Photo By Pfc. Zackary Root | U.S. Army soldiers from A Company, 125th Brigade Support Battalion, calibrate a...... read more read more
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FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHANK, Afghanistan — To be successful in war, getting supplies to the troops is paramount. In medieval times armies would lay siege to entire cities, surrounding the walls with their armies for months, preventing any supplies coming in or out. Without supplies like food, medicine, or weapons the opposing Army was essentially neutralized.
The same principles hold true in Afghanistan; without supplies, the Army cannot function. Soldiers traverse dangerous roads, battling improvised explosive devices, insurgent attacks and dangerous terrain to deliver supplies, vehicles and equipment essential to the mission.
“What makes our job important is that the infantry can’t fight without bullets,” said U.S. Sgt. Timothy Hartung, of Cumberland, Md., scout vehicle commander, A Company, 125th Brigade Support Battalion. “Everything on the battlefield we move it, we secure it, we push it, we pull it, wherever it needs to be, we put it there.”
U.S. Army soldiers from A Company, 125th BSB, left on a supply convoy to Bagram Air Field Dec. 2. The mission was to deliver supplies and to relocate to Bagram Air Field for the remainder of the deployment. Being located and running resupply missions out of there, will provide a quicker response time in delivering supplies to maneuver elements in the future.
“They are going to push out a lot of commodities down to maneuver units down Highway One,” said U.S. Army Capt. Charles York, A. Company commander, 125th BSB.
“Also, they are going to help with the battlefield realignment,” referring to the process of shifting units from one area to another.
The soldiers from A Company deliver all types of supplies, including vehicles and bullets. With this mission the soldiers are setting up shop at Bagram Air Field, shortening the distance between the supplies, and the maneuver units that need them to operate.
“We supply basically every battalion in the brigade. In essence we support five battalions along with other outlying units,” said York.
Moving supplies through the rugged terrain of Afghanistan is difficult in the best of circumstances. Distributing supplies to the various forward operating bases and combat outposts can be difficult when conducting supply convoys.
“Unlike infantry companies who only have military vehicles, we have tractor trailers and local national trucks, so we have limited maneuverability,” said Hartung.
A Company usually conducts two supply convoys a week, but with the change of station to Bagram Air Field, the capacity for delivering supplies will increase.
“After the FLE, we expect our operational tempo to step-up,” he said.
Despite the increase in missions, Hartung says that the unit is ready and willing to step-up to the challenge, relying on each other for support to accomplish the mission at hand.
A group of various support occupational specialties, the soldiers from A Company have come together to accomplish a common goal risking their lives in the process.
“Almost all of the soldiers volunteered for this job,” he said. “They don’t have to be here. We have a wide variety of people that volunteered to do this job and we have a really tight-knit team.”
| Date Taken: | 12.02.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 12.11.2011 10:59 |
| Story ID: | 81201 |
| Location: | FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHANK, AF |
| Web Views: | 167 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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