In a little less than a day and a half the Soldiers of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 68th Armored Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division completed a logistical feat; they loaded a company’s worth of fighting vehicles onto rail cars in Poland to be shipped to Estonia.
The load-out was supposed to take two days.
“It’s pretty amazing,” said Capt. Edward Bachar, commander Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 68th Armored Regiment. “Over the last day and a half, we have uploaded nearly 80 pieces of equipment onto rail cars, and all of our primary combat platforms moved onto the cars by their own power.”
Bachar attributed the feat to the diligence of the Soldiers who ensured their vehicles were in good working order when they arrived in Poland earlier this month.
“After the vehicles arrived in Poland we made sure they were fully operational,” Bachar said. Once the vehicles were operational, the Soldiers began firing their weapons systems to make sure that the crews and vehicles were ready to train.
Both the vehicles and the Soldiers are expected to arrive in Estonia Friday. Once they arrive, the Soldiers will immediately start training with their NATO partners.
“We are going to begin our expert marksmanship training the week of Feb. 6,” Bachar said.