Escorting rigs keeps 39th unit on the go

CAMP ADDER, Iraq - Boots crunched on gravel in the blazing midday sun as soldiers paced up and down the line of trucks, checking body armor, guns and ammunition.

Ice cradling a variety of caffeinated beverages slowly melted in coolers stashed in the back of each truck. It was going to be another long, hot night.

Delta Company of Arkansas' 39th Infantry Brigade Support Battalion was heading north - again.

The soldiers had been at the camp they call home for just 48 hours, just enough time to perform maintenance on their gun trucks, do laundry and repack.

The soldiers of 1st Squad-ron, 151 Cavalry Regiment of Arkansas' 39th Infantry Brigade spend more time on the road than in their beds. They are the hobos of the Iraq roads, driving for days, sleeping in transient tents at various bases along the way as they escort civilian convoys that carry everything needed to keep U.S. forces running.

"It's a six-truck circus," said Spc. Jason Fritts of Hampton. "We travel from [base to base.]"

And they're not alone.

The cavalry squadron runs north from this dusty camp near the Euphrates River in southern Iraq. The 39th's 2nd Battalion runs the desolate roads of Iraq's vast Anbar province, pushing convoys of supplies from Iraq's western borders to U.S. bases. A variety of other Arkansas units that deployed with the brigade - including the 217th Brigade Support Battalion of Arkansas' 142nd Fires Brigade - run shorter hauls, moving supplies from the big camps to the small outposts.

The 39th is spread across Iraq - where its units work for various other commands - in a patchwork of soldiers from every Arkansas National Guard unit and several hundred recalled Army reservists and volunteers who extended their wartime deployments to fill out the brigade's ranks.

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The primary role of the 39th on this, its second deployment, is protecting civilian convoys as they roll across this war-torn country with supplies headed to U.S. outposts. There are several units protecting bases and guarding dignitaries, but the majority of the 39th's more than 3,000 soldiers are running the war-torn roads in humvees, armored vehicles and a growing fleet of Mine Resistant Armor Protected vehicles - the latest generation of armored trucks.

These soldiers are the muscle behind the supply lines that take food, fuel and supplies to U.S. troops.

The mission is simple and clear: do whatever it takes to keep those civilian transport trucks safe from attack and rolling down the road.

Improvised bombs remain the biggest threat on the roadways. The devices have grown more complex over the years and now include armor-piercing projectiles. Close to half of U.S. soldier deaths in Iraq have been from roadside bombs, according to the Department of Defense. The Mine Resistant Armor Protected vehicles were taken to Iraq specifically because of their ability to withstand most blasts. Nothing, however, gives total protection.

This is the mission previously run by the 11th Transportation Battalion out of Fort Eustes, Va. - which included Charlie Battery, 2nd Battalion, 142nd Fires Brigade of the Arkansas National Guard. Sgt. John Massey of Higginson died on these roads last year.

Massey deployed to Baghdad with the 39th from 2004-05 and volunteered to return with Charlie Battery last year.

The 11th and the cavalry squadron jointly named the newheadquarters building there in Massey's honor.

The threat of roadside bombs is a constant, dull stress that never leaves the minds of soldiers. Their eyes grow tired of constantly scanning the roadside as they roll from place to place protecting a line of unarmed trucks that can stretch for miles.

"Yeah, it's stressful," Sgt. Ben Flint of Little Rock said. "You're constantly thinking, 'Where's the next one at.' You can't find them all. You just try to find them before they get you."

"Yeah," said Cpl. Randy Domineck of Pine Bluff, nodding. "It's there, that thought."

Earlier this week, a fuel tanker was hit with a roadside bomb. The soldiers pulled the civilian driver to safety and then chased down the man they believe triggered the bomb.

Maintenance issues are a more common problem.

Considering that most convoys consist of trucks and drivers from Third World nations, and many Army vehicles have been run hard for years, maintenance problems are almost guaranteed.

"We run miles and miles," said Maj. Chad Higginbotham of Hamburg, executive officer for the squadron.

The mission's pace tends to add to the number of days on the road. Vehicles constantly break down - even a brand new Mine Resistant Armor Protected vehicle on its first mission.

"We can't do a lot for them once they [leave here,]" Higginbotham said.

Each camp has mechanics and living quarters for transient soldiers such as the convoy escort teams. Civilian contractors herd hundreds of waiting trucks at each camp and determine where each needs to go.

"The [foreign drivers and their trucks] kill us," said Spc. Anthony Brown of Warren as he prepared to head out with Delta Company.

Those drivers are responsible for maintaining their own trucks, but basic maintenance is not always done. It is a rare day that one of the trucks driven by what the Army calls "third country nationals" doesn't break down on the side of the road. And when they do break, the patrol sits on the side of the road, guarding the convoy against trouble while the truck is loaded on a wrecker.

Delays can last hours.

Workdays often stretch to 18 hours and beyond. Missions may last a day - or five.

These soldiers pack in preparation to be stranded.

Last weekend the Delta Company soldiers spent three days at camps near Baghdad after one of their vehicles broke down. The truck was fixed in a day, and the convoy moved to its next stop. But then a two-day dust storm hit, closing a section of roadway.

The troops settle into the routine; and many say they actuallyget more rest on the road than they do at Camp Adder, where they seem to always be preparing to leave, even if they've just arrived.

"It helps out that we get to go see other places," said Spc. Anthony Small of Bryant.

Spc. Adess Jenkins of Michigan added, "Time goes by so fast this way."

But some days it gets old.

On day three of their stranding at a Baghdad camp, when the pingpong tournament at the recreation center was getting old, one soldier said he just missed his own bed.

"Isn't that crazy to miss a tiny little room in a trailer? But I miss my stuff," he said.

Most take advantage of amenities found at different posts. Some have swimming pools. Every post offers something different to do.

"When you go for six or seven days, though, you're just spending money," Brown said.

The weather cleared the next day, and they headed back to Camp Adder, their gun trucks interspersed in a long line of foreign trucks.

"I really don't like being the first one out the gate after the road's been shut down for two days," said Sgt. Andy Green as he settled into his gunner's seat. "It's not a good feeling."

A couple of hours down the road, the radio chatter picked up as Lt. Jonathan Elrod of Malvern tried to figure out why four trucks on his list had a different destination than the rest. He pulled the convoy into Kalsu, an outpost they hadn't stopped at before south of Baghdad, to drop off the trucks.

"If they're on the manifest, this is where they need to go," he said through the radio. "Otherwise we'll just have to bring them back up here later."

After several wrong turns and still no confirmation on what to do with the trucks, Elrod pulled the entire convoy into the small outpost. A Marine appeared in the darkness and said those trucks were his bottled water supply. He wasn't expecting them but was glad to have them.

Soldiers heaved off their body armor, stretched and chatted under the starry sky. Some zipped off to the chow hall, which was serving a midnight meal. The Marine asked if the patrol could add a few more trucks to the convoy that needed to go south, he said.

Dawn was well past by the time the convoy stopped to refuel and stretch again. On the road, there had been hours of conversation, singing, anything to fight sleep.

Then, finally, home.

And two days later, on Wednesday, the soldiers suited up to roll out again.

"Hopefully, we'll do a turn and burn when we get there," Brown said, referring to dropping their current civilian trucks and turning around with another group to head south.

And less than 24 hours and hundreds of miles later they were back home. They'd driven north of Baghdad and back.

"We got up there and came right back," said Staff Sgt. James Sanders of Heber Springs. "It went smoothly. No one broke down, no one got lost, nothing bad happened. That was a first."

Front Section, Pages 1, 10 on 05/17/2008

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