505th Engineers get the job done

Photo By Spc. Leigh Campbell | Army Engineers from the 505th Engineer Battalion Charlie Company worked through the night to repair holes left from the destruction of an Improvised Explosives Devices Feb. 15 in Mosul, Iraq. Charlie Co. leaves the wire four times a week to repair roadsides. They do this to protect coalition forces and to deter Anti-Iraqi Forces from using the holes over again to place IEDs. Photo by Army Spc. L.C. Campbell, photojournalist 138th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.  

MOSUL, IRAQ

02.16.2006

Courtesy Story

345th Public Affairs Detachment

Story by Spc. Richard Vogt
138th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

MOSUL, Iraq (Jan. 13, 2006) -- It was dark, raining, and cold at FOB Marez, but Soldiers with Co. C, 505th Engineers were excited to get going on another mission and support the cause.

These intrepid souls are part of an Army National Guard battalion from North Carolina. The battalion mobilized in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom IV. That morning, their job was to convoy out to FOB Sykes with mail and spare parts. Their Humvees were loaded up and the convoy headed out in total darkness and near-zero visibility.

The gunner, Spc. Scott Hicks, went without his wet-weather pants, and was quickly soaked to the bone. He did not complain. After the ride, he just said that it could have been worse.

The driver, Pfc. Christopher Needham, seems like the kind of guy who never had a bad day. He made jokes from the moment the vehicle pulled out to the moment it returned later that day. Sgt. Randy Hart, riding opposite the driver, kidded Needham about getting promoted. Needham responded, saying he will get promoted and order Hart to do pushups, which made Hart laugh.

When the convoy made a turn down a road that was blocked off, Needham told the other team, "Go ahead and turn the map around again!" When they got to a muddy area, Needham said, "We're going to get this bad boy stuck out here."

The drive took a little longer than expected since the team was unfamiliar with the ride to FOB Sykes. The floor of the vehicle was covered in mud and everything inside was wet. "We're takin" the scenic tour!" someone yelled after another wrong turn.

At FOB Sykes, the mud stuck to everyone's boots. The commander, Capt. Mark
McMahan, said, "We've got our Gene Simmons boots on," referring to the platform-heeled star of the rock band Kiss. Everyone grabbed mail and supplies from the vehicle and carried them to unit members who were working at FOB Sykes. The team ate breakfast and then relaxed in the vehicles while the commander talked to the Soldiers staying at Sykes.

As the Soldiers waited in the vehicles, they talked about trucks, trailers, IEDs, white-water rafting, and horses. Then they joked that they could get a fellow Soldier to low crawl through a muddy puddle for $20.

"I bet that Retzer would low crawl through that mud for $20." They thought about it. "I bet he"d do it for $10." They stared at the mud and thought some more. "He's a monster; I bet he"d do it for nothing if you got after him and he wouldn't complain about it, either. I bet Stevens would do it too."

And then it was time to get back on the road and to FOB Marez.

One of the most important missions that the 505th carried out was to prepare election sights in the region.

They also fill potholes in the roads around Mosul, built towers, and did a million other things that they know how to do. So if you see a vehicle full of engineer Soldiers stuck in the mud in northern Iraq, go ahead and pull them out.

• Date Taken: 02.16.2006
• Date Posted: 02.16.2006 11:33
• Story ID: 5410
• Location: MOSUL, IQ