Sgt. 1st Class Jose Machado, of Hephzibah of the 319th Transportation Company. JOHNNY EDWARDS/STAFF

Long hours, fears of ambush keep 319th on edge

CAMP VIPER, Iraq - The majority of the 319th Transportation Company's truck drivers have been on the road for more than 60 hours straight, delivering much-needed fuel to Marines advancing toward Baghdad.

Before pulling out early Monday morning, the drivers slept for six hours in their cabs or in cots outdoors after trucking into Iraq from Camp Coyote in Kuwait, delivering fuel to a point north of their current base before eventually arriving at Camp Viper. That trip took about 24 hours.

The long hours have the unit's commanders concerned about safety. The drivers and their armed riders stop for two- to three-hour breaks on the road, but what sleep they get is mostly in the seats of their trucks. First Lt. Daniel Perugini said that when the convoys that were out Wednesday returned from delivering about 180,000 gallons of fuel, drivers would begin making runs in shifts, rather than all at once.

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"They'll do a run, get a day off, do a run, get a day off," said 1st Lt. Perugini, who is the 319th's acting commander at Camp Viper until his superiors arrive from Camp Coyote. "On those days off, they'll still do work around the camp, but at least they won't be on the road."

Iraqi soldiers have reportedly been attempting to ambush convoys operating out of the camp. According to sources with the Marines, enemy soldiers took off their uniforms and dressed in civilian clothing, waved to American forces passing through, then went to work attempting to block roads using cars and couches.

So far, convoys have simply blown right through.

First Lt. Perugini said no ambush attempts have been reported on any of the 319th's convoys. The trucks have been delayed by Marine vehicles moving northward and by Tuesday's sandstorm, he said.

"The real hitches have been traffic and weather," 1st Lt. Perugini said.

The sandstorm struck the area while the lieutenant and other soldiers were trying to set up tents for the unit Tuesday morning. In the afternoon, Iraqi soldiers were reported inside the camp's perimeter and the 319th soldiers were placed on guard duty, which lasted all night. They were told to watch for men in a civilian vehicle being chased by Marines, the lieutenant said.

Pfc. Marques Johnson, of Orlando, Fla., who was attached to the 319th from the Florida-based 228th Transportation Company, holds the 319thıs flag while the unit stands in formation outside their tents at Camp Guam at Camp Coyote, Kuwait. JOHNNY EDWARDS/STAFF

The circumstances forced him to leave behind two mechanics and a senior noncommissioned officer in another area of Camp Viper. That morning he had told them to wait with a disabled truck and an empty fuel tank until he returned.

They waited out the sandstorm and a thunderstorm, then spent the night sleeping in the cab of the truck or outdoors.

The three men were reunited with the unit Wednesday morning.

The 319th now has tents set up, and is sharing them with Marines from the 6th Motors Transport Battalion.

--From the Thursday, March 27, 2003 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle