JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. – Whether it’s firing weapons, eating chow or fixing vehicles, it couldn’t happen without logistics.
Soldiers with 296th Brigade Support Battalion, “Frontline,” 3-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, helped keep up the fight when they delivered fuel and food at a logistics resupply point to Soldiers training at Yakima Training Center, Washington, April 8.
“An LRP is kind of like a store for the units we support,” said 2nd Lt. Andrew McCormack, a Doylestown, Pennsylvania, native and transportation platoon leader with 296th BSB. “We come out to a location that is known to both the BSB and our support units, and we exchange supplies with them.”
During this LRP, 11 fuel trucks with a 2,000-gallon capacity each converged on the site to fill up. Basically a gas station on wheels, these trucks are capable of moving in rough terrain and move throughout the training with the units they support.
Due to the high training tempo of the 3-2 SBCT, LRPs like this happen on a regular basis to keep supplies at optimal levels.
“We’re pretty much doing this every other day,” said Sergio Jimenez, an Orange County, California, native and fuel and water platoon sergeant. “It’s vital. It’s the one thing that keeps the vehicles moving, the Soldiers fed and keep up morale for the fight.”
While 296th BSB is responsible for resupplying their battalions, they themselves receive their supplies from another logistics unit.
“By ourselves, our battalion can support the brigade for 72 hours, but we need resupply as well,” McCormack said.
For this rotation, the unit supporting the Frontline battalion is the 13th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, which moves supplies in bulk to 296th BSB, who in turn pushes them out to the training units.
“Right now, we’re supporting four battalions,” McCormack said.
This number fluctuates as units move in and out of training, but whether it’s four or more, 296th BSB is ready to support.
“It’s critical, without the (food) they wouldn’t be able to eat, without the (fuel) they wouldn’t be able to move any of their vehicles,” McCormack said.