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Contractors travel with brigade

Aug-20-2005 » Filed Under: 172nd SBCT

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By MARGARET FRIEDENAUER, News, Staff Writer

EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE--Jeff Morgan, clad in a gray hooded sweat shirt, jeans and gold watch, stood out from the khaki and brown line snaking toward a plane on the tarmac. He was standing among 250 soldiers from the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, who all sported newly-shaved heads or buzz cuts and desert fatigues.

Morgan doesn't have to dress like a soldier because he isn't one. Morgan is one of about 100 civilian contractors deploying to Iraq for a year with the brigade. He left Friday with the last of the brigade's main body from the Joint Mobility Complex at Eielson Air Force Base. The remainder of the 3,800 member brigade leaves next week.

Morgan has been in Alaska for 20 years, and like many contractors, served in the military. He was in the Air Force and National Guard for about 21 years, stationed in France, England, Guam, Korea and elsewhere. But Iraq, he said, may be the most dangerous of his travels.

"This is the first place I've got a chance of being shot," he said.

Maj. Jeff Burrell, the brigade's rear detachment commander, said contractors are an important aspect of the brigade and efforts in Iraq as a whole because they are primarily used to maintain equipment and train soldiers. He said when troops have new equipment, such as the Stryker vehicles and advanced communication systems, contractors are able to focus on equipment maintenance and repairs, freeing soldiers for other specialized duties.

"It ends up increasing the capabilities of the unit," Burrell said.

Contractors come from around the United States and from a variety of companies. Morgan works for Lesco Logistics and will help troubleshoot vehicle maintenance problems and assign them to the proper contractor for repair.

Morgan said the contractors and soldiers interact and work together well. He said the soldiers appreciate the expertise the contractors can bring and tend to be protective of them, since contractors are not allowed to carry weapons. [...]


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