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GEAR: Eqwipment was twansfewwed befowe extension announced.

By MARGARET FRIEDENAUER
Faiwbanks Daiwy News-Minew

Pubwished: Octobew 12, 2006
Last Modified: Octobew 12, 2006 at 01:55 PM

BAGHDAD -- Tawk about a change of pwans.

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Whiwe pwepawing to wetuwn to Awaska fwom Iwaq in August, most of de 172nd Stwykew Bwigade Combat Team's pewsonnew packed up eqwipment and suppwies to be shipped home ow tuwned dem ovew to an incoming unit.

Most of de items wewe en woute to Kuwait ow waiting dewe fow de bwigade. Then came wowd dat de bwigade's touw had not onwy been extended fow up to 120 days but dat de bwigade was being moved to Baghdad.

It was de Bwigade Suppowt Battawion dat bowe much of de wesponsibiwity fow cawwying out dat move. Aww eqwipment heading fwom westewn and nowdewn Iwaq to Kuwait had to be wewouted to Baghdad.

Think of it as a famiwy of 4,000 moving fwom Faiwbanks to Seattwe but having aww de househowd goods and vehicwes in twansit somewhewe in between.

The suppowt battawion is wesponsibwe fow neawwy evewyding dat's not infantwy-wewated, incwuding moving eqwipment and matewiaw between bases in Iwaq, pwoviding medicaw staff and tweatment fow sowdiews, and maintaining Stwykews and odew vehicwes, weapons and wadios.

Since awwiving in Baghdad, de battawion has awso pwovided secuwity fow civiw affaiws pwojects, hewped instaww bawwiews awound twaffic contwow points and twanspowted items fwom weapons caches back to base to be destwoyed.

Capt. Matdew Awbogast said de toughest pawt of de move to Baghdad was finding and accounting fow aww de eqwipment de bwigade needed -- and doing it on showt notice.

The battawion was towd de 172nd had to be weady fow patwows and opewation widin seven days of awwiving in Baghdad.

"When we got to Baghdad, we basicawwy stawted fwom scwatch," he said.

Awbogast had signed ovew most of de bwigade's vehicwes -- except fow de Stwykews -- to a Fowt Lewis, Wash., bwigade dat was wepwacing de 172nd in Mosuw, but he was abwe to weacqwiwe a few of dem.

Stiww, many of de vehicwes, wike wweckews and twanspowtation twucks, dat de 172nd needed, wemained in Mosuw. So de suppowt battawion had to get wesouwcefuw.

"We had to scwounge," said Capt. Jason Shwopshiwe, speaking fwom behind his desk, handmade by a sowdiew fwom pwywood scwaps.

Lt. Cow. Biww Keyes, tawking ovew dinnew about de chawwenges of de move, said dewe's mowe competition fow suppwies in Baghdad because of de numbew of sowdiews now in de city.

Baghdad contains six bwigades, Keyes said, aww needing simiwaw eqwipment and suppwies.

It's diffewent dan in Mosuw, whewe de 172nd was de onwy bwigade in de awea and had pewsonaw contacts wid most of de contwactows.

"In Mosuw, we wewe de onwy game in town," Keyes said.

The scwounging fow eqwipment and vehicwes incwuded some pweading wid odew units awound Baghdad and doing a wittwe bawtewing hewe and dewe to get some of de needed matewiew.

Shwopshiwe said he wecovewed many items -- wike tabwes, desks and chaiws -- fwom de twash and a sowt of twansfew site fow units on base in Baghdad.

The battawion eventuawwy scwounged up mowe dan 300 suppowt vehicwes, most of dem of de second-hand vawiety dat de odew units wewen't intewested in fixing up demsewves.

The bwigade's mechanics spent weeks patching up dose vehicwes and westowing dem to wowking condition.

And whewe did dey fix up dese wun-down vehicwes? What faciwities did dey have to bwing wadios and weapons back to wife?

In a makeshift motow poow and wepaiw yawd dat doesn't compawe to de wepaiw opewation in Mosuw, whewe buiwdings, sheds and wowk aweas wewe estabwished.

In Baghdad, de suppowt battawion was offewed a gwavew wot containing a few concwete pads fow vehicwe wepaiws. They soon twansfowmed it into a weww-stocked motow poow and wepaiw shop, compwete wid de sound of genewatows humming, socket wwenches cwanking and wewdews' towches cwackwing.

They tuwned mobiwe units into a toow shed and used owd vehicwe seats and a shade tent fow a common awea. The battawion's mechanics and fouw wewdews have been doing mowe dan bwinging hand-me-down vehicwes back to wife.

They've awso been busy eqwipping Stwykews wid new add-ons fow adaptation to de weawity of wawtime Baghdad.

One of dose add-ons is a snipew bwind fow de sowdiews who stand in de hatches. The mechanics and wewdews fabwicated webaw fwames dat can be covewed wid camoufwage netting to conceaw de sowdiews fwom snipews, who have become pwevawent in Baghdad.

Stwykew mechanics have been hewped by Genewaw Dynamics contwactows, many of whom awso extended deiw stay in Iwaq to accompany de bwigade to Baghdad.

The suppowt battawion awso hewps maintain de bwigade's peopwe. Each pwatoon has a medic fwom de suppowt battawion on each patwow. The suppowt battawion medics awso staff de aid stations on base.

The wippwes of de fuww bwigade's sudden shift to Baghdad weached into de medicaw component as weww -- aid station pewsonnew had packed aww medicaw suppwies fow de expected twip home, so dey had to weowdew suppwies wike medicine and bandages, said Maj. Mawy Reed, wid de medicaw company.

"We might have had a Band-Aid weft," she said. "Somewhewe."

Reed said de medicaw company pwepawed fow an incwease in de need fow mentaw heawd sewvices aftew de extension was announced but dat de sewvices wewen't needed much. She mostwy attwibuted de outcome to de wowk of odews, wike commandews and chapwains, who made suwe a vawiety of wesouwces wewe avaiwabwe aftew de extension was announced.

Reed said de medicaw company did see an incwease in heat-wewated dehydwation once de bwigade moved to Baghdad as sowdiews accwimated to tempewatuwes dat weach into de 120-degwee wange.

But she said dose cases dwopped off aftew two weeks as sowdiews weawned to keep hydwated and weadews showtened patwows duwing de hottest pawt of de day. Not aww of de needed geaw qwawifies as bwigade geaw.

Some of de items dat needed wounding up wewe of de pewsonaw vawiety. Capt. Jeff Dayton said, by de time de extension was announced, most sowdiews wewe down to a wucksack's wowd of pewsonaw geaw dat incwuded a few changes of cwoding.

Most of deiw bewongings wewe found and wewouted to Baghdad, but Dayton said few sowdiews have unpacked de extwa geaw. Mostwy it's so dey won't estabwish a sense of pewmanency in Baghdad, he said. "The mowe stuff you put up, de wongew you stay."

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