Photo By Sgt. Spencer Case | Maj. Tom Sachariason, a training officer in the 27th Transportation Battalion...... read more read more
To most people 'the fusion cell" may sound like something from a science fiction movie, but to some Logistical Support Area Anaconda Soldiers it is a room in the Joint Operations Center where some of the biggest logistics problems of Operation Iraqi Freedom are solved.
Approximately 60 Soldiers, representing four different units, work 12-hour shifts in the fusion cell, coordinating the movement of everything that needs to be moved in a war zone, including water, fuel, ammunition, outbound equipment for demobilizing units and even, when necessary, human remains.
"Nothing moves without going through the 27th in some fashion," said Staff Sgt. Stephen Brooks, of the 27th Transportation Battalion (Movement Control) who works in the fusion cell as the Highway Traffic Division NCOIC.
One of the most important responsibilities in the fusion cell belongs to the handful of Soldiers who comprise the routes division.
These troops take shifts working at a single desk, surrounded by large computer monitors, collecting and disseminating information about incidents that occur on the roads. They also obtain information about the status of various routes.
"I like to think that this is critical, a vital link of intelligence for convoys," said Brooks.
The Soldiers in the routes section gather data from a multitude of sources. Some of the most important include websites for large units like the 101st Airborne Division and the 4th Infantry Division, monitoring radio frequencies and a GPS-like system called Movement Tracking System or MTS, just to name a few.
Once notified an incident has occurred, for example, an improvised explosive device detonating on a main supply route, the Soldiers working in the section verify the incident and then alert all battle space commanders and combat logistics patrols of the problem.
The entire process usually takes less than ten minutes.
"We don't work in hours here, we work in minutes," Brooks said.
While Brooks is alerting CLPs about the status of the roads, others are working to keep troops off the roads by moving supplies by air.
Capt. Warren Fisher, a 3rd Corps Support Command officer, helps make that happen.
Fisher and his team process Joint Movement Requests, which request use of Air Force C-130 and C-17 cargo planes. and Air Movement Requests, which request use of Army CH-47 Chinooks. Units requesting to move cargo submit the forms through nine Movement Control Teams, belonging to the 27th, throughout theater.
The air operations team helps move an average of 400 to 600 pallets by air every day. Since October, the air control team has moved about 50,000 pallets of cargo by air.
Though more and more cargo is being shipped by air to keep troops off Iraq's roads, others in the cell must work to streamline ground support.
The Soldiers who are in ground support work in one of two sections: the regional section and the theater-wide or backhaul section. The regional managers help coordinate pick-ups in their respective regions of Iraq: north, west, central and south.
Occasionally, Soldiers from more than one region will coordinate the movement of equipment through two or more regions.
Sgt. Jonathon Nelson is the highway traffic division theater coordinator. His team's responsibility is to designate stops for CLPs headed back to Kuwait, hence the term "backhaul section."
Nelson's section has helped move at least 10,000 truckloads of equipment since September, including 1,800 truckloads when the 42nd Infantry Division left in November.
This just scratches the surface of operations at the fusion cell.
Sgt. 1st Class William Ewings and his team at the munitions division process more than 100 requests a day for ammunition to make sure the distribution of ammunition is steady.
Others, such as Pfc. Michael Joyner, are responsible for coordinating fuel deliveries so that installations like LSA Anaconda never run out of fuel.
With such a large amount of information flowing through the room every day, working in the fusion cell can be stressful, Nelson said. However, there is usually a solution for every problem, he said, adding that he learns something new in the fusion cell on a weekly, if not daily basis.
"I've got a good job, I work with good people and I learn a lot of good information," Nelson said.
| Date Taken: | 03.10.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 03.10.2006 06:37 |
| Story ID: | 5652 |
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| Web Views: | 110 |
| Downloads: | 19 |
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