FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. - Members of the 131st Transportation Company, Pennsylvania National Guard, drove 6,200 miles the last week of April in the first phase of Army Materiel Command’s Operation Patriot Press.
The annual nationwide ammunition redistribution mission supports the Army’s strategic positioning goals.
“We transported 111, 20-foot conexes filled with different ammunition from Pennsylvania to Nevada,” said Capt. Jason Hadley, commander of the 131st TC. “With outstanding support from the 228th Transportation Battalion, we as a company were able to travel with over 50 M915s over the 6,200 miles with no accidents.”
An M915 is a tractor truck Army units use to move large containers and other equipment long distances. It’s not exactly the family minivan, but according to 1st Lt. Nikolai Ayers, some road trip perks still applied for the convoy.
“We drove over the Hoover Dam, which was cool, but my favorite landmarks were all the mountains. You could look at a mountain range and not reach the base of it in a day of driving or it could be in a different state,” said Ayers. “This was my last time drilling with the 131st TC, and it couldn’t have ended any better. I’ve been with the company for six years, and to wrap up my time as a leader with a successful mission was exactly how I wanted to leave.”
During the mission from Fort Indiantown Gap to Hawthorne, Nevada, the convoy passed through 14 states, stopping at four Army ammunition depots.
Lt. Col. Michael Siriani, commander of the 228th Transportation Battalion, said the 131st TC completed the longest route in the history of Operation Patriot Press. Accounting for all vehicles in the convoy, the company’s total mileage for the mission was over 300,000.
“The actions of the 131st Transportation Company assisted the Army with saving money in transporting the ammunition across the country and assisted with the recycling of ammunition to be used at a later date,” said Siriani.
The 228th Transportation Battalion is a unit under the 213th Regional Support Group, Pennsylvania Army National Guard, headquartered at Fort Indiantown Gap.
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