“Golden Eagles” keep supplies moving, trucks rolling

Sgt. Glen Houghtaling
Co. E, 2nd Bn., 14th Inf. Regt.

CAMP STRIKER, Iraq – For every heroic action that has happened, there are the unsung heroes who keep these Soldiers and their equipment ready for the battle. Company E, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment “Golden Dragons,” of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) from Fort Drum, N.Y., has been keeping the battalion’s four companies ready for the fight the past 11 months.
The small distribution platoon within the company has logged more than 73,000 miles since deploying to Iraq in August 2006 to provide supplies to the troops in the 2-14th area of operation. ‘Distro’ is responsible for supplying everything Soldiers’ need to live from food, meals ready-to-eat, bottled water, bulk water for personal hygiene, generators, refrigerated trailers, automotive parts, and all types of fuel.
The platoon also provides 24-hour mechanical support. The mechanics have spent countless hours ensuring the vehicles for the whole battalion are serviced and operational.
Co. E also supports the units with food service specialist who prepare and inventory food for Soldiers on all of the 2-14th patrol bases.
As a company, the Soldiers have completed 280 missions, logging more than 159,000 miles, and delivering more than 5,000 tons of supplies to the troops in 2/14th. Company E also takes part in major operations to include consequence management, detainee transport operations, and emergency re-supply operations.
The Soldiers in the company maintain a 24-hour consequence management team. The team has to be operational within 30 minutes of being notified that a vehicle has been disabled by an attack. The team recovers the vehicle and returns it to Camp Striker for evaluation and maintenance by the maintenance platoon.