Published: June 26, 2006
Pit Crew Helps Rakkasans To Cross The Finish Line
Staff Sgt. Nikki Prodromos, 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
SAMARRA, Iraq - If an Army battalion was a racing team, then a Forward Support Company's wrecker-recovery team would be the 'pit-crew'.
Spc. Rogelio Reynosa, a Soldier on the Wrecker-Recovery team for Forward Support Company, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, in Samarra, Iraq, signals Sgt. Martin Hackler (not pictured) to halt their eight-wheel-drive recovery vehicle.
U.S. Army Photo: Staff Sgt. Nikki Prodromos, 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment |
The four-man pit crew from the Forward Support Company, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division have more than one hundred 'pit-stops' or missions under their belt after 10 months in country.
Staff Sgt. Luciano Lopez and Spc. Rogelio Reyna-Arcos, both hailing from El Paso, Texas, make up one half of the crew while Sgt. Martin Hackler of Jellico, Tenn. and Spc. Robert Maudlin of Brownsville, Calif. make up the other half.
The crews roll out the gate in their eight-wheel drive Hemett Wreckers and recover anything with wheels, from military vehicles to the civilian contractor's tractor trailers.
Maudlin reflects back to a mission when the team was called upon to recover a KBR tractor trailer that ran off an overpass.
"He was carrying food supplies, so once we made sure he was alright, we made three or four trips back to base with cheese, steak, and all kinds of good stuff we didn't want to go to waste," said Maudlin.
The KBR truck would have normally provided the cold storage once it had arrived on the base, but with it out of commission, the supplies had to be eaten right away.
"We had a five-gallon tub of ice cream, between us in the wrecker, we were both eating out of," Hackler chimed in. "We [Soldiers at the base] barbecued for like three days."
Spc. Robert Maudlin (foreground) and Sgt. Martin Hackler, Soldiers on the Wrecker-Recovery team for Forward Support Company, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, in Samarra, Iraq, prepare a Humvee for towing.
U.S. Army Photo: Staff Sgt. Nikki Prodromos, 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment |
Not all their 'rocky-roads' come in a five-gallon bucket. These crews are responsible for recovering vehicles damaged by road-side bombs or are broken down on the supply routes. They also utilize the crane on their vehicle to assist Soldiers with heavy lifting on the base. One of the crew's most memorable experiences was when they were called out to put their crane into action and retrieve a water pump on the base that sank in the mud and water during the rainy season.
"It was a real mess," said Hackler, "but whatever they [Soldiers] need done we do. Regardless of what it is - they call us."
"That's where it pays to have four men," added Lopez. "Every mission is different, and sometimes it takes all four of us putting our heads together to accomplish that mission.
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:
Sgt. Martin Hackler, a Soldier on the Wrecker-Recovery team for Forward Support Company, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, in Samarra, Iraq, makes sure the Humvee is secure before beginning to tow it.
U.S. Army Photo: Staff Sgt. Nikki Prodromos, 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment |
Spc. Rogelio Reynosa, a Soldier on the Wrecker-Recovery team for Forward Support Company, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, in Samarra, Iraq, hitches a Humvee to the back of their wrecker.
U.S. Army Photo: Staff Sgt. Nikki Prodromos, 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
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