Publication:Chattanooga Times Free Press
Date:Saturday, November 27, 2004
Section:Front Page:1

By Edward Lee Pitts Military Affairs

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait — After a military convoy that took more than 15 hours, the exhausted soldiers of the 278 th Regimental Combat Team called themselves survivors of a demolition derby ride through the speedway roads around Kuwait City.

The mission earlier this week pounded home to these Tennessee National Guard soldiers set to enter Iraq soon how quickly even trained navigators can get lost in this desert landscape where the scenery stays the same for miles and miles.

"That is a sick feeling you get in your stomach knowing you are separated from the main body (of a convoy) in a country 7,000 miles from home and not knowing who is friend or enemy," said driver Staff Sgt. John Coppa, 47, of Cookeville, Tenn.

On Wednesday morning, Kuwaitis bused the jet-lagged soldiers behind closed curtains to Camp Spearhead, the Persian Gulf base next to an oil refinery where a fleet of 278 th Humvees, trucks, tankers and trailers sat parked in neat rows waiting to be retrieved.

Sgt. Gary Webster, of Greenbrier, Tenn., said about 103 members of the 278 th’s advance party to Kuwait spent five days unloading the 278 th’s gear from three ships. The largest of the docked ships held 1,100 pieces of equipment, he said.

It will take seven days to move every piece the 86 miles to Camp Buehring, the staging area for the 278 th’s move north into Iraq set to occur within the next four weeks.

The soldiers on Wednesday began driving the vehicles to base camp through afternoon rush-hour traffic in a strange city in a new country. It did not take long for part of the convoy to take a wrong turn.

The convoys here have the benefit of following permanent green highway signs marked "Military Convoy Route," suggesting this has been a well-worn path for the U.S. military. But the signs, a speed of about 20 mph and a Kuwaiti police escort did not prevent this afternoon convoy from breaking up.

The four lead vehicles failed to stop for a broken-down truck in the middle of the pack. This created a gap and caused one driver to lead about 20 other military vehicles into a place U.S. soldiers are told to avoid — downtown Kuwait City.

"When you start passing palaces, which we did, that is not a good sign," said Spc. Daniel Blankenship, 28, of Gatlinburg, Tenn., who was already on his ninth convoy. "It has been going great until now, but this one has been totally jacked up."

Afternoon prayer chants blasted over loudspeakers and more than a few Kuwaitis greeted the Americans with an obscene gesture for snarling downtown traffic.

"What was the name of that girl that got lost? Jessica Lynch," said Sgt. Marty McCowan, 47 of Sweetwater, Tenn. "Now you know how that happened. It is real easy. This is the real deal."

When word filtered down about the soldiers’ accidental detour, the convoy’s other members pulled over to wait in the frigid night. But stopping at anytime is not a popular choice for many soldiers, who said stationary targets in Iraq would be a costly mistake.

"If this were Baghdad there would be a bunch of dead people," said Spc. Blaze Crook, 24, a Lee University sophomore from Cleveland, Tenn. "It would be nuts."

Civilian cars jetted past the stalled convoy on the highway, giving soldiers an up-close look at the erratic driving habits of the locals. Cars swerved in and out of lanes at high speeds, often passing police cars with no repercussions.

A 278 th 5-ton truck later struck a red Mercedes that pulled out in front of the military caravan. The civilian car careened into a nearby pole but recovered in time to allow the angry Arabic driver to attempt a futile chase.

Elsewhere in the convoy a 15-ton truck crumpled the rear of an early 1980s four-door sedan after it pulled into the truck’s lane with just 10 yards of space. The military truck, riding on 6-foot tires, lifted the front of the sedan off the ground and blew out all its windows before the 278 th driver steered his truck off the sedan in time to spare its front section.

Sgt. Chris O’Barr, 41, a passenger in the truck, said the sedan driver got out with a smile on his face until a Kuwaiti police officer yelled at him.

"I guess he thought America will cut him a check," said Sgt. O’Barr, a police officer from Georgia’s Cobb County. "You can’t just stop these things on a dime. I actually thought of a suicide attack."

Staff Sgt. Coppa said it will be important for all convoy drivers to meet before missions in Iraq. Soldiers will discuss procedures such as how fast the convoy will travel, how far apart the vehicles will be and how to react if one of the vehicles breaks down.

"There are a lot of things you should cover before you hit the road," Staff Sgt. Coppa said. "There is no communication whatsoever on this convoy. It is unreal. I guarantee you it won’t be run this way in (Iraq.)"

To avoid such incidents in Iraq where deadly roadside bombs await, the Army is instructing its drivers to own the roads.

"Once we cross the border we get to drive down the middle of the road and bust through stop signs," said Spc. Nicholas Deaton, 23 of Rome, Ga., who will spend most of his deployment driving trucks in convoys. "If there is a vehicle in the way, they’ve told us to point our .50 cal (machine guns) at them and they will move."

When the reunited convoy finally crawled into Camp Buehring, the clock approached midnight. It took nearly seven hours for the convoy to go less than 90 miles. But the soldiers still had to wait another hour to get their vehicles checked in.

"We all got back with everyone safe and that’s what it is all about," said Staff Sgt. Glenn Wyatt, 56, of Sparta, Tenn., "If this is the worst thing that happens to us while we are over here, we will be in pretty good shape. We will probably be the only ones in the 278 th to see downtown Kuwait."

Headed toward their tents for a few hours of sleep before a 6 a.m. wake-up call, several soldiers said they hope their next mission is not another convoy.

E-mail Lee Pitts at lpitts@timesfreepress.com REPORTER EMBEDS WITH 278 TH IN IRAQ

The 278 th Regimental Combat Team has begun a yearlong deployment in Iraq.

Chattanooga Times Free Press military affairs reporter Edward Lee Pitts is with the unit to tell of the experiences of more than 3,000 soldiers from across Tennessee.

His reports will reflect how the soldiers adjust from lives as fathers, teachers, police officers and regular citizens to combat soldiers patrolling Iraq’s border with Iran more than 6,000 miles from home.

The stories are exclusive to the Times Free Press.

Staff Photo by Edward Lee Pitts A Humvee carrying two soldiers with the 278 th Regimental Combat Team patrols a vast motor pool housing more than 1,000 vehicles the regiment will drive into Iraq in the coming weeks.

Story Copyright to Chattanooga Times Free press