Near Nasiriyah, Iraq —

What has become one of the most dangerous missions in this country isn’t being done by special-operations troops or pilots. Instead, it’s Army truck drivers, often from the Guard and Reserve, who run supplies to the troops around Baghdad — without the extra security they’re used to.

At least 10 soldiers were killed when their convoys came under attack July 1–28, Defense Department statistics show, about a third of all hostile-fire fatalities for the period.

Convoys are fat ambush targets because of their size and the fact that they operate on the open road. Convoy soldiers are quick to point out that they’re all about getting the job done and not about taking added risks. “All we want to do is drive. We don’t want to be heroes,” said Staff Sgt. David Presley of the Army Reserve’s 459th Transportation Company, 346 Transportation Battalion, based in Springfield, Mo.

On a recent 120-degree afternoon, a few drivers from the 459th were getting some time off. They sat underneath camouflage netting strung between tents in the middle of Cedar II, the Army’s massive desert truck stop for convoys traveling between Kuwait and Baghdad. On a typical day, some 25,000 soldiers are involved in the logistics of hauling an estimated 5,700 tons of food, ammo, parts and other supplies to the troops in Iraq.

The tents here are circled to help block some of the sand constantly kicked up by the wind as tractor-trailers roll into the nearby staging area. Just a few miles from here is Nasiriyah, where the 507th Maintenance Company made a fateful wrong turn March 23, leading to an ambush that left 11 soldiers dead and six others in enemy hands. U.S. forces rescued one, Pfc. Jessica Lynch, 10 days later and the other POWs later were released.

Before deploying from Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., earlier this year, the 459th drivers trained for long military convoys, but no one envisioned just how dangerous their mission would be. Army truck convoys are supposed to be escorted by military police, but it hasn’t always worked out that way here. The MPs have been in demand to provide protection for other missions, too, including civilian convoys of food and fuel for Iraqi citizens, said Col. Mike Larsen, logistics chief for southern Iraq. “A lot of times the [military convoys] are lucky if they see one” vehicle, he said.

The Army is scrambling to restore firepower — including Marine Corps helicopters — to the convoys, but meanwhile it has adopted operational measures to further minimize risk. 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.

To protect the trucks in the absence of the usual MP escorts, the military is increasing firepower assigned to the convoys. Marine Corps Cobra attack helicopters — in country to patrol pipeline routes — are being tasked to fly over convoy lanes, Larsen said. The Army is welding gun turrets on some trucks and trailers and some trailers are being converted into rolling fortresses with gun positions protected by sandbags, the drivers said.

Larsen also has asked for smaller 5-ton trucks to be assigned to the convoys so they can be converted into gun platforms. And, around Baghdad, some regular Army units are turning to escort duty. Army Avenger fighting vehicles, essentially a Humvee with a turreted Stinger missile battery and .50-caliber machine gun, from the 4th Air Defense Artillery Battalion of the 1st Armored Division are being pressed into service to accompany convoys. The Stinger tubes are empty, but the electronically controlled .50-caliber gun can fire 25-round bursts.

The convoy soldiers realize there are no quick fixes but aren’t likely to complain outside the ranks, one commander said. “The drivers won’t tell you this while I’m around,” said Capt. Jason Bisby. “But they are tired, hot and need a break.”

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