<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"  CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait, June 19 \u2014 How can it be so hot so early? My first thought on waking to &amp;quot;Reveille&amp;quot; at 0600 on a lumpy bunk bed in a tent here is followed by utter astonishment: It&amp;#039;s getting hotter by the second, and we&amp;#039;re almost at 100 degrees. Welcome to the Middle East. Shuffling across the baking gravel, sand and dust toward the shower trailers, this pounding heat and all these unique smells of a military desert base bring me back to my first tour of Iraq in 2005, covering medevacs for Popular Mechanics with the 50th Medical Company, 101st Airborne out of Taji. But this time around I&amp;#039;ll be blogging every day for PopularMechanics.com, bringing you alongside my four-month embed in Iraq and Afghanistan, inside the heart of combat and behind the military technology that powers this war. Arifjan is my first stop as we prepare to head into Iraq, and the first visit is with the Third Army/Army Central Command. The command is charged with management and sustainment, maintenance, repair and tracking of virtually all materiel that moves into and out of Southwest Asia, including Iraq, Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa. That&amp;#039;s a whole lot of beans, bullets and Bradleys. During an overview briefing, I learn how the AMC hauled these vehicles, supplies and personnel into theater in support of the surge, which has ramped up in the last week. (For security reasons, the military does not provide specifics.) Then we head out to a Kuwaiti port to get a seagull&amp;#039;s eye view of how it&amp;#039;s done. &amp;quot;It was an enormous amount of work, and very satisfying&amp;quot; says Colonel Mark Westbrook, 598th U.S. Army transportation Terminal Group commander. He shakes my hand and transfers to the first commander&amp;#039;s coin of the day\u2014a gorgeous medal emblazoned with the 598th&amp;#039;s insignia. And it is a real honor for me\u2014these coins are given to troops for &amp;quot;outstanding performance.&amp;quot; Next up: the 332 Transportation Company Battalion, which plans and executes vessel operations, cargo documentation and supervise yard activities at the seaport. All this to support Joint Reception, Staging, Onward movement and Retrograde operations\u2014&amp;quot;from the fort to the port to the foxhole,&amp;quot; as Colonel Charles Aucoin puts it. After an in-depth briefing where I get the skinny on exactly how all this shifting goes down and what was necessary to accommodate the surge, we tour the seaport. There, I meet a group of contractors (pictured at right) who inspect the containers before on-loading to the huge military grey bottom ships (almost as big as aircraft carriers) and commercial cargo vessels. It takes four days to offload the ships and, like most commercial cargo ships, requires a specialized computer program to load them for maximum space and efficiency\u2014and to keep from capsizing. The salt breeze off the Persian Gulf is strong and almost makes the sun bearable as we walk down the long, steep ramp into the cargo hold. The crew is just beginning to load the hundreds of tanks, Bradleys and Abrams\u2014plus thousands more containers\u2014that are headed back to CONUS (continental U.S.) for salvage, refitting or deployment. The scene is like modified Star Wars: towering cranes hoist huge containers as if they&amp;#039;re egg cartons (pictured at right), Stevedores zip around on little mobile vehicles, and nowhere does any driver of any vehicle obey any driving law. &amp;quot;We call this the Wild West,&amp;quot; Colonel Aucoin grins. &amp;quot;You&amp;#039;ve really got to watch it here\u2014they move fast.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;I love this job,&amp;quot; he adds. &amp;quot;I get to touch everything that goes into theater.&amp;quot; And I love my visit. As we shake hands, I get my second Commander&amp;#039;s Coin, a beautiful bronze award about the size of a silver dollar and emblazoned with the unit&amp;#039;s crests. Back at the base, the Aviation Classification Repair Activity Depot (AVCRAD) has spread a dazzling display of craftsmanship: Its task force, composed of National Guard and Reservists from 15 states, rebuild essential rotary aircraft parts and engines for all of Southwest Asia. Teams in major Forward Operating Bases handle repairs on the frontlines, and their workload, like everywhere else in theater, has increased in a linear progression with the influx of troops. The unit does everything from fixing the engines that power the fearsome AH-64 Apache attack helicopters to creating precision component parts. &amp;quot;These guys are craftsmen,&amp;quot; boasts Captain Steven Sherrill, from the electricians to the avionics. All aviation electronics on aircraft including GPS and flight control, requiring &amp;quot;a different mindset&amp;quot; for technical repairs, says Staff Sergeant McGee. &amp;quot;I tell my people that good enough is not good enough,&amp;quot; he adds, &amp;quot;because the forward troops depend on us.&amp;quot; In another room, Staff Sergeant Kantor shows off the high-end machine shop products she and Specialist Loza create to keep the birds flying. &amp;quot;We can repair or &amp;#039;re-machine&amp;#039; a part for far less money and far quicker here than sending it to the States,&amp;quot; she says. My tour ends for today with a look at the Apache&amp;#039;s Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision System, some of the most sophisticated\u2014and classified\u2014components on any aircraft. The components sit on the Apache&amp;#039;s nose and provide sensor data to the gunner and pilot. For you, readers, I ask to see\u2014but get denied access to\u2014the exclusive, climate-controlled trailer that houses the repair lab. For me, talk back in the comments section, and stay with us for what&amp;#039;s bound to be a thrilling ride! \u2014Leslie Sabbagh Sabbagh (second from left) stands with contractors at the seaport. Modified : towering cranes hoist huge containers as if they&amp;#039;re egg cartons at the cargo nexus of the Persian Gulf. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a3962/4218400/>