Tankers love to fight from tanks. Most tankers
joined the Armor Corps because they envisioned themselves
moving across jagged terrain, spewing fire from the gun tube,
and destroying enemy targets many kilometers away. However,
that dream was deferred for the deploying Soldiers from Bravo
Company, 1st Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, stationed at
Fort Riley, Kansas. During the early spring of 2006, the tankers
were ordered to transform into a security forces company to
train and deploy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. They
were task-organized with the 541st Combat Sustainment Support
Battalion (CSSB) of the 15th Sustainment Brigade, 13th Sustainment
Command (Expeditionary).
Transformation
Bravo Company, called the “Bounty Hunters,” cleaned
and serviced their M1A1 Abrams Integrated Management tanks
for turn-in and reorganized from a 63-man tank company into
a 170-man security forces company. The company’s MTOE
(modification table of organization and equipment), with 3
platoons of 16 Soldiers, was reorganized into an EMTOE (exception
to modification table of organization and equipment) with
3 platoons of 45 Soldiers each, a headquarters section, and
a maintenance section. The additional Soldiers allowed the
integration of various combat-multiplying military occupational
specialties (MOSs), such as mechanics, medics, cooks, infantrymen,
fuel handlers, transporters, administrative clerks, and artillerymen.
A standard 16-man tank platoon typically consists of 4 tanks,
each crewed by a tank commander, a gunner, a loader, and a
driver. Transforming the company to have 9 squads, each with
15 Soldiers, allowed Bravo Company to keep a low leader-to-led
ratio, which is a hallmark of tank platoons. Each squad was
led by a lieutenant or sergeant first class with training
and experience as a former tank platoon leader or tank platoon
sergeant. These leaders took on the responsibility of being
convoy commanders and were supported by seasoned staff sergeants
serving as the assistant convoy commanders. Each squad organized
into five three-man gun truck crews, each consisting of a
vehicle commander, a gunner, and a driver.
After the reorganization ceremony in May 2006, the company
began a rigorous 90-day predeployment training cycle. Initial
training focused on individual Soldier marksmanship and basic
Soldier skills. Bravo Company completed crew-served weapons
qualification on the M240B machinegun, the M249 squad automatic
weapon, the M2 .50-caliber machinegun, and the MK19 40-millimeter
grenade launcher. After this, each platoon practiced motorized
crew gunnery, with daytime and nighttime engagements, followed
by two squad live-fire exercises with all five motorized crews
engaging targets simultaneously. The culminating events were
two motorized gun truck situational training exercises that
required convoy commanders to integrate logistics vehicles
into the fight. The commanders were required to show proficiency
in standard battle drills when reacting to enemy- and event-driven
scenarios. Bravo Company then deployed to Kuwait and conducted
another round of live-fire and situational training exercises
before moving into Iraq.
Integration
Once they were in Iraq and attached to the 541st CSSB, Bravo
Company integrated themselves into the logistics realm. Although
the CSSB was also from Fort Riley, Bravo Company had never
established a habitual relationship with them. The tankers
were challenged with learning the different types of logistics
sections and unit capabilities. The first question that many
tankers asked was, “Who is this SPO [support operations
officer] guy everyone is talking about?” Having the
support operations section as the hub of logistics information
and planning is foreign to combat arms Soldiers. The S–3,
or operations officer, is typically responsible for all plans,
operations, and training, but the SPO executes many of these
functions in the logistics world.
Bravo Company Soldiers quickly familiarized themselves with
logistics operations. The only prior experience Bravo Company
had with palletized load systems, 5,000-gallon fuel tankers,
and heavy equipment transport trucks was when someone else
coordinated for these supporting assets from outside of the
battalion. But the tankers soon found themselves working with
them on a daily basis. Bravo Company learned the load capabilities,
characteristics, and, most importantly, the constraints of
these logistics vehicles. Coordinating with truck drivers
from Kellogg, Brown and Root, the Professional Warehouse Company,
and the Iraqi Trucking Company became second nature. Bravo
Company learned to familiarize these contracted truck drivers
with battle drills and convoy techniques to ensure the success
of their convoys. Contractors need a certain amount of information
to successfully execute each mission, so Bravo Company also
learned to balance the amount of information they gave the
contractors with maintaining operational security.
Conducting convoy briefings, battle drill rehearsals, and
precombat checks and inspections has always been characteristic
of tank company operations, but Bravo Company missed the familiar
tasks of establishing a support-by-fire position and executing
fire-and-maneuver or cordon-and-search operations. Nonetheless,
basic tank platoon maneuvering principles apply when conducting
a combat logistics patrol. In the event of enemy contact,
every tanker knows to deploy, report, choose a course of action,
and violently execute that course of action until the threat
is eliminated. But combat logistics patrol Soldiers have the
additional challenge of ensuring the constant security of
the escorted vehicles while destroying the enemy or communicating
with another element to complete the engagement.
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3d Platoon
Soldiers with their up-armored high-mobility multipurpose
wheeled vehicles and armored security vehicles. |
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Challenges
Bravo Company Soldiers learned different operating styles and schools of thought
while attached to the 541st CSSB. The first obstacle was repressing the ingrained
search-and-attack mentality and the desire to find, fix, and destroy the enemy.
As a combat logistics patrol commander, a Bounty Hunter leader understood that
his tactical task was to secure the logistics assets during movement with the
purpose of sustaining combat operations. At times, it was tough for Bravo Company
Soldiers to know that they were providing support to Soldiers who shared their
experience, skills, and MOSs, and they were not out there shooting with them.
Operationally, Bravo Company was often challenged with having to coordinate with
other units while transiting their areas of operations. Instead of generating
intelligence from the operations officer and sources within an assigned area
of operations, Bravo Company used compiled intelligence from units throughout
the multiple areas of operations that they patrolled.
Maintaining
While the goal of any commander deployed in combat is to execute his assigned
mission successfully and redeploy with every Soldier he deployed with, he also
has the duty to develop his subordinates. The most significant challenge of the
Bounty Hunter leaders was ensuring that the Soldiers sustained proficiency in
their MOSs even though they were executing a nonstandard mission for armor Soldiers.
The Bounty Hunter Soldiers, noncommissioned officers (NCOs), and officers would
return to Fort Riley and conduct a permanent change-of-station move to another
armor unit, where they would be expected to be proficient in the armor skills
associated with their ranks. This expectation deserved the attention of all leaders
in the company and could only be met through training.
Weapons sustainment training is the combat standard, but a dedicated leader professional
development program is just as important to ensuring the future success of the
Armor Corps. Soldiers must know how to be tank drivers, loaders, and gunners.
Junior NCOs must know how to be tank gunners and tank commanders. Mid-grade and
senior NCOs must know how to be tank commanders and tank platoon sergeants. Lieutenants
must know how to be tank platoon leaders and tank company executive officers.
This challenge rested squarely on the shoulders of the Bravo Company’s
leaders, as their Soldiers may be called on to deploy again, either as part of
tank companies or as armor Soldiers assigned to other units.
The Bounty Hunter Soldiers successfully trained, deployed, and integrated themselves
into the logistics world and dutifully executed every assigned mission. They
learned the capabilities and limitations associated with securing commodity vehicles
in a country where the enemy does not care what unit you are assigned to or what
your MOS is. Back at Fort Riley and reunited with their tanks, Bravo Company
soldiers have a greater appreciation for logistics operations. If anyone ever
wants to know who the SPO is, a Bounty Hunter Soldier can reply, “I know
that guy, and I know what he can do for me.” Even so, it is obvious that
you can take the Soldier out of his tank, but you can never take the tank out
of the armor Soldier.
ALOG
Captain Ethan J. Diven serves as the Commander of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion,
34th Armor Regiment, stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas. He is a graduate of the
New Mexico Military Institute and earned a bachelor’s degree from Texas
Tech University. He is a graduate of the Armor Officer Basic Course, the Army
Airborne School, the Army Ranger School, and the Infantry Captains Career Course.