New Mexico Minuteman - Fall 2011

1116th Transportation Company
1116th Transportation Company
drives its way to a successful AT
By 1st Lt. Elizabeth Castillo, 1116th Transportation Company
The 1116th Transportation Company participated
in the 27th Annual Golden Coyote multicomponent
annual training exercise with Army
National Guard units from fi fteen different states,
including Indiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North
Dakota and South Dakota, as well as a Colorado
Air National Guard unit, a Navy medical unit and
a United States Army Reserve unit. More than
2,100 Soldiers participated in the exercise at
Custer State Park, the largest state park in South
Dakota, spanning 71,000 acres of mountainous
terrain and known for its wildlife.
The Golden Coyote mission was twofold.
In phase one, the 1116th participated in warrior
lanes training, conducting land navigation,
leader reaction course, mobility operations
in urban terrain, Humvee egress assistance
trainer, virtual convoy operations trainer and
convoy lanes. The warrior lanes training was
supported by trained observer controllers from
the South Dakota National Guard.
In phase two, the Golden Coyote Task Force worked in conjunction
with the Sioux Indian Reservation and the U.S. Department
of Forestry to provide the Sioux Nation with fi rewood for the
long South Dakota winters. This humanitarian mission required
the Soldiers of the 1116th and other transportation companies
to conduct convoys through hundreds of miles in the Black Hills,
with individual missions involving one day of picking up the timber
and a second day of dropping off the timber on the reservation.
The timber hauling missions were requested by the higher headquarters
12-24 hours in advance, and all proper documentation
had to be submitted prior to the mission. Golden Coyote was an
operational mission making it fantastic real world training.
The 1116th convoyed approximately 1,000 miles one way from
Gallup and Farmington, N.M., to Camp Lancer with 33 M-915A3
tractor trailers, 42 M-871 trailers, one lowboy trailer, two LMTV’s,
eight Humvees, and a water buffalo. The 1116th was completely
self-suffi cient for both the timber hauling mission and the warrior
lanes training.
The 1116th Soldiers were dedicated to ensuring the safety of
their Soldiers, sensitive items and all their equipment. The truckmasters,
Sgt. 1st Class Jefferson Henio and Sgt. 1st Class Julian
Chino, worked diligently to coordinate the mission packets and
the warrior lanes training packet to provide the convoy commanders
and assistants complete convoy packets for mission accomplishment.
The maintenance section completed several scheduled
services and repaired a number of vehicles during AT. All the
assigned Soldiers stepped up to ensure the overall success of the
Golden Coyote humanitarian mission.
18 NEW MEXICO Minuteman / Fall 2011
The 1116th was also able to train all tasks on the mission
essential task list. A transportation company is required to conduct
convoy operations, redirect vehicle operations using movement
tracking systems, conduct truck platoon operations, establish
areas of operations, perform composite risk management
procedures, conduct unit supply & administration operations,
manage transportation operations, manage maintenance operations,
and deploy and redeploy. This full spectrum METL training
is a major advantage for a unit preparing for deployment to a
combat theater.
Sgts. Everett Gilbert, Irvin Livingston and Paul King earned the
Army Achievement Medal for putting their U.S. Forest Service training
to use immediately after arriving in South Dakota and ensuring
that all timber loads were completed safely for the Soldiers’ safety
and the safety of the civilian community. They spent the majority
of the annual training attached to 516th Engineer Company
at Camp Custer Forward Operating Base deep in the Black Hills
of South Dakota. Sgt. 1st Class Terrance Paden was awarded an
Army Commendation Medal for hauling a mission critical 10K forklift
with the only lowboy trailer available to each of the timber drop
sites throughout the Sioux Indian Reservation.
Staff Sgt. Terrill Lee and Sgt. 1st Class Dean Schultz were
awarded ARCOMs and a South Dakota TAG coin for stopping
and assisting a stabbing victim outside Ellsworth Air Force Base
where Camp Lancer was located. Lee and Schultz rendered fi rst
aid, diverted traffi c and waited for the Rapid City fi rst responders to
arrive, then continued on to complete their mission.