834th ASB supports two task forces           

            A truck driven by an Iraqi Local National arrived in Tallil, Iraq hauling a vehicle transmission.  The driver, lacking the clearance needed to enter the base, was stranded in the dirty yard just inside the wire.
           
The driver needed an escort, and neither SPC Jason Aguirre, A Co., 834th Aviation Support Battalion (ASB) Supply Specialist, nor the four other Soldiers he worked with, were licensed Local National Escorts.  To further complicate the situation, there was no luck in tracking down a truck and crew to drive the transmission back to the Supply Support Activity (SSA) where SPC Aguirre works.

“It's just another problem that has come up since we started building this SSA,” SPC Aguirre said.
             
It was another growing pain so to speak, and, like the others, a solution was quickly improvised.  SPC Aguirre donned his protective gear, including his helmet and vest, and drove his forklift into the dirty yard to pick up the transmission and deliver it back to the SSA.

“It was a bumpy ride back,” SPC Aguirre said. “But we got what we needed.”

SPC Aguirre is one of five Soldiers who have been working on the Tallil, Iraq based SSA for Task Force 449, a North Carolina National Guard unit.  What is interesting to know is that these Soldiers are part of Task Force 34.

Two of the Task Force 34 Soldiers, SSG Karen Johnson, the Noncommissioned Officer in Charge of the SSA, from Alexandria, MN, and SGT Megan Fasching, Supply Sergeant, are from A Co., 834th ASB, a Minnesota National Guard unit stationed at Joint Base Balad (JBB), Iraq. 

The other three, including CW2 Allen Kakak, Supply Chief, SPC Aguirre, of Ankeny, IA, and SPC Karl Mann, Supply Specialist of Cearing, IA, originated from B Co., 248th Aviation Maintenance Company, an Iowa National Guard unit attached to the 834th ASB for their deployment to Iraq with TF 34.

The long journey to Tallil first began at Baghdad International Airport (BIAP), Iraq.

“We were supporting an active duty component at BIAP,” SSG Johnson said. “When they were redeployed home, the decision was made not to sustain the SSA there, but transfer it to the TF 449 here in Tallil.”

The Soldiers had arrived in Tallil on Dec. 22, with the mission to build the SSA and transfer the inventory from BIAP to its new home in Tallil.

When the rest of A Co., 834th ASB arrived at JBB, their move had been rather easy, thanks to everything already being in place, including the warehouse and inventory.  SSG Johnson and her crew had no such luck during their arrival to Tallil.
           
“When we first got here, there was nothing,” said SPC Mann, “We had two buildings, and that was it.”

Working as a team, the Soldiers solved a multitude of problems in order to successfully get the SSA up and running.

“We had to figure out how to get the inventory down here [from BIAP],” SPC Aguirre said. “And work with the Joint Distribution Center to find a place to store it until we were ready for it.”

Trying to get their communications working, figuring out how and where to get their vehicles serviced, and where to find drivers and flatbed trucks, were just some of the situations they needed to solve.  They also needed a bulk yard.

“We have twenty civilian contractors,” SSG Johnson said, “but their contract does not allow them to do certain things, including the work required to build the bulk yard.” 

It took the Soldiers a week to build the bulk yard according to the stringent requirements in theater protocol.  The SSA worked closely with Theater Aviation Maintenance Program (TAMP), which helped the process go more smoothly.

“TAMP is involved in the whole of Army aviation support and maintenance,” said MAJ Jeffrey Lapierre, TAMP SSA Officer in Charge. “To set up the facility to receiving the inventory, we are involved the minute the helicopters arrive at Camp Arif Jan, [Kuwait], until they leave again.”

MAJ Lapierre talked about the significance of the work being done on the SSA at Tallil, which goes beyond the needs of TF 449.

“Tallil has the only aviation maintenance facility and SSA in Southern Iraq.  The next available are Balad and Arif Jan,” MAJ Lapierre said.  “As we get more units on our customer list, Tallil will be responsible for supporting aviation maintenance in the southern area of operations of Iraq.”

The work has paid off, as the SSA was in full operation on Jan. 7. 

LTC Eric Waage, 834th ASB Commander, wrote about the work done by SSG Karen Johnson and her crew’s influence on the battalion. “An ASB is really typically responsible for one SSA.  We have two!  We support both TF 34 and TF 449.”

By SPC Justin Adelmann, A Co. 834th ASB Unit Public Affairs Representative