Courtesy Photo | Spc. Dexter Padgett and Spc. Tyler Houghton, both with Company B, 703rd Brigade...... read more read more
Capt. Constance Quinlan
4th BCT, 3rd Inf. Div. PAO
FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – Soldiers of the 703rd Brigade Support Battalion are putting their motto "maintain the line" into action at FOB Kalsu's guard towers and entry control points.
The Soldiers of Company B, 703rd BSB, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, are responsible for recovery and maintenance of all combat assets within their area of operations. They have also accepted the mission of guarding and securing FOB Kalsu and its thousands of tenants.
The Soldiers responsible for this task do not seem fazed.
"It pumps me up," said Pfc. Justin Rich, a Company B mechanic from Amarillo, Texas. His shift mates agreed, crediting their confidence to training they received throughout 2007.
"We had very diverse training," said Pfc. Richard Cutter, from Phoenix, Ariz., also a mechanic in Company B.
Cutter noted their experience during the 4th BCT's rotation at the National Training Center last April.
"NTC was the best training we had. We learned how to do thorough vehicle searches, personnel searches, everything," Cutter said.
Company B, while comprising the majority of the Base Defense Operations Center, is not alone. Manning the BDOC is a team effort. It is also staffed by Company A, 703rd BSB, and Soldiers from other battalions on the FOB.
After arriving in Nov. 2007, the Soldiers of the 703rd BSB wasted no time renovating existing base defense assets and implementing new security systems, from changes as simple as new camouflage and sandbags to high-tech monitoring systems with scanning abilities similar to those found today in commercial airports.
"We touched every location," noted Staff Sgt. Derek Oliver, Co. B, 703rd BSB, an operations noncommissioned officer at the BDOC.
Cpt. Seth Olmstead, operations officer for the 703rd BSB, was intimately involved with the process of transitioning and renovating. Transitioning with their outgoing counterparts occurred during a small 72-hour window.
"Our Soldiers rose to the occasion," Olmstead remarked.
| Date Taken: | 01.11.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 01.11.2008 10:16 |
| Story ID: | 15370 |
| Location: | ISKANDARIYAH, IQ |
| Web Views: | 477 |
| Downloads: | 342 |
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