Sgt. Blake Kent
22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
LOGPACK
FORWARD OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, TIKRIT, Iraq -- For the Soldiers of Company B, 50th Maintenance Support Battalion, the open roads of Iraq are home for the next year.
The 50th MSB is a National Guard unit from Minnesota, attached to the 42nd Infantry Division, deployed to Tikrit, Iraq, and consisted of Soldiers from around the country, including more than 200 from Minnesota, and others from New York, New Jersey, California, Missouri and Washington D.C.
The support battalion's main mission is conducting logistical convoys, delivering food, water, mail and other needed supplies to outlying forward operating bases.
The Soldiers of the 50th MSB convoy throughout the country, with trips ranging from FOB Warrior, near Mosul, to Kuwait, which requires the Soldiers to spend many hours on the dangerous roads of Iraq.
"(FOB) Speicher is a major supply point for the outlying FOBs," said 1st Sgt. Stan Sabin of Austin, Minn, Co. B, 50th MSB, of the importance of their center of operations.
"We have been extremely fortunate. We have only hit five (improvised explosive devices). I think we have really made our own luck with good tactics, techniques and procedures that have helped keep our Soldiers safe."
Running daily log-packs requires a lot of pre-planning. The 50th MSB begins planning its missions 72 hours out, with changes made up to when the convoy is leaving the gate. It is a constant coordination of vehicles, supplies, missions and Soldiers, Sabin said.
Because of the large distances that are being covered along with the constantly changing threat conditions, the convoys keep in constant contact with the center of operations.
The 50th MSB vehicles are equipped with computer systems that allow Soldiers to send and receive e-mail communications with the operations center.
They can receive updates on convoy conditions, such as spotted IEDs, vehicle borne IEDs and attacks, as well as send back information on problems and issues they are having.
The Soldiers do more than drive the trucks in the combat logistical patrols though; they also conduct loading and downloading operations, maintenance operations and act as their own security on convoy operations.
Prepping the vehicles and trailers for convoying requires ensuring all the loads are properly secured and conducting preventative maintenance checks and services on their equipment.
It takes about 20 minutes to prep each trailer, said Staff Sgt. Darrin Schmidt of Swanville, Minn., Co.B, 50th MSB. "These are fun," he said about loading equipment onto trailers, "it's a challenge every time."
The maintenance teams conduct operations 22 hours-a-day in order to keep the convoy teams on the road, and the Soldiers cross-trained to run gun-truck escort operations for the logistical convoys, requiring them to practice tactics and techniques that are not commonplace in their skill training.
The 50th MSB is running convoy operations daily in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III, as part of the first National Guard Division to be deployed overseas since World War II.