NAVELSF serving in Kuwait and Iraq

Navy Supply Corps Newsletter, Nov-Dec, 2004

"You can't be out here without a sense of patriotism," said Lindner, 40, of Donnelsville, Ohio. He works for a welding materials manufacturer, but likes his military job better.

Marshalling Yard

Much of what the Sailors are in charge of are vehicles, or "rolling stock," as they enter and leave their dusty, rock-strewn yards hundreds of acres in size. Since mobilized, these Sailors have moved 244,874 vehicles and containers in and out of the yards.

"The Army and Navy are working together," said LCDR Bruce Weidner, Officer-in-Charge of the yards. Weidner indicated that simple changes like tying a colored ribbon to each vehicle to indicate what ship it is destined for makes the job much easier. "We provide a valet parking service," he said. "We can find any piece of equipment in these vast yards in 15 minutes," he says proudly.

At one point during the surge in April, over 4,000 vehicles were in the yards awaiting the return trip home. Simultaneously, Sailors were busy managing the flow of vehicles and containers off the ships to the marshalling yards where the rightful owner could claim them for movement to Iraq for their one-year boots-on-ground deployment. Several combat units, both coming and going, have praised the efficiency and service of the Sailors operating these marshalling yards.

Fuel Farm Operations

Navy personnel also serve a critical logistics role north of the border in Iraq where they operate fuel farms. NAVELSF Forward Alpha Fuels, 528USNPOL as the Army calls them, has a mission to build, retrofit and maintain bulk fuel storage facilities at Logistics Support Area Anaconda (LSAA), Balad, Iraq.

This massive logistics hub 65 miles north of Baghdad is where 81 fuel personnel of NAVELSF Forward Alpha were from March through September 2004. These Sailors endured the intense heat of the Iraqi summer, the fine dust of the talcum-like dirt that is often stirred up in dust storms, and the constant fear of rocket and air burst mortar attacks.

For perspective, Anaconda is the most attacked base in Iraq. At Anaconda, the insurgents appear to have a strategy with their attacks. In May, a rocket or mortar hit one of the bladders and punched a hole into one of the fuel bags, but it didn't blow up--it was a dud. None of the Sailors were injured.

While attacks are not a surprise anymore, the Navy taking over the Army's job at the fuel farm was for Army Specialist Jaimie Cruz of Orlando, Fla. "It was a shock," Cruz said. "But I am happy the Navy came in. I think they are doing a good job."

The safe and successful operation of the fuel farm with over 80 50,000-gallon rubber bladders, that look like oversized water beds, provide critical fuel for the movement of personnel and supplies to other sites throughout the country.

"We're just trying to improve on what the Army has done here so that when we turn it over to the next unit, it will be better," said Petty Officer 1st Class Mike Miller, a Reservist from Los Angeles, Calif., as his fellow citizen Seabee, Petty Officer 1st Class Jody White, operated the bulldozer.