Convoys Roll As 48th Gets Ready at NTC for Deployment

Story by Sgt Roy Henry
124th MPAD

FORT IRWIN , Calif.   – More than 4,000 Citizen-Soldiers from Georgia, Alabama, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri and the territory of Puerto Rico are here at America’s largest battleground learning the lessons of those who came before them as Georgia’s 48th Brigade Combat Team (BCT) gets ready for a year of duty in Iraq.

Mobilized for war in November 2004, the deployment of the 48th in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom is one of the largest since World War II for the Georgia National Guard. The last time the brigade was here was in 1996.

Since changing its designation from an enhanced infantry brigade last year under the active Army’s ongoing force transformation strategy, the 48th, and its commander, Brig. Gen. Stewart Rodeheaver, have worked long, hard hours getting ready for doing their part in the war on terror and helping the Iraqi people rebuild their country.

While some of its Soldiers received training early at places such as Fort Benning , Fort Jackson , Fort Gordon , and Fort Stewart , in December 2004. The brigade’s main body moved out of its armories in more than 32 separate cities January 6th to Fort Stewart to began the first part of their journey on the road to Baghdad .

For three months the brigade trained at the home of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division on every level, from the individual Soldier to the battalion. It was during this time that Soldiers of the Alabama, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri and Rhode Island arrived to train and fight as part of the 48th.

The Soldiers of the 295^th Infantry from Puerto Rico joined the brigade at Fort Stewart shortly before the 48th moved lock, stock and Humvee to the NTC between March 30 and April 1. They received an abridged, but just as intense, version of the brigade’s training before they, too, arrived “in the box.”

Training for the 48th at Fort Stewart for Operation Iraqi Freedom, at times, was often similar to the training it did (dealing with civilians and media on the battlefield, military operations on urban terrain, conducting wheeled and foot patrols, etc.) in 2001 for its Bosnia deployment. During that mission, more than 1,000 of its Soldiers spent a year in Bosnia-Herzegovina where they participated in the NATO peacekeeping mission there.

“That was a great mission,” said Sgt. 1st Class Larry Collins, assistant NCOIC for the plans and operations section of the 48th’s Headquarters Company. “While there are similarities, remember the conditions are different…that was peace, this is war.”

At the same time, new training like Fort Stewart’s “shoot house” where even non-combat troops learned how to better survive room-to-room searches and the use of shotguns for close-in support were added.

Also new for the brigade, while at Fort Stewart , was the issue of the Army’s newest, and innovative battle dress, the Army Combat Uniform (ACU), to its members. While there are individuals and smaller units that have been sporting the new uniform and its accessories, the 48th is the first brigade or larger unit to receive the ACU.

“I, for one, am really proud to be part of the first unit to field the new uniform,” said Staff Sgt. Britt Smith of the 48th’s public affairs staff. “It’s quite comfortable and, I believe, really meets the needs of today’s Soldier.”

No longer do the Soldiers of the 48th sport the Woodland Camouflage pattern that’s been around since the 1980’s or the traditional black combat boot. Now they ply their respective military professions in a uniform that redesigned from its camouflage pattern to its collar and its pockets to the hats and no-shine desert boots.

Before heading out on the long convoy April 9 to its respective forward operating bases (FOBs), the brigade and its elements spent seven days living, working and training in the Dust Bowl-- That fence lined, wind-blown and dust filled haven that all units occupy during their first days at Fort Irwin and the NTC.

As those first days progressed toward the morning that the brigade would finally hit the road and its journey out into the training area, all elements of the 48th were tasked with not only getting organized for the trip, but also dealing with scenarios such as protesters at the compound gates, insurgents trying to infiltrate the fence line and civilian reporters seeking answers to questions about a variety of issues and topics.

The day that the 48th loaded up and its elements moved to their FOBs was long, dusty and dirty. For daylight until late evening dust trails, headlights and taillights could be seen for miles along the brigade’s main supply route (MSR). All along the MSR, Soldiers in weapon-laden Humvees, armored personnel carriers and M1 Abrams tanks guarded the route against insurgents who might try to attack the convoy. And while it seemed a relief for everyone to finally arrive at their destinations, the day didn’t just end with the parking of tracked and wheeled vehicles and everyone heading off to bed.

Until well past midnight , Soldiers moved about their FOBs, setting up sleeping areas, getting their gear put away and getting ready for the next day’s work.

Now, with the hot Mojave sun beating down on them, the dust flying and the observer-controllers watching their every move, Georgia’s 48th BCT continues its train-up for that awaited year in Iraq.

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