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NEWS | May 19, 2016

The 729th TC drive Nationwide Move

By Capt. Fernando Ochoa 311th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary)

FRESNO, Calif. – First Lt. Kyle Brown, 729th Transportation Company company commander, and Master Sgt. Brian Carlin, 729th TC non-commissioned officer in-charge, organized and led their transportation unit through a Nationwide Move exercise, May 8, that will take them through five states and to Operation Maple Resolve, which is being conducted at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, east of Edmonton, Canada.

Operation Maple Resolve is the Canadian Forces largest training exercise of the year. The aim of this operation is to not only get the troops working with their international counterparts, but to give them a taste of what life is like in an actual battle.
 
The Nationwide Move exercise is an opportunity for transportation units throughout the U.S. Army to give their young Soldiers an opportunity to rehearse their speed, efficiency and tactical effectiveness in a real-world transportation mission. This mission is part of many other Annual Training exercises.

“This is a great mission for us because it gives us a chance to work with our NATO counterparts,” said Brown. “We hope to travel at least three hundred miles a day, staying at various reserve and Army bases along the way.”

This Nationwide Move operation was staged at the Fresno U.S. Army Reserve Center, where Soldiers and convoys met before the big push, including vehicles and equipment from the 3rd Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, who will conduct joint operations with the Canadians.

The 729th TC will work in conjunction with active duty Marines and the Oregon and Washington National Guard units during this exercise. The personnel of the 729th TC is mostly made up of motor transport operators and wheeled vehicle mechanics, who work together to make the unit successful.
 
Motor transport operators, 88Ms, are primarily responsible for supervising or operating wheel vehicles to transport personnel and cargo. They are the backbone of the Army’s support and sustainment structure, providing advanced mobility on and off the battlefield.

Wheeled vehicle mechanics, 91Bs, are primarily responsible for supervising and performing maintenance and recovery operations on wheeled vehicles and associated items, as well as heavy-wheeled vehicles and select armored vehicles.

“This exercise is great because it gives our newer Soldiers right out of Advanced Individual Training an opportunity to get drive time,” said Carlin. “We’ll be driving through at least five different states along the way.” 

The 729th TC loaded their vehicles and supplies onto M-872 Series trailers. These semitrailers are 40-foot, 34-ton flatbed semitrailers, which can carry a wide variety of cargo with its large cargo bed on a three axle, and twelve-wheel suspension. 

On a chilly Sunday morning, once each Soldier was in place, all the equipment was checked and secured, the long 35 vehicle convoy began its journey to Canada.

The 729th Transportation Company is a proud member of the Transportation Corps, which is a combat service support branch of the U.S. Army and is headquartered at Fort Lee, Virginia.