Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Angela Mc Kinzie | Sgt. Joshua FitzPatrick, a recovery team leader with the Consequence Management Team...... read more read more
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By Staff Sgt. Angela McKinzie
2nd BCT, 10th Mtn. Div. (LI) Public Affairs
CAMP STRIKER, Iraq — Vehicles are essential to missions, moving Soldiers fast under the protection of heavy armor, but the troops within often take for granted the effort that keeps that vehicle rolling.
Soldiers from the Echo Forward Support Company, 210th Brigade Support Battalion currently supporting the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment "Golden Dragons," both of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) are the ones responsible for keeping Soldier on the "go."
Theses "go-to-guys," or the Consequence Management Team, are on call 24 hours each day just in case they are needed.
"We do anything from vehicle recovery, detainee backhaul and emergency rations supply," said Capt. Travis McCracken, the maintenance control officer for Co. E and native of Meadeville, Pa. "Anytime the battalion has a mission, we are a part of it."
FCSs have been added to infantry units to help support them.
"Last deployment we did not have a FSC. We only had a maintenance platoon," said Lt. Col. John Valledor, the 2-14 Inf. commander and native of Weehawken, N.J. "Having the FSC gives me the increased flexibility to handle clean up of our assigned battle space. Adding FSCs to infantry units was one part of Army transformation the planners got right."
Made up of the distribution platoon, maintenance platoon, a wrecker team and a gun truck squad gives the team freedom of maneuver around the battle space.
"Since we have our own trucks, we are able to get to places without the use of a quick reaction force or having to be escorted by the infantry," McCracken added. "We are pretty much self-sustained."
A typical mission for these Soldiers can last anywhere from a couple of hours to all night. However, they enjoy what they are doing.
"I like being a gunner," said Spc. Michael Smallwood, a motor transport operator who is serving as a gunner with the CMT and a native of McMannville, Ore. "Although, I am originally a truck driver, I enjoy what I am doing now."
A large aspect of the CMT's mission includes recovering vehicles that were damaged from improvised explosive devices.
"We have recovered about 30 vehicles" McCracken said as his team headed out to recover another.
"Sometimes our mechanics can fix the vehicles on the spot and other times we have to tow the vehicle back to our motor pool to assess the damage," he said.
Once a vehicle is recovered the team looks at the damage and decides what to do with the vehicle.
"Going out and assessing the damage of vehicles keeps me aware of the threat that is out there," Smallwood said.
Although vehicle recovery is a big part of the CMT's mission, they also assist Soldiers on the ground by bringing them emergency rations.
"The things we do make me feel like we are helping the Infantry Soldiers out," McCracken said. "We can pretty much do anything for them."
Knowing what the CMT does for the other Soldiers in their battalion keeps them on the roads, regardless of the threat.
"We have been hit by IEDs before," McCracken recalled. "There have even been times where we had to recover our own team's vehicles."
The CMT is available at any time, day or night and they usually respond to a request within 30 minutes.
"Basically we are like a colony of ants. We have Soldier ants who are the warriors – when they make contact with the enemy they are like a blunt instrument," Valledor explained. "And we have the CMT Soldiers who are like the worker ants – they are the silent, heavy lifters. We (the colony) could not survive without them."
| Date Taken: | 03.13.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 03.13.2007 15:41 |
| Story ID: | 9433 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 255 |
| Downloads: | 168 |
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