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Vehicle Operators adapt to new mission

  • Published
  • By Kelly Twedell
  • Staff Writer
POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  Senior Master Sgt. Terrence Greene, 43rd Logistics Readiness Squadron Vehicle Operations manager, just finished doing 40 push-ups as I walked into his office. He and the Airmen keep conditioned at home station when not on mission cycle as part of their readiness. Physical conditioning aids in adjusting to the feeling of wearing the body armor during a convoy mission. The Airmen are performing intense missions with just two months of rigorous training -- for the Army, it is career training. 

The mission has recently changed from gun trucks to line haul due to Army requirements. Formerly, with gun trucks, the unit was securing a convoy of cargo vehicles, now at line haul they are driving the cargo vehicles and have only one gun truck, which is that of the convoy commander, whom is Air Force. We've gone from being the protectors to the protected. 

While the Army dictates the missions and has tactical control over the Air Force, the Air Force maintains administrative control. They also maintain operational control which means that the Army cannot redeploy the forces somewhere else. 

According to Master Sgt. Dobie Strong, 43rd LRS Vehicle Operations superintendent and a Bronze Star recipient, a mission lasts eight to 14 days. Once you take over the mission, you take the mission for six months (really eight to nine months from the time Airmen leave Pope until the time they get back includes the training). A typical mission: They get a mission brief for where they are going, then they build their teams and get the trucks. Not only are the convoys made up of 'green' trucks, the Air Force vehicles, but they have responsibility for the 'white trucks' as well. The white trucks are being driven by third country nationals. The challenge there is the language barrier, so you usually find one person who can understand and speak some English and use that person as an interpreter. It's important to get the white trucks cleared through the security checkpoints as well. The white and green trucks go through different lines at the checkpoints. The white trucks are inspected with radar detectors, and are thoroughly inspected by hand. One time cartons and cartons of cigarettes were found, which are a contraband item, said Sergeant Strong. 

IEDs present a new challenge of warfare and the main focus of the convoy is to get out of the kill zone. During a two week train up at Lackland AFB, in Texas, the Airmen undergo scenarios of complex attacks where an IED might go off and rocket propelled grenades are coming in, along with small arms fire. 

"One of our tactics used is that if the vehicle is under attack and is still running -- keep driving through," said Sergeant Greene. "The reflex action is to hit the brakes when something happens, but after training we hope to condition our responses to stay on the gas when stresses that the convoy consists of 30-40 trucks, a mile long. Tactics often change to counter the actions of the insurgents. 

On a typical 8- to 14-day rotation the convoys go from southern borders, through the major cities and onto the northern borders. First, they start at one forward operating base and travel to another which may take up to five hours in travel. Next, upon arriving at the FOB, they download and then upload the equipment, which could take several hours before they bed down and get a hot meal. Meeting timelines given is often the stressful part of this job, said Sergeant Greene. 

During the convoys, the vehicles are constantly tracked. The commander will notify his point of contact before leaving and arriving at a FOB. 

"Once the Airmen leave the gate they are on their own, there are no escorts," said Sergeant Greene. "Occasionally they may have protection from Blackhawks tracking you from above, and that's a really good feeling." 

The Army provides sector coverage, but the convoys travel at different times and cannot change their starting point times to ensure that they will have air coverage during a convoy operation. 

Jurisdiction dictates when the convoys travel, and obviously daylight hours try to be minimized to least affect other traffic on the road. Travel at night is optimum for both coverage purposes, but also personnel considerations when dealing with extreme temperatures during the daytime. During combat, many personnel can be adversely affected by the heat; all of the combat lifesaver personnel are trained to give intravenous lines and care for those who sustain heat injuries. 

The residual reserve personnel are trained and ready to deploy to replace Airmen as needed for emergency situations ranging from injuries to personal family emergencies that may arise over the deployment. Both the Airmen and their families endure the stress of both the length and the hazards faced during these deployments. It is common practice to see Airmen waiting in line to call home before leaving on a convoy mission. 

More than 15 Airmen are preparing to leave on the next deployment in January. These rotations are a constant for the vehicle operations section. Their schedules do not always match up exactly with the LRS components.