JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq – A year ago, Hood River, Ore.’s Staff Sgt. Brian Gibson was busy working as an accountant.
His life was framed by the picturesque landscape of the Columbia River gorge and an upcoming marriage.
A lot has changed since then.
Gibson, 30, is now married and holds down a very different work position than the one he filled at the accounting firm in Hood River and The Dalles.
He is a convoy escort team commander with Company Delta, 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry Regiment, 77th Sustainment Brigade, 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command in Iraq.
Instead of a desk, Gibson now meets his work day in the front seat of a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle, and he manages more than 120 people each time his convoy escort team moves out to escort convoys on the roads of central Iraq.
He still deals with facts and figures, though. Statistics are as much a part of his new job in Iraq as they were back home.
Gibson must keep track of the number of trucks in his convoy, the number of soldiers under his command and always the total number of miles his convoy escort team travels across central Iraq.
While the work conditions are very different from his office in Hood River, Gibson said the mission of his convoy escort team is actually straight-forward.
“We bring the beans and bullets to the troops,” Gibson said.
Gibson said he and his fellow soldiers are fulfilling an important role.
“We are helping with the reposturing. We bring the food and fuel,” he said.
Gibson, who deployed with 3rd Bn. in 2004 during its first mobilization to Iraq, said a lot has changed in the country since then.
“When people think of being deployed, they think shooting and doing raids, and that isn’t our job,” he said. “And the danger is different. We have better equipment with MRAPs compared to Humvees.”
And Gibson said there is a lot of responsibility tied to his role as a convoy escort team commander. For example, on a routine mission Gibson must safeguard the lives of more than 20 of his own soldiers as well as protect up to 120 truck drivers and their big semi-trucks.
“It is a big production. Everyone has to do their part,” Gibson said.
On a typical mission, Gibson must juggle coordination between his convoy escort team, air support, and the leaders of the 3rd Bn.
All of that could add up to a lot of stress, but Gibson said he actually enjoys the challenge.
“I kind of enjoy the stress. In a way I get to prove myself in a leadership position. It is really a lot of multi-tasking,” he said.
Gibson said the single key to success for his convoy escort team, and Delta Company as a whole, pivots around a simple concept: teamwork.
“Everyone helps everyone else out. Relying on your buddy is huge. Everyone has to do their part, trust in your brother,” he said.
Leadership, too, is crucial, Gibson said. One key leadership tenant for Gibson is leading by example.
“People will grow to you as a leader if you are in the thick of it with them,” he said.
Guidance during a contingency operation, he said, is not about screaming at soldiers.
“Every man deserves to be treated like a man. I don’t get a kick out of smoking people. I don’t micromanage, I trust my guys,” he said.
The roads are still dangerous for Gibson and his convoy escort team, but he said he doesn’t spend a lot of time wondering about the risks.
“You trust your equipment, and you can’t worry about something that hasn’t happened,” he said.
Then he paused and smiled.
“It is out of my control. Besides, I know what I’m doing out there,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 05.12.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 06.12.2011 02:55 |
| Story ID: | 71966 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 225 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, From accountant to convoy escort team commander, by SSG Patrick Caldwell, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
