Support Soldiers Guard FOB Falcon

Photo By Staff Sgt. Nathaniel Smith | Pfc. Sarah Crandall, a generator mechanic with Company Bravo, 610th Brigade Support Battalion from Tampa, Fla., searches a vehicle before entering Forward Operating Base Falcon June 19, 2007. In May, an average of 175 vehicles and 930 people passed through the gate a week.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

06.24.2007

Story by Staff Sgt. Nathaniel Smith 

4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division

By Pfc. Nathaniel Smith
4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division Public Affairs

BAGHDAD, Iraq – The infantryman kicks down doors. The engineer destroys enemy positions. The military policeman detains suspected bomb makers.

Some jobs in the Army get all the glory. There are many jobs, however, that are vital to success in Iraq that people may not think about. One of these is the duty of preventing dangerous people and materials from entering a base.

The 610th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division out of Fort Riley, Kan., has undertaken that important mission at Forward Operating Base Falcon's Gate G in southern Baghdad.

1st Sgt. John Padgett, the first sergeant for Company Bravo, 610th Brigade Support Battalion from Fort Riley, Kan., said monitoring the vehicles and individuals that come and go through FOB Falcon has become a battalion-wide effort.

"We have supply personnel, we have drivers, we have mechanics, radio repair Soldiers," he said. "They work an eight-hour shift or more in their (military occupational specialty) every single day and this is an additional job that they take on."

For Pfc. Brandy Moore, a driver with Company Alpha, 610th BSB from Bellevue, Neb., the job isn't difficult. In fact, it is the opposite.

"I enjoy it," she said. "It gives me something to do every day."

With hundreds of vehicles passing through the gate a week, Moore has plenty to do, and according to Padgett, there's no room for error.

"I won't let them lose their focus," he said. "My (non-commissioned officers) won't let them lose their focus. The worst thing those guys have to deal with is me."

Moore said the company of her fellow Soldiers helps her keep focused on the task at hand.

"We talk, and we search our vehicles," she said. "It's OK, it's just hot."

The triple digit heat is hard on the Soldiers.

"It's very difficult when we're in full battle rattle, we have to watch the Soldiers and make sure they stay focused, make sure they stay hydrated," he said. "It's an extremely difficult job this time of year."

Heat aside, Padgett said FOB Falcon and the Soldiers operating out of there are in able hands.

"We have some of the best NCOs in this battalion," he said. "The FOB is a safer place from us being here."

• Date Taken: 06.24.2007
• Date Posted: 06.25.2007 10:32
• Story ID: 10950
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ