U.S. Army
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan. - The roads of Afghanistan present many
challenges, whether it’s driving through a rocky mountainous terrain, a crowded
intersection or looking for hidden improvised explosive devices by the
roadside.
For the Soldiers of the 781st Transportation
Company, an Alabama National Guard unit, the mission to sustain the warfighter
takes precedence over fear and hesitation. The 781st TC transports retrograde
cargo from Kandahar Airfield to various forward operating bases, or FOBs,
throughout Afghanistan.
On a recent mission to Forward Operating
Base Walton, the unit had to deliver Stryker parts and multi-class items, which
in the eyes of the Soldiers is a mission critical.
“I take so much pride in this job
because I’m helping to transport items that the Soldiers out in the field
need,” said Spc. Daniel Patterson, a truck driver with the 781st TC. “People
just look at us as truck drivers, but our missions are a necessity because
nothing moves unless we move.”
The Soldiers of the 781st TC feel that
even though many of the missions conducted outside the wire are predominately
infantry and explosive ordinance device related, truck drivers never receive
the attention that other military occupations get.
Army Staff Sgt. Joseph Anderson, a
palletized load system truck commander, 781st TC, said he’s served in the U.S.
Army for 39 years. Anderson has taken part in the Vietnam War, Operation Iraqi
Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom and has watched the battlefield
evolution of what the Army calls a truck driver.
“In the last 39 years I’ve seen it all,
but the difference is that we’re fighting an enemy who’s much more fierce and
aggressive”, Anderson said. “These insurgents don’t fight with fear, but we’re
always ready for the challenge and that has always made our Army stronger.”
With that strength, the 781st TC has
completed more than 30 missions in the three months they’ve been on Kandahar
Airfield, transporting everything from weapons to commodities, no matter how
dangerous the routes.
“Honestly my first mission I was scared
and my nerves were so far blown, but even though you don’t know what to expect
you have to do it,” Patterson said. “I trust the vehicle I’m in and the
equipment is phenomenal.”
At FOB Walton, the Soldiers worked fast
and efficiently to unload and upload cargo making their mission seem like
another day at the motor pool back home.
“You have to watch out for your loads
and make sure that you can handle it that’s the only real hard part,” Anderson
said. “Once you’ve done all the training all you have to make sure is that you
do whatever it takes to complete the mission.”
For the 781st TC it doesn’t matter if a
Soldier has done multiple tours or if they come from a military family, every
time they leave Kandahar Airfield complacency isn’t an option.
“My grandfather was a Marine and my
uncle was in the Navy, so being a part of the drawdown process is a great
duty,” Patterson said. “My job is to help sustain other FOB’s, so Soldiers
depend on me to get their mission done, which I always have to focus on being
ready.”
The routes the Soldiers of the 781st TC
travel will constantly change, but not the mission, which is to sustain those
in the battlefield.
No matter the road or how dangerous the
path, the 781st TC are the torches that light the way to freedom.
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