Photo By Spc. Naveed Ali Shah | Sgt. 1st Class David J. Cage, a convoy commander with 2nd Battalion, 198th Combined...... read more read more
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq — If they were scared, they never showed it.
Instead, the Soldiers with E Company, 2nd Battalion, 198th Combined Arms, prepared for their convoy from Joint Base Balad to Contingency Operating Location Seitz, Iraq, Jan. 16, gathered around the convoy commander, Sgt. 1st Class David J. Cage, 2nd Battalion, 198th Combined Arms, with the 155th Heavy Brigade Combat Team Mississippi National Guard, 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), for the convoy briefing. Afterward, they conducted last minute vehicle maintenance, cleaned weapons, grabbed food, or napped before the mission.
Sgt. Bryan Fuller, a combat engineer serving as the lead vehicle's commander, said he has more than 50 missions under his belt.
"It's nothing new to me," said Fuller, a Columbus, Miss., native.
He ate his dinner out of a Styrofoam tray on the front of his vehicle while his gunner, Spc. Dustin Donald, a diesel mechanic on the civilian side, sat near by and smoked a cigarette.
As go-time approached, Fuller had Donald reviewed the steps leading up to the convoy's departure.
"First, we do the pre-mission brief and then we do the last minute checks and put our gear on," said Donald, an Independence, Miss., native. "We head over to the staging lanes, and then, once the other trucks are ready, we head out the gate."
At the last minute, they learned they would have to run the mission one gun truck short because the truck needed maintenance.
"Usually we take care of vehicle maintenance before the mission, but this just came up last minute," said Sgt. Markie Jones, a vehicle commander with 2/198 Combined Arms.
The unit prepared for its mission well in advance, at home, in Kuwait and at JBB.
"Back in March, we did pre-mob training at Camp Shelby, [Miss.]," said Jones. "We did [improvised explosive device] training, convoy security training, and some weapon familiarization. It made the guys a little more aware of what we'd be doing here."
The NCOs stressed teamwork and cooperation in their briefings and said those two qualities would be required to successfully accomplish their mission.
"You have to be able to depend on the truck in front of you or behind you," said Jones. "But the Soldiers of this unit are really good about that. They run to help each other."
When the mission is to run convoys throughout Iraq, often in dangerous areas, including a "known area of interest: Vile Executioner," where one of the unit's convoys was hit by an explosively formed projectile, Nov. 13, 2009, it comes down to relying on every Soldier, said Cage.
Cage said the Jan. 16, convoy went off without a hitch.
| Date Taken: | 01.16.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 01.25.2010 07:50 |
| Story ID: | 44401 |
| Location: | BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 215 |
| Downloads: | 149 |
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