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204th clerks keep vehicles in the fight
Thursday, 08 January 2009
Sgt. Lucas Waite, shop office noncommissioned officer-in-charge, organizes repair parts for distribution. The company’s five-member team picks up parts from warehouses and moves them to the mechanics. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Carlos M. Burger II)
FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq –Some of the Soldiers deployed to Iraq support the mission in ways other than patrolling the streets or training the Iraqi Security Forces.
The Soldiers of Company B, 204th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division spend their days supporting the Soldier who do; they serve as unsung heroes, receiving and distributing parts to keep the vehicles moving.
The prescribed load list, or PLL clerks, order, receive, process and distribute repair parts and expendable items for the battalion, said Sgt. Lucas Waite, shop office noncommissioned officer-in-charge, and native of Iowa City, Iowa.
“We do a lot for the brigade. We are the ones who get the parts moved around to the FOB,” said Spc. Leonardo Ochoa, a former Marine who later became a supply specialist from Colorado Springs, Colo.
The five-member team picks up parts from warehouses and moves them to the mechanics. They also support the brigade by completing several hundred work order requests a month, added Waite, who is on his first deployment.
Their job doesn’t get a lot of fanfare, but Waite and his team understand their contribution to the war effort.
“I think what we’re doing is important to the fight, because we’re a key part in keeping the equipment up to par. It helps the Soldiers so they can do their mission and not have to worry about their equipment breaking down on them,” Waite said.
The shop’s success has a lot to do with the teamwork within the section; they have come together to accomplish the mission very quickly.
“We have a good relationship, we’re all very professional, and we don’t play around much,” said Ochoa, who is on his second tour in Iraq.
“I thought (doing the job) was going to be a lot tougher and dangerous than it is, but everyone I work with has made it easier for me. I enjoy it; the team we work with makes things so easy,” said Pfc. Venus Ulrich, a supply clerk from Mobile, Ala.
“We’re a tight knit group. We work hard to get the job done,” added Waite.
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