SCOTT SIMON, host:
This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. Every night as darkness envelopes Baghdad, convoys of huge trucks fan out across the city to supply food and fuel to tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers. Convoys of 20 to 30 vehicles are escorted by at least six military gun trucks. It's risky business.
NPR's John McChesney reports on an Arkansas National Guard unit that's only been driving the city streets for a week.
JOHN McCHESNEY: Before they get on the road, all the soldiers and truck drivers gather in a big tent for a long briefing, looking down on a huge model of Baghdad laid out on sand. We couldn't record that briefing, but Major Jim Keppen(ph) explains.
Major JIM KEPPEN (Arkansas National Guard): This is our big sand-table. It's very large. It's a replica of what the city of Baghdad, how it's laid out. We have all the forward operating bases portrayed here. We have all the main routes in Baghdad that we travel to get to the forward operating bases. You can see the river that runs through downtown.
McCHESNEY: The convoy commander, First Sergeant Geoffrey Turner(ph), uses a laser-pointer to pick out hot spots, and then he asks each gun-truck leader how he would respond to a specific kind of attack.
First Sergeant GEOFFREY TURNER (Convoy Commander, Arkansas National Guard): Every night, a couple hours prior to the brief, I have to write down a script, basically. I just flip through my script and make sure I hit all the points they want to hear, and I ad-lib a few things that pop out in my head as important.
McCHESNEY: All communication within and between the gun trucks and the freight trucks is done on the radio. The headsets eliminate almost all noise except for radio chatter as the convoy moves out, escorting 24 semis loaded with food, fuel and ammunition.
The semis are owned by Kellogg Brown & Root or KBR.
(Soundbite of radio transmission)
Unidentified Man #1: (Unintelligible) One hundred percent ready to roll.
Unidentified Man #2: (Unintelligible).
McCHESNEY: Each gun truck has a number. The reassuring baritone of First Sergeant Turner comes from Number Three. We start rumbling through the ghostly dark streets of Baghdad. Hardly any cars or people are visible, and it's not long before a disturbing transmission comes in.
(Soundbite of radio transmission)
Unidentified Man #3: Roger, I just got a message back that a KBR vehicle hit by an IED in vicinity Checkpoint 587, over.
Unidentified Man: #4: That KBR spotted an IED?
Unidentified Man #3: That's a negative. A KBR vehicle got hit by an IED.
McCHESNEY: But soon, the incident becomes a joke about a tire.
Unidentified Man #3: Just had a blowout. There was no IED.
(Soundbite of Laughter)
Unidentified Man #4: Wow, that's good news.
McCHESNEY: But the lapse in tension doesn't last long, as a report comes in about a blown-up truck just ahead.
(Soundbite of radio transmission)
Unidentified Man #5: We have a disabled 18-wheeler - IED has gone off on it.
McCHESNEY: The tension level climbs again and then drops off as we pass the truck. It's clear it's been there for a while and is not the victim of a recent bombing, but close attention to roadside detail continues. First Sergeant Turner comes up on the radio.
First Sgt. TURNER: (Unintelligible) large group of (unintelligible).
Unidentified Man #5: (Unintelligible).
First Sgt. TURNER: See if the one in the black shirt and black pants is still grabbing his crotch and check as to his status.
McCHESNEY: By the time we pass, the crotch-grabbing has stopped, replaced by other insulting gestures. When we get to our destination on the other side of the city, forklifts quickly unload the KBR trucks. Sergeant Ryan Lowe(ph), on his second deployment like most of this unit, says even though we've just driven that road, every eyeball will be scanning for anything unusual on the way back.
Sergeant RYAN LOWE (Arkansas National Guard): All it takes is five minutes of someone not watching for something to happen.
McCHESNEY: And soon, on the trip back, our truck commander spots something suspicious.
(Soundbite of radio transmission)
Unidentified Man #6: There was a knocked-over barrel back there. All the dirt was out of it.
Unidentified Man #7: Are you serious?
Unidentified Man #6: Yeah because I don't remember one being knocked over…
McCHESNEY: But the barrel proves harmless, and as we roll back through the gates of Camp Liberty, the radio chatter becomes more relaxed. A deep voice announces that his soldiers better be sure to listen for him on that other radio network.
John McChesney, NPR News, Baghdad. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
