Nasty weather slows Charlie Company's gear loading
By RON MARTZ
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer
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Working in high winds under brownout conditions that at times made it impossible to see more than a few feet, the soldiers labored through customs inspections required before sending tons of gear back to Fort Stewart.
"This wind is tough. It's like getting beat up all day and not being able to do anything about it," said Charlie Co. 1st Sgt. Jose Mercado, 40, of Quebradillas, Puerto Rico.
There was no new word on when the soldiers will fly home. Military officials said they still believe Task Force 1-64, of which Charlie Co. is a part, will depart sometime between Monday and Thursday .
Early Wednesday the last of the company's 14 M-1A1 Abrams tanks that carried the company across Iraq and into Baghdad and Fallujah were loaded onto heavy equipment transporters and sent to another base in Kuwait for cleanup, repair and storage. In preparation for a Customs inspection, soldiers then unpacked several cargo containers holding tons of gear used early during training, but not used during the actual war.
Capt. Jason Conroy, commander of Charlie Co., looked at the piles of equipment scattered across the desert floor and laughed when asked why a company that had only 79 soldiers during the war needed so much stuff.
"There's not an item out there that hasn't been used," said Conroy, 31, of Apalachin, N.Y. "It all fits together. You have to remember we went through all four seasons out here."
The soldiers literally pulled everything -- from rat poison to shoelaces -- out of the containers for the inspectors to see. There were tents, kerosene heaters, boxes of tools , vehicle tow bars, computer monitors and printers, spools of wire, cables, fans, water cans and racks for them to be mounted on tanks, rifle and pistol magazines, fuel bladders and binoculars.
Once the gear was unloaded, the soldiers waited for the arrival of inspectors from 1394th Deployment Support Brigade, an Army Reserve unit out of the Marine Corps base at Camp Pendleton, Calif. By the time they arrived mid-afternoon, the blowing sand had sifted into cartons and covered some of the smaller items.
"It's not a good day to do this, but better to do it today than wait another day because the weather might be just as bad tomorrow," said Mercado.
Capt. Arnel Albano, who headed the 10-soldier customs inspection team, said his unit works to prevent unauthorized hazardous materials from getting into the containers that will be loaded onto ships for return to Fort Stewart.
"We also want to make sure the paperwork that is attached to the (containers) is correct so these guys don't get frustrated at the port," said Albano, 36, of San Diego.
All the gear will be re-inspected by Customs once it returns to the United States.
Later Wednesday, military police inspectors went through each soldier's duffel bag to make sure no unauthorized items -- such as weapons, ammunition or war trophies -- are sent home.
Spec. Tony, Lyman, 26, a tank driver from Eugene, Ore., shrugged when asked about the tough working conditions.
"I don't mind doing this as long as I know we're going home."
