Knights at Turkish border improve convoy facility

By 3d Expeditionary Sustainment Command public affairsJune 16, 2009

Knights at Turkish border improve convoy facility
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers of Logistics Task Force - Alpha, 16th Special Troops Battalion, 16th Sustainment Brigade, manage a small convoy support center on the Turkish border in northern Iraq called Harbur Gate. Coalition forces maintains the facility to feed, fuel a... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Knights at Turkish border improve convoy facility
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers of Logistics Task Force - Alpha, 16th Special Troops Battalion, 16th Sustainment Brigade, manage a small convoy support center on the Turkish border at Harbur Gate, Iraq. The task force Soldiers have begun improvements to the facility, inclu... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

HABUR GATE, Iraq - There are three ways that most U.S. Army supplies enter Iraq: by air, by sea through Kuwait, or by convoy through Turkey. On the Turkish border in northern Iraq is a small Army convoy support center run by Logistical Task Force Alpha, 16th Special Troops Battalion, 16th Sustainment Brigade. The center, little more than a four-story building with an expanded parking lot, provides fuel, food and lodging for Soldiers and foreign nationals that convoy to Forward Operating Base Marez and Contingency Operating Base Q-West. Soldiers from LTF-Alpha made many improvements to the facility, a comfortable location to work and live for convoys staying overnight and the CSC Coalition staff and civilian employees. Almost every aspect of the center has been improved by LTF-Alpha. Soldiers built a watershade in order to extend the life of the bottled water and the life of the plastic bottles. This addition helps maintain a good water supply for future rotations. Soldiers have also installed a fuel berm at the fueling point. The berm helps prevent spills of diesel fuel from getting into the nearby Habur River. Keeping this water source clean is crucial to encourage wildlife to return to the region. The communications section has been remodeled, the aid station has been expanded and the Habur Gate shoppette moved and is now five times larger than before. The laundry room was expanded with extra machines repositioned from bases that are closing, to meet the Security Agreement timeline of returning bases to the Government of Iraq. The improvement that the Soldiers have enjoyed the most is the new dining facility (DFAC) equipment. Task Force Soldiers have recently installed two large buffet-style serving lines and Soldiers are now able to get as much as they want for all three meals. The Soldiers of LTF-Alpha, far away from large bases, continue to improve the small convoy center and ensure goods are inspected, processed and allowed to be transported into Iraq.