Publication:Chattanooga Times Free Press
Date:Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Section:Front Page; Page:1

By Edward Lee Pitts Military Affairs

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait — As 278th officials work to ensure all vehicles heading into Iraq in the coming weeks are armored, some soldiers in the Tennessee National Guard unit learned they will fly into enemy territory.

Maj. Bobbie Sprouse, the 278th’s supply and logistics officer, said the regiment would fly more than half of its soldiers to bases somewhere northeast of Baghdad. Once at their perma nent camps, the 278th would take over armored vehicles now being used by the unit the 278th is replacing, Maj. Sprouse said.

The regiment of nearly 4,000 soldiers is here preparing for a yearlong deployment to Iraq near the Iranian border as part of the 42nd Infantry Division. The soldiers will enter Iraq soon after November tied the mark for deadliest month there since the invasion began in the spring of 2003.

"The movement in (Iraq) is the most dangerous mission for the regiment as a whole," said Capt. Todd Woodruff, company commander of Service Battery, First Squadron. "They always test out the new units coming in, so we anticipate at least one action."

While some 278th soldiers were pleased about the prospect of a safer plane ride into Iraq, others said they didn’t want to miss the ground convoy’s adrenaline rush.

"That would be like going to Disney World and not riding the roller coaster," said Capt. Chris Brock, 43, the human resource officer for Support Squadron.

Soldiers on the convoy are scrambling to craft their own armor for the vehicles they are taking into a combat zone. Stress levels rose late last week when nuts and bolts ran low.

Soldiers dug used ballistic windshields — which include bullethole sized cracks — out of trash bins and installed them on some vehicles.

"If it was lucky for one guy, maybe it will be lucky for us," Staff Sgt. Allen Lewis of Castalian Springs, Tenn., said as he carted one off for his Humvee.

Spc. Kevin Nunley, 44, of Nashville, one of several wearing green coveralls over their uniforms at the makeshift armor upgrade shop, said soldiers would continue to apply quarter-inch thick sheet metal until they run out.

"We are gong to make it happen," he said after adding the metal to five vehicles.

SOME VEHICLES UPGRADED

The 278th will carry a wider array of vehicles into combat than just the commonly used Humvees, which now can be upgraded with armor kits. The standard canvas can be replaced with steel doors and roofs.

Sgt. John Hughes, 43, of Athens, Tenn., said similar armor kits are available for the passenger cabs of the military’s support vehicles. He said a handful of these in each of the 278th’s three squadrons are getting the enhancement, including his wrecker, which was sent to nearby Camp Arifjan to be outfitted with ballistic windows, armor plating and air conditioning.

"But I’ve also been told I will be doing most of the recovery missions in Iraq since mine will be uparmored," he said. "With good news comes bad news I guess."

The collection of 5-ton trucks, 5-ton wreckers and other vehicles — including fuel trucks used to haul equipment, soldiers and ammunition — now sports portions of scrap metal on most doors. Thin sections of rusted metal stretch halfway across each vehicle’s side windows to offer some protection without blocking the driver’s view of the side mirrors.

Capt. Woodruff said he hopes the convoy displays enough force to keep insurgents away. He managed to bulk up his firepower by scrounging 12 more .50-caliber machine guns for the trip north.

Soldiers are traveling into an Iraq where insurgents attack with homemade bombs placed along the roads. "They (insurgents) are trying to attack weak convoys not strong convoys," said Staff Sgt. Brian Culberson, 28, of Cleveland, Tenn.

He said soldiers scrounging for extra armor are not unique to this war. He recently saw a magazine article about units in Vietnam scavenging steel for their vehicles.

"They had the same problem with convoys getting hit with guerrilla warfare," Sgt. Culberson said. "The odds of us getting hit are pretty slim, but it is still an odd."

TESTING WEAPONS

To reduce the chances of an attack, 278th soldiers now are focusing on being able to move, shoot and communicate. Tires, oils, engines and radios are checked and rechecked while weapons are dismantled, cleaned and reassembled.

First Squadron’s Service Battery recently spent two days test firing weapons with live ammunition for the last time before the convoy. The soldiers passed herds of Bedouin camels on both sides of the road on the way to one of the 17 U.S.-operated firing ranges scattered in the Kuwaiti desert.

The officer in charge of the firing range warned the soldiers the camels often wander into the line of fire and must be chased away. If a soldier shoots one of the animals, it will cost the U.S. Army $30,000.

Soldiers spread out along the practice range took as few as three and as many as 18 shots to get their M-4 rifle sights adjusted for accurate shots from up to 300 meters.

After firing their personal weapons, Service Battery soldiers drove several miles under cloudy skies to another range and tested the sights on the heavy guns mounted on the roofs of their vehicles. The roar of the .50-caliber machine guns blasted the air as tiny streams of red fire streaked low across the desert and kicked up dust around targets 400 to 1,200 meters away.

Elsewhere, 278th M-1 Abrams tanks practiced hitting targets less than a meter in size from about two miles away.

Back at the tents, while officers hold planning meetings late into the night, soldiers spend their evenings getting mentally prepared for the long trek through Iraq. They play cards, watch movies, write letters, listen to music or just lie on their cots.

"There will be a lot of praying the night before," said Staff Sgt. David Harris, 47, of Cleveland, Tenn.

E-mail Lee Pitts at lpitts@timesfreepress.com

U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika Soldiers with the 278th Regimental Combat Team practice shooting their weapons at firing ranges in the Kuwaiti desert in preparation for a convoy into Iraq.

U.S. Army Photo by Capt. Alan Mingledorff Soldiers with the 278th Regimental Combat Team practice shooting handguns on the firing range in Kuwait.

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