The Army Times has a subscriber only story on the Army truck drivers in Iraq. The short form, 10 of the 50(+) combat deaths since major combat ended have been truckers; there are not enough Military Police to guard truck convoys; traffic hazards, bandits and guerrilla attacks have reduced Army convoys to a single predictable main supply route; and a variety of measures including a return to Vietnam style "gun trucks" are being used to counter the security problem.
Here is a typical truck convoy run from the article:
An early decision was to quit running convoys at night. The Army also consolidated routes to avoid populated areas. That means one route — Major Supply Route Tampa — links Baghdad and points north with Kuwait. A paved alternative runs parallel to the west, but MSR Jackson goes through several towns, and the Army stopped using it because of the added risk. MSR Tampa stays in the desert until Baghdad. Those measures created their own problems, soldiers said. Now would-be attackers can focus their efforts while the sun is up and on just a few roads. It is a daylong drive between Cedar II and supply bases in the north, so bandits and terrorists know when the convoys will pass. South of Cedar II, the route is mostly a 150-mile-long, six-lane expressway where a truck’s speed is limited only by its horsepower and load. Attacks here are rarer because better roads enable the convoys to travel at higher speeds. When northbound trucks reach Cedar II, soldiers and their cargo trailers spend the night. At dawn, a new crew of Cedar II-based drivers take the loads farther north. About 200 Army and civilian trucks hit the road north within 90 minutes of one another in processions of 25 to 35 trucks. It takes up to nine hours to reach Baghdad and another three to four to reach the end of the line at Anaconda, a support base near Balad. About seven miles north of here, MSR Tampa takes a turn for the worse, becoming, at best, a rutted, two-lane gravel road for the next 75 miles. Dust is thicker than fog and the maximum speed is 25 mph. It’s on this stretch that some Iraqis, who the drivers think of more as pirates than terrorists, dig trenches across the road in hopes that a hard bump will jolt loose something from the truck. Others will hide metal stakes to flatten truck tires or use knives to cut loose restraining straps if the truck slows down. "If a can of oil falls off the truck, their day is made," Presley said. As MSR Tampa nears Baghdad, the road gets better, but traffic congestion increases and the slow, exposed convoys become easy prey. "As soon as we get near Baghdad, it becomes more dangerous," said Staff Sgt. Robert Guinther of the 459th. The Army tries to vary routes around Baghdad and avoid traffic-clogged areas near Baghdad International Airport. For most 459th drivers, the route ends at supply base Anaconda. They’ll spend the night there, then run the gantlet in reverse for the return trip to Cedar II.While many in the Defense Department and a few columnists outside it will go into chapter and verse on how Iraq is not Vietnam. It is amazing how history is repeating itself with regard to our Iraqi truck convoys.
I believe that it will be some time before the combat engineers can get good MSRs going in Iraq - there'll need to be at least 3 between the Gulf and Baghdad, I think, to ensure flexibility. In the meantime, ad hoc measures are useful, and using some of the in-country armored resources (particularly if LAV-25s are available) would be a great help in ensuring that the supplies get through without heavy losses. The key to reducing attacks is to make them ineffective and costly. It sounds to me like we're working on it.
This would be a great place to run the new Stryker light armored vehicle through some paces. We need to test those thing under all sorts of tough, real-world conditions. Just a thought.
The Strykers are coming in October. Not the 105mm infantry support guns, but some of the other versions.
MG
I read your story on the gun trucks Its really sad that I wrote my letter back in 2003 sounding this alarm that we need the gun trucks to protect the troops and convoy's and i was told i was nuts and laugh at. I want to also ad that that this not the first time in History that there was a company just to protect convoy's .
Here are some links to Vietnam Gun Truck info
And here
Here my letter i sent to to the DOD
////////2003
To whom it may concern:
This letter is in regard to the mounting casualty rate among convoy troops in Iraq. There will be more deaths if this issue is not taken seriously. I believe an unnecessary and fatal delay by the military to supply life saving Up Armored kits to the mechanized troops is due to red tape and finances.
Durning the Vietnam War this was a major issue and the loss of trucks and man power was devistating to the troops. With no where to turn the men of the transportion corps took it upon themselves to devise increased protection and learned through trial by fire. In September 1967 a convoy of 37 trucks protected only by two soft-shell gun-jeeps was rolling along Highway 19 when it was savagely attacked! When it was over, 7 GIs were killed, three wounded, and only three trucks survived. In response the transportation corps began using well armed quick reaction units and gun trucks; gun trucks were heavily armed with machine guns, and were protected with double-walled steel plates for RPG protection on all sides. These trucks were not fool proof, but gave troops a better survial rate then they had before.
During the Gulf War, there was one model of Hummvee that saved many lives named the Up Armored Hummvee. This model had 360 degrees of steel around the vehical. There were also kits call Up Armored kits for 5 ton and 2 1/2 ton trucks made buy ARMOR INTEGRATION Labs--they were the best kits available.
During the Somalia Operation, troops encountered land mines and RPGs thus leading the army to scramble yet again to reinvent the wheel by building new and improved hardening kits. Test after test has resulted in add-on crew protection for a variety of tactical vechicles.
Currently in 2003, where are these kits? As you know, troops in convoys are soft-shelled targets. These convoys should have Up Armored Hummvees at all times, not the soft-shelled ones you see at your local guard unit. Up Armored Hummvees and kits are not getting there fast enough for our troops' protection.
I have spoken with two civilian and one military official. Under the condition of anonymity they informed me that these kits and the technology are available, but due to red tape and lack of money, these kits are not getting to Iraq. Every convoy unit must have Up Armored kits or there will be more unnecessary deaths among troops. Our troops must have the best and not be sacrificed because of bureaucracy and lack of funds.
I'm asking people to look into this. Do your history and make your voice heard.
TOMMY MASCH
WAPPINGER FALLS NY 12590