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Combat truckers: A writer's journal -- Day 1: Hi, Nice to Meet You

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. David Salanitri
  • U.S. Air Forces Central Command Combat Correspondent
UNDISCLOSED LOCATION, Southwest Asia --  This is the first day in a six-day journal following Airmen and Soldier truckers as they transport cargo across Iraq during the transition. -Editor.

Airmen of the 70th and 424th Medium Truck Detachment are on the roads in Iraq every day, hauling cargo and other items out of the country in support of the December 31st deadline for U.S. Forces to be out of Iraq.

Only a handful of months ago, these Airmen where driving an aircrew bus or the big white bus that takes Airmen from the base exchange to the chow hall -- today they're commanding convoys, driving cargo trucks out of Iraq.

The members of this convoy are a diverse bunch. Airmen on this mission are from the 70th MTD and are on their second or third deployment to the same location, carrying out the same mission. Their partners for this mission are Soldiers of B Troop, 1-94 Cav., Pine City, Minn. Army National Guard. The Soldiers will be providing security for the convoy in the form of mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles that are heavily armed.

Day 1: Hi, Nice to Meet You.

Lets risk our lives together: After arriving at an Army camp to meet their gun truck crew for the first time, the truckers and Soldiers prepare to roll out. Though this is the first time the Airmen and Soldiers are meeting, their first journey together isn't a short one - an eight hour drive to a Forward Operating Base Kalsu. In the staging area, the whites (nickname for the white trucks driven by the contractors) are lined up and briefed by a designated Airman. To the side, Airmen play catch with a football. In an area nearby, the Soldiers do the same. Finally, everyone is good to go, and begin their mission to haul supplies and cargo from Iraq.

Arriving at FOB Kalsu, the first leg of the mission concludes at about nine hours. As the sun comes up for the day, the Army crew settles into their cots and fall asleep. Throughout the six-night mission, the gun truck crews are early to rise as the sun is just setting, starting each day by fueling up their trucks, mounting their guns, and getting their MRAPS ready for the day. The Airmen are opposite. They are late to bed, fueling up their trucks, uploading any cargo and lining up all 35 civilian truckers who speak little or no English.

The timeline for this trip is hazy; transitioning to a nightshift schedule causes the days to blend together.

Day 1: Hi, Nice to Meet You
Day 2: Yeah, I'm on Fire
Day 3: An Added Threat
Day 4: Not a Typical Alarm Clock
Day 5: Bonds are Formed
Day 6: A Team Born in Six Nights