support is vital to the mission of both the Regimental Support Squadron and the 3rd ACR. The soldiers of this section hastily repair or recover any damaged vehicle on any route throughout southern Iraq.

“I’ve got a great team,” said Sgt. Adam Bauer a mechanic with Maintenance Troop, Regimental Support Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, and a native of Thorntown, Ind. “They’re the best. They all have that ‘can-do’ attitude, and I know that they will always get the mission done. That’s what I need.”

The missions for the service and recovery section range from daily support operations on convoys traveling to bases in the regiment’s area, to short-notice recovery missions to assist vehicles anywhere within a 100 kilometer radius of COS Kalsu.

Often, these soldiers risk their lives by spending hours on the road and outside the protection of their vehicles, hooking up broken down trucks, changing tires, or troubleshooting other mechanical issues that arise during convoys.

“Of course our job is tough,” said Spc. Anthony Huggett, a mechanic from Fort Walton Beach, Fla. “Long hours, always busy on the road or servicing our equipment, it never stops. But we’re awesome. That’s how we deal with it.”

In addition to repairing the broken vehicles on convoys, their knowledge and expertise is requested when civilian resupply trucks within the convoys break down or have other types of mechanical issues.

Ideally the least used, but one of the most essential support sections in the Army is the recovery section. This group of soldiers is charged with being wheeled and tracked vehicle recovery specialists.

In 3rd ACR, the recovery section is proving itself vital to the mission every day. To date, the soldiers of this section have completed over 135 missions, logged over 23,000 miles, and made 36 recoveries with their four M948 wreckers, and two M88A2 Hercules track vehicles.

• Date Taken: 03.02.2011
• Date Posted: 03.09.2011 05:32
• Story ID: 66712
• Location: BABIL, IQ