SIERRA ARMY DEPOT, Calif. (Aug. 13, 2009) - Working long hours with little recuperation time can make a Soldier in a transportation company feel like they are a commercial truck driver. However, for many Army truck drivers, that's the way they like it. During the Golden Cargo exercise here recently, drivers from transportation companies throughout the nation will head out onto the highways and complete a vital mission of transporting obsolete ammunition to Hawthorne Army Depot, Nev. for destruction. "I love being on the roads," said Spc. Kevin Felty, 261st Ordnance Company truck driver, Charleston, W. Va. "It's a lot of hard work and long hours but I think it's worth it." Since the beginning of the exercise, convoys have made the 168-mile trek between the two installations on a daily basis. On many occasions, the trip was made in a single day. "This has been great training, especially for those who haven't deployed, because this is the same kind of pace that you experience over there," said Felty, who deployed to Iraq for a year as a truck driver. Due to the long hours on the road and traveling amongst civilian traffic, safety is always the top priority. "Before anyone rolls out the gate every truck [is] thoroughly inspected and every Soldier receives a convoy and safety brief," said 1st Lt. Eddie Woody, Golden Cargo safety officer, 423rd Transportation Company, Colorado Springs, Colo. No matter where Soldiers are deployed to around the world, there will always be a need for highly trained Army truck drivers and transportation companies. This makes the training at Golden Cargo vital to the overall readiness of the Army, Felty explained. "We are always in demand, which is why we [need] to keep our skills sharp because we know it's only a matter of time until we get that call to go overseas," said Felty. "When that call does come, we'll be ready."
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