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CAMP TAJI, Iraq - Beans and bullets have always been the bare essentials any army needs to operate.
Soldiers have a built-in instinct to find the dining facility on any post, namely, follow the crowds at mealtime and they will lead you to food. But where do Soldiers get their bullets?
On Camp Taji, units get their bullets from the Ammunition Transfer Holding Point (ATHP).
The 2nd Medium Lift Platoon of the 529th Ordnance Company, currently attached to the 428th Quartermaster Company, runs the ATHP.
The platoon arrived at Taji on Nov. 24, 2005. "Essentially, when we took over the operation, not one phase of it met any Army standard . . . we had to build the operation from the ground up," said 1st Lt. Matthew Joy, platoon leader.
They improved force protection measures and established accountability. They also improved the area by distributing gravel to reduce mud at the site.
"We started with identifying exactly what was on the ground, segregating it into its appropriate type for safety reasons and for accountability," Joy said.
Unserviceable ammunition was on hand, but has since been removed.
"We used to have a lot of stuff that we needed to blow up. Tank rounds, AT-4s and other things," said Spc. Tamas Toth, ammunition specialist in the platoon. "We used to go every Friday with EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) to blow stuff up."
Toth said he chose his job because he wanted to deal with ammunition and support the front lines that actually take care of the insurgents.
The ATHP stores anything from 9 mm ammo to 155 mm artillery rounds. They ship ammo to their customers mostly by ground, but they air deliver items if it is an emergency re-supply, said Master Sgt. Bruce Sloan, the accountability officer for the ATHP.
The ATHP is a small version of an ammunition supply point. The difference is the size, and the fact that they do not have a surveillance section, which inspects and repacks the ammunition.
Their main goal however is the same: to provide ammunition to all units who need it.
"We are supporting mainly the 4th Infantry Division and 4th Sustainment Brigade and all of the units that fall under them," Sloan said. "Anybody that is in the Taji area gets Class V support from us."
Soldiers at the ATHP work hard to fill orders.
"We do have a lot of people, but we need a lot of muscle," Toth said. As he explained, most ammunition boxes weigh 50 pounds or more, and are normally a two-man lift.
"I guess if you look at the big picture of it, if it wasn't for us, the infantry or artillery guys could not have ammo," Toth said.
The platoon is like a family at this remote location.
"Teamwork is great," Sloan said. "They have to work together out here. They are pretty motivated. They are always laughing and joking, keeping everybody going."
Joy said that some, like himself, arrived at the platoon shortly before their deployment.
"We are really a mix of people that sort of came together last minute," Joy said. "The Soldiers know their jobs. The NCOs know their jobs. They all have really made my job a lot easier and they are responsible for the success of the operation."
| Date Taken: | 04.28.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 04.28.2006 09:56 |
| Story ID: | 6155 |
| Location: | TAJI, IQ |
| Web Views: | 219 |
| Downloads: | 31 |
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