Photo By Master Sgt. Eric Hendrix | U.S. Army Capt. John Thyng discusses a vehicle recovery operation with 1st Lt. Adam...... read more read more
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By Army Sgt. 1st Class Eric Hendrix
22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan— Chief Warrant Officer Sammy Rodriguez from Arecibo, Puerto Rico, is the battalion maintenance technician for 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment. It is a job, which is not exciting until things go wrong.
On a routine mission Jan. 23 to deliver supplies to the Korengal Outpost in Kunar province, one of the vehicles in the convoy was struck by an improvised explosive device. Luckily, none of the vehicles' occupants were injured. The vehicle itself was not so fortunate. The explosion ripped through the engine compartment, bent the chassis frame and blew out a tire.
Rodriguez knew immediately what he had to get done in order to recover the vehicle and get the convoy moving again.
"I took a look at it and it took about a minute, I told the commander, 'we can do this,'" he said.
"One of the first things I thought when I saw this vehicle was, 'We have to retrieve it,'" Rodriguez recalled. "I remembered the commander telling me about a time he saw local villagers dancing on a burned-out chassis and how angry it made him."
Damaged vehicles left behind can be used in enemy propaganda to proclaim a victory over U.S. forces. Every effort is made to make sure the enemy does not have this opportunity.
"A standard wrecker can't make it up the road, so I usually send a mechanic on the patrol," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez had to work as quickly as possible while the rest of the convoy's Soldiers secured the site.
"I had to cut-off the remainder of the blown-out tire with my knife to free up some room" Rodriguez said. "We had to pry the chassis outward from the cab because it was bent up, but it was enough to fit a tire on it."
Rodriguez didn't have to work alone. Three of the Afghan drivers who regularly run these patrols with the company immediately offered their assistance. They came running up with hydraulic jacks and pry bars and set to work.
"We did greatly appreciate what they did, it was amazing," Rodriguez complimented.
Once the crew had the spare tire on the vehicle, it was able to roll, and be towed the remaining short distance up the road to the base. At the top, Rodriguez talked about the Humvee.
"I didn't think the tires were going to hold out, but it's an amazing piece of machinery. The armor definitely saved the lives of the occupants."
"Chief Rodriguez knows his stuff," said Army Capt. John Thyng, commander, Fusion Company, 2-503rd. "When I talked before about the need to make sure we recover absolutely everything to prevent the bad guys from getting hold of it, he really took that to heart."
Rodriguez's skills came into play at just the right time on this day, not only saving a vehicle, but making quick work of a challenging task.
Despite the inherent dangers of the job, the Soldiers of Fusion Company will not be dissuaded from there job.
"Next week will be our next patrol and we'll make it up and back down," said Rodriguez.
| Date Taken: | 01.28.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 01.28.2008 13:04 |
| Story ID: | 15827 |
| Location: | KUNAR PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 268 |
| Downloads: | 184 |
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