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Contact Left

The Transportation Corps in Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2004

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y 2004, in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Army Transporters had become front line combat Soldiers as the enemy tried to shut down the precious supply line without which the Coalition effort would come to a halt.  With door armor fabricated from sheets of steel just thick enough to stop small arms and shrapnel, truck drivers prevailed during one of the worst years of fighting for control of the road.  They responded to increasing threats and complex ambushes with improvised armor and convoy doctrine that would provide the foundation for the development and evolution of modern gun truck and convoy force protection technology.

 

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n the 2008 Transportation Corps Commemorative Print, artist Michael Wooten depicts a convoy ambush in Iraq, a scene that faced many Army Transporters during this period.  Seen from the perspective of the driver, the convoy has stopped along a route in downtown Baghdad in response to “Contact Left!”  The contact has taken place beyond sight of the drivers in the rear.  The rising smoke and distant gunfire clearly warns that danger looms ahead, creating a sense of apprehension and uncertainty as the leaders and drivers respond:  is the attack a single IED or a complex ambush?  The gun trucks, with their improvised “hillbilly” armor, stand guard on the front, flanks and rear, ready to fend off any attack if it comes their way.