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Rotation in Iraq crowds highways

Mar-30-2004 » Filed Under: 3/2 SBCT

296th in the news again with this interesting article.

[Link to Full Article]
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Wednesday, March 31, 2004

BAGHDAD — The gunner manning the .50-caliber machine gun mounted on the back of the last truck in the convoy was waving civilian vehicles through.

There was heavy traffic on the dark, four-lane freeway south of Baghdad and the Iraqi motorists were getting impatient. When the gunner waved, two vans sped through to the right of the convoy followed by a small, blue Suzuki Escudo. [...]

The soldiers who spend the most time in convoys work for support units delivering supplies to U.S. bases in Iraq.

A typical day in March for soldiers from the 296th Brigade Support Battalion involved a convoy from Marez Forward Operating Base in Mosul to Company B, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment’s home at Firebase Aggie, half an hour’s drive south.

Before the vehicles left the gate, a liaison officer from the 5-20th let the 296th know how much food, water, fuel and ammunition Company B needed.

James Nickens, a chief warrant officer and the logistics package commander, then planned the mission, deciding which personnel and vehicles were needed to transport the supplies — in this case six large deflatable containers containing 3,000 gallons of water and 1,500 gallons of JP8 fuel for Company B’s Stryker armored vehicles.

The convoy included an M978 fuel tanker, a flat-rack pulling a trailer with another flat-rack of water containers, and three Strykers providing security.

Convoys must have at least three vehicles during the day and four at night, Nickens said.

“If the Strykers were not with us, we’d have to have at least two gun trucks with .50-cals on them,” he said.

Everyone in the convoy, including the drivers, had an M-16 rifle or an M249 machine gun.

The article continues.


Comments For "Rotation in Iraq crowds highways":

HOOAH 296th!!!

Todd, Thanks for finding and posting more material for my scrapbook!

Posted by: Sue | March 31, 2004 10:05 AM

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