By 2nd Lt. Kent Williams Jr.
4th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division
Medics with Company C, 4th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, participate in an ambulance exchange point where they move a patient from one MedEvac vehicle to another June 29, 2017, during Decisive Action Rotation 17-07.5 at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, Calif. (Photo by 2nd Lt. Kent Williams Jr.)
FORT IRWIN, Calif. — The sun glared down with 115 degree rage as the grains of sand swirled around the multi-ton hulls of up-armored Humvees, fuel trucks and Medium Tactical Vehicles July 2, 2017. Jagged white lines of crystalized salt from sweat had formed on almost every Soldier’s uniform, breaking a delicate camouflage pattern of tans, greens and browns. Such is the struggle of operating in the Mojave Desert while at the National Training Center (NTC).
Yet the challenge extended beyond just the heat, the sand, and crust of salt on skin — there was a need to provide critical combat support to all the Soldiers operating in this environment at Fort Irwin, California.
That is where the 4th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, comes in. The 4th BSB is the U.S. Army’s premier brigade support battalion, the longest serving and most decorated. The 4th BSB was conceived in 1917 to support the 4th Inf. Div. and has participated in every major conflict in American history since.
The brigade provides medical services, supplies distribution and maintenance support to a brigade of 5,700 Soldiers. During the Decisive Action Rotation 17-07.5 at NTC, which started June 15 and concluded Monday, the 4th BSB provided support across “60 (kilometers) of battle space … greater than most of the total movement of almost every one of the 300 rotations that has come to NTC,” said Col. Curtis Taylor, commander, 1st SBCT, 4th Inf. Div.
The reason for such a significant distance is that 1st SBCT was experimenting with an excursionary mission set of reconnaissance and surveillance, to project the brigade over vast amounts of terrain enabling it to find and report on the enemy for an advancing army or corps.
Sgt. Demarrio Sims, Stryker systems maintainer, Company B, 4th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Division, loads a Stryker onto a light equipment trailer June 28, 2017, to tow it back to the brigade support area for repair at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, Calif. (Photo by 2nd Lt. Kent Williams Jr.)
The 4th BSB provided support across roughly 37 miles to meet a demand of 1,866 gallons of water an hour, “2,000-3,000 gallons of fuel a day, thousands of pounds of food, countless rounds of ammo and recovery missions for downed vehicles,” said Lt. Col. Eric McCoy, commander, 4th BSB. “The 4th BSB has set and will continue to set the pace of logistics support for the sustainment community.”
Long hours were the norm for the 4th BSB Soldiers.
“I was on the road for 14 hours a day, running multi-battalion (logistical packages) to ensure that all the maneuver battalions had the supplies they needed to continue to the fight,” said 1st Lt. Jon Kastrinakis, Company A, 4th BSB.
Company C Soldiers ran ambulance exchange point missions with their MedEvac vehicles, an ambulance variant of the Stryker fighting vehicle, 24/7 with missions launching at all hours of the day. Many of the missions took place between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m.
In between repairing various vehicles across the 4th BSB, Company B Soldiers conducted both security missions for the two former companies all the while recovering various vehicle platforms across the brigade. They also managed the quick reaction force to ensure battalion security while operating in the field.
There wasn’t a single company that didn’t maintain 24-hour operations to ensure 1st SBCT was able to move the battle forward and continue its attack.