Spc. Jessica Opatz, right, and other soldiers from the 50th Main Support Battalion listen to 1st Lt. Jeff Nilsen inside the Combat Logistics Patrol Academy as he details an upcoming convoy. (Charlie Coon / S&S)
Spc. Jessica Opatz, right, and other soldiers from the 50th Main Support Battalion listen to 1st Lt. Jeff Nilsen inside the Combat Logistics Patrol Academy as he details an upcoming convoy. (Charlie Coon / S&S)
An Iraqi security checkpoint along Main Supply Route Clemson, between Tikrit and Kirkuk, slows down the convoy and provides an attractive opportunity for insurgents. (Charlie Coon / S&S)
TIKRIT, Iraq — In its first three weeks in Iraq, the 50th Main Support Battalion ran 165 convoys to U.S. bases throughout north-central Iraq.
Its soldiers, part of the 42nd Infantry Division-led Task Force Liberty, delivered 1,100 vehicles and their payloads of water, fuel, ammunition and other necessities. Then they turned around and brought more vehicles and supplies back home to Forward Operating Base Speicher.
“It was a little steep to begin with,” said Lt. Col. Roch Switlik, the battalion commander, because the task force had just taken the reins from the 1st Infantry Division. “We’ll now average 15 to 20 CLPs a week, 60 to 100 vehicles a day.”
CLPs, pronounced “clips,” stands for Combat Logistics Patrols, the new name for convoys. It’s a name Switlik said better reflects the missions, when the battalion’s well-armed Humvees and Hemett repair-recovery vehicles escorts tractor-trailers loaded with supplies.
“Combat teams are out there looking for insurgents,” Switlik said. “The insurgents are out there looking for us. Each level of play on the battlefield has its own level of risk.”
The 50th MSB took over for the 1st ID’s 701st Main Support Battalion.
“They didn’t lose anybody,” Switlik said of the 701st. “Obviously, some of it was luck. The majority of their success was because their soldiers were well trained and disciplined.”
Each convoy starts with a trip to the “CLP Academy,” a warehouse converted by the 701st MSB into a briefing room. The soldiers assemble on wooden bleachers and are given a rundown of where they’re going, how many vehicles are going, and the latest intelligence reports concerning the route.
There is a movie screen where Powerpoint presentations are shown, and on the cement floor is a 20-by-50 foot topographical map showing bases, routes, mountain passes and little red markers indicating the sites of previous attacks by insurgents — roadside explosives, small-arms fire and car bombs.
“The soldiers need to know how serious it is every time they go out the gate,” said Staff Sgt. Jason Shelledy, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the 50th MSB’s Company C.
“They’re going to do it every day. It’s a routine. If they don’t take it seriously somebody is going to get hurt. Every time they have to go out like it’s the first time.”
Radio checks are made beforehand, and the soldiers test-fire their weapons into a huge bank of dirt before leaving the gate.
The battalion’s tactical operations center runs around the clock. Its 10 soldiers chart the whereabouts of the convoys and relays information and orders. They brief the convoy commanders prior to and during missions.
“If something happens during a CLP, I want to know about it,” said Master Sgt. Warren Williams, the center’s noncommissioned officer-in-charge and a veteran of two tours in Vietnam.
“We’re the lifeline of the operation,” Williams said, “especially when we’ve got CLPs out there on the [road]. Communication and teamwork is important.”
The crew works 12-hour shifts, some from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and the rest from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. The routine can make for long days but they find ways to stay on the ball.
“One, we have an important job,” said Sgt. Robert Augustine. “And two, we have fun with each other, and that keeps us motivated.”
