FORT HOOD, Texas- Sgt. Samantha French, a native of Potsdom, N.Y., assigned to the 27th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, annotates the weight and container number of equipment the brigade is shipping to Iraq d...

FORT HOOD, Texas- Sgt. Vernice Marcum, a native of Sumter, S.C., assigned to the 27th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, marks a shipping container prior to a safety inspection conducted by civilians from the De...

FORT HOOD, Texas- Spc. Vanessa Cross, a native of Pittsfield, Maine, assigned to the 27th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, marks a shipping container prior to a safety inspection conducted by civilians from th...

FORT HOOD, Texas- Soldiers of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, made final preparations of their equipment, Aug. 2-6, for the units upcoming deployment to Iraq.

Troopers redirected traffic and safely navigated the containers down to the to the brigade's line haul site. The Soldiers then marked the containers, and once all the gear was accounted for, they turned over the equipment for safety inspection.

"Its mission essential while civilians are looking at the paperwork that our Soldiers ensure the right equipment is safely in the right place," said 1st Lt. Michael Sparkes, from Houston, Texas, and the officer in charge of the brigade's line haul operations.

Once the shipping container safety inspections were completed, troopers at the line haul site inserted blocking and bracing materials inside the shipping containers, which assists in stabilizing the container during transportation.

"Safety is the most important aspect of this mission," said Sgt. 1st Class James Webster, the non-commissioned officer in charge of the line haul operations. "There is a lot of moving pieces that go into conducting this operation, but we want to make sure everything is done in the safest manner possible."

Webster said he wanted to pass on his knowledge of managing line haul and railhead operation movements to his Soldiers, because one day they could possibly be in his position.

"The Soldiers out here are gaining experience that they can use one day down the road," said Webster, from Birmingham, Ala.

Sgt. Samantha French, an ammunitions specialist that assisted in managing the accountability of the incoming tactical vehicles and containers at the line haul site, is preparing to "fill his shoes" as a senior non-commissioned officer.

"I think all the hard work we have done here is paying off," said French, a native of Potsdom, N.Y. "After we finish helping the civilians at this line haul site our next stop is block leave."

In addition to redirecting traffic around the line haul site, safely ground guiding the tactical vehicles during the operation and assisting the civilians with the inspection process, Soldiers will continue to track the shipping containers until they reach their overseas destination.

The 4th BCT, 1st Cav. Div., is scheduled to deploy to Iraq in support of Operation New Dawn later this summer.