Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Bryant Maude | Sgt. Lethen Foxworth III, a DeKalb, Ill., native, with the Heavy Equipment Truck...... read more read more
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By Capt. Jennifer St. John
3rd Sustainment Command
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq - The 168th Brigade Support Battalion has reached a significant milestone in its quest to being the best support battalion in the Army. Since arriving in Iraq less than a year ago, the battalion has conducted more than 3,000 Deliberate Combat Logistics Patrols as part of its efforts to sustain units located at eight forward operating bases across Multi-National Division - Baghdad and Multi-National Division - Central.
Driving more than 1.7 million miles, the Soldiers of the 168th BSB have spent countless hours on the road providing support that directly impacts more than 80,000 Soldiers each day. The battalion supports these Soldiers with food, water, ice, fuel, repair parts, barriers, and any other cargo required.
Without getting into all the specifics on how each DCLP is planned and coordinated, it is important to know the two sections in the Support Operations shop that do the majority of the coordination that is involved in this process.
The first section is called the supply and services section, and this section is led by two warrant officers. Chief Warrant Officer Two Luis Vega, a Brooklyn, New York, native, and supply technician with the 168th BSB, serves as the section's officer in charge and oversees the daily operation of the shop.
The other warrant officer is Warrant Officer One Evelyn Rosado, a Lawton, Oklahoma, native, and food service technician with the 168th BSB, oversees all the rations and fuel sustainment support. They work together with the non-commissioned officers in the section to make the entire operation successful each day.
The S&S section is comprised of four areas; Class I (rations), Class III (fuel), Department of Defense Activity Address Code manager, and a Container manager. The Class I manager, Staff Sgt. Elizabeth Yarborough, a Honolulu, HI native, has done an amazing job coordinating the movement of more than ten tons of ice and approximately 54,000 cases of operational rations including Meals Ready to Eat to Soldiers and Kosher and Halal meals for detainees.
Her section issued more than 2.4 million cases of bottled water to keep Soldiers hydrated at outlying Forward Operating Bases and to keep them, fed she coordinated for the escort of about 2,300 Agility trucks to keep rations available at the many dining facilities at supported units.
The Class III manager, Sgt. 1st Class Robert Workman, a Marion, Ind., native, has done an equally amazing job planning and coordinating all aspects of the bulk fuel support provided to our supported units. He has planned for and executed the issue of more than 28 million gallons of JP-8, 400,000 gallons of MOGAS and 400,000 gallons of DF-2; all in support of the outlying FOBs.
The rest of the section, the DoDAAC manager and Container manager, Spc. Rehta Woelfer, a Clearwater, Fla., native, and Sgt. Michael Charles, a Lafayette, Calif., native, respectively service more than 500 supported unit representatives and their accounts each day, enabling them to requisition the supplies and repair parts they require and providing containers to move the supplies.
The second section is called the transportation section and this section is lead by an officer. Capt. Jennifer St. John, a Sarasota, Fla., native, serves as the distribution operations OIC along with Sgt. 1st Class Troy Martin, a Memphis native, who is the chief movement coordinator and the transportation section NCOIC.
Cargo could not move off the FOB without the planning and coordination that takes place to determine the composition of the DCLPs. All this is done in the Trans. section of the SPO shop. The Trans. OIC not only leads the section, but also plays a critical role in planning non-sustainment support or barrier missions.
The growing and expanding of joint security sites and combat outposts in Iraq has increased the requirement for all types of barriers. These barriers are not only used for the safety and security of Soldiers, but for traffic control in and around Baghdad. Transportation assets from Company A, 168th BSB, and trucks from their partners in the Iraqi Truck Company have combined efforts to move more than 7,800 barriers throughout the MND-B Area of Operation. The battalion also utilizes private security elements and private trucking companies to accomplish this task. They are instrumental in moving and emplacing barriers along some of the most dangerous routes in Baghdad including areas around Sadr City.
All standard sustainment-type cargo and commodities are scheduled by Sgt. 1st Class Martin and his team of NCOs. He leads five other NCOs who perform all the subtasks associated with putting a DCLP together. One of the more critical positions, the transportation movement request manager is Staff Sgt. Mark Cresse, an Oklahoma City native, who is a school-trained. He downloads all the TMRs from Battle Command Sustainment and Support System and validates them to include contacting both the origin and destination points of contact.
Another member of the transportation section team is Staff Sgt. Kameisha Jones, a Clearwater, Fla, native, who is also a school-trained transportation management coordinator. She conducts the truck master meetings ensuring the plan is passed down to the units who will actually move the cargo. She also assists the scheduler in building the DCLP by integrating input from the TMR manager and from the Class I and Class III sections.
The last three members of the transportation team are Sgt. Crystal Taylor, a Dangerfield, Texas, native; Sgt. Omar Ramirez, a Queens, New York, native; and Staff Sgt. Gary Clark, a Memphis native.
Taylor prepares all the spreadsheets used to brief the brigade on the unit's movements for the next 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours. She also puts together the entire convoy commander's packets that include their trip tickets and manifests. Ramirez is the NCOIC our Central Receiving and Shipping Point yard. He goes to the CRSP each day to verify the accuracy of the yard report to validate that equipment is there and ready for movement to the supported FOBs.
Clark, the night operations NCO, is the sole member of the SPO on duty at night, so he must know the details for each mission and what items or loads are critical. He also needs to know who to call at each location when things don't go as planned. He attends all the DCLP rehearsal briefings and gives Soldiers their final mission statement.
Working together, this team has completed more 5,100 TMRs and has moved about 28,000 pieces of cargo not including commodities such as food, water and fuel.
Through all these moving pieces, the SPO section has discovered the key to planning a successful DCLP operation is following the process and using the systems that they have established. The section must adhere to the same standards and discipline that are instilled in all the Soldiers of the 168th BSB. Teamwork throughout the battalion and at every level enables the unit to "Make it Happen". This is why reaching their 3,000th DCLP is such a celebration.
| Date Taken: | 08.05.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 08.05.2008 09:44 |
| Story ID: | 22140 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 792 |
| Downloads: | 681 |
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