RALEIGH, N.C. - Running missions in three different countries, the North Carolina National Guard's 1452nd Transportation Company, "Rough Riders", has remained ready, proactive and flexible throughout its deployment.
"Afghanistan was not a part of the original mission," said Army Sgt. Michael Nichols, truck driver with the 1452nd Trans. Co. "First we were moving equipment and supplies from Iraq into Kuwait, and once the Iraq War ended, we came here."
The Soldiers of the 1452nd Trans. Co. are happy here with their Afghanistan mission, and most of them actually volunteered to be here, one way or another.
"I was born and raised in Winston-Salem," said Spc. Maurice A. Coleman, truck driver with the 1452nd Trans. Co. "So when I made the decision to enlist in the North Carolina National Guard, I knew which unit I wanted to join. When I found out that the unit was deploying, that sealed the deal for me."
Army Sgt. Thomas F. Lecky had initially enlisted in the North Carolina National Guard through the National Guard's "College First" program, which guarantees college students who join the National Guard that they will not be called up for deployments until after they complete their degree.
"I completed two semesters of school, then heard that my unit was deploying," Lecky said. "I wanted to go with my platoon, with my company. So, I just opted out of my 'College First' contract to just deploy with them."
Army Staff Sgt. Stephen Herring, another driver with the 1452nd Trans. Co., is on his second deployment. After serving six years in the Marine Corps working with communications, Herring started a successful career in trucking. Knowing how much he missed the military, a friend suggested that Herring look into the National Guard.
Herring deployed in 2009 to Iraq with the 230th Brigade Support Battalion's E Company, under the 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team.
Herring returned from his first deployment only to hear a few months later that the 1452nd Trans. Co. would be deploying soon.
"I kind of felt unfulfilled from my first deployment," Herring said. "I enjoyed the deployment, and I respect every single Soldier who has deployed there before, but I just didn't feel like my time serving my country and state overseas was finished."
He immediately volunteered to go with the 1452nd.
Lecky, Nichols and Herring not only raised their hands to deploy with the 1452nd, but they also switched platoons in order to go on the mission to Afghanistan. On top of that, Lecky and Herring waived their optional two-week vacation, also known as R&R, to participate in the new mission.
"When we were told that there was a mission to Afghanistan, everyone was really excited," Herring said. "Then we were told that the platoon going had to physically be in Afghanistan for the entire mission.
"Because the Soldiers of fourth platoon had already taken their [R&R] leave, they were selected to go," Herring said.
"We both thought this new mission was exciting and [we] may never get an opportunity to experience this again,'" Lecky said. "So, we chose to switch from third platoon to fourth platoon."
Neither Soldier said he has any regrets in volunteering for this mission.
"During my first deployment I was hauling equipment and supplies in and around Iraq," said Herring. "For this deployment, not only did I help bring our troops and equipment back out of Iraq, but I get the chance to convoy security. That's something I've never done before."
The Soldiers each said that while they never practiced convoy security operations during their Army truck driver school, they learned the basics of this skill during basic training and rehearsed during their pre-mobilization training.
"Convoy security isn't really in our job description as [truck drivers]," said Nichols. "However, anyone can say that we're just truck drivers, but we're Soldiers first – this is one of those basic [Soldier] skills that we are using here."