Part 1 of 3
Members of the 203rd Engineer Battalion’s Forward Support Company gathered around Sgt. 1st Class Robert Howard for their pre-mission briefing.
Howard, a combat engineer from Longview, Mo., was set to inform his fellow soldiers on the dangers they might encounter during their upcoming mission.
That mission was to deliver supplies to a forward operating base several kilometers away, through Afghan territory that could be unforgiving. Along the route, crews could encounter improvised explosive devices (IEDs) — of 30 to 50 pounds or more, Howard warned. Also, he added, the enemy has been known to plant more than one in the same location, “so stay alert.”
Continuing, he said there are numerous avenues for high-speed approaches to the main thoroughfare, as well as multiple observation points along the way. At nearly every point, Howard said the patrol of military supply vehicles and Afghan fuel-carrying trucks would be tracked.
It would be the job of the Missouri Guardsmen in their gun trucks to protect the vital supplies and keep the route clear of hostiles.
“Let’s make sure we’re prepared,” Howard said, before turning the brief over to the commander, 1st Lt. Kyle Atha, a transportation officer from Grain Valley, Mo.
“Okay everyone, we’ll be running pretty much the same way we have been,” said Atha, squinting through a bright Afghanistan sun, which was already burning off the morning chill. “There won’t be many changes.”
As the crews scribbled notes, Atha gave out radio call signs and frequencies, assembly times, and, most importantly, the mission start time for the following morning. Crews would have about 24 hours to prepare their vehicles, weapons and the cargo they would be escorting – plenty of time if there were no problems.
But there are always problems.
The following morning, crews began gathering around their vehicles — or “vicks” — around 5:30 a.m., well before they were instructed to report. Bundled in sea-green fleece jackets and caps, gloves and neck gaiters to guard against the encroaching cold, the crews juggled rucksacks full of gear, sleeping bags and cups of coffee as they began preparations for the coming mission.
As they labored in the chill of dawn, their breathing made visible as wisps of fog, the crews bantered about with one another. The levity masked the seriousness of their assignment: ensuring the safe delivery of much-needed equipment and supplies to those in need elsewhere.
Even back home in the States, moving military supplies and vehicles from one location to another carries inherent risks to trucks and drivers, but in Afghanistan — where the routes are uncertain and a determined enemy makes the going treacherous — much more planning has to go into such missions because of the risk.
“We have a load plan on every gun truck, to make sure that if we need to find something on any truck, it better be in the same place,” Atha said. “We do our battle drills, we do our rehearsals, and me, personally, I create the operations order and present that to the men days in advance.”
He added that it was equally important to look at the routes being traveled and get the latest intelligence to “find out where your hot zones and TAIs (target areas of interest) are, and to know where you’re going.”
And yet, despite the best of planning, problems still occur.
“There hasn’t been a single mission out there that we haven’t come across an event that we had not expected,” said Atha. “It’s still the Wild West here, and you’ve got to prepare for the unknown. Crazy events are just another daily event in Afghanistan.”
About the 35th Engineer Brigade
The 35th Engineer Brigade, based in Fort Leonard Wood, undertakes plans, integrates and directs the execution of engineer missions conducted by the 1140th Engineer Battalion in Cape Girardeau and the 203rd Engineer Battalion in Joplin with their respective subordinate units. The 35th Engineer Brigade provides technical and tactical guidance and command and control to the teams, companies, and battalions.
