Chief Warrant Officer Rodriquez Works Swiftly To Retrieve Vehicle
Kunar Province, Afghanistan
Some people accept the obvious. And then there are those that take the obvious and toss the normal conclusions aside, and attack problems with a ferocious vigor.
Such is the style of Chief Warrant Officer Sammy Rodriguez.
The convoy of vehicles that CWO Rodriguez was traveling on recently was attacked, an IED exploded and a vehicle was disabled. Rodriquez serves at the battalion maintenance technician, and was presented with the problem, as the vehicle was badly damaged and not able to be driven at first.
Most people would have looked at the blast damaged vehicle and left it sitting there. “I looked at the situation, and then decided. I told my commander “This is something we are able to do,” said Rodriquez. Rodriquez had a challenge on his hands. The chassis was badly bent, a tire was blown, and the vehicle had taken a hard hit. Vehicles that are so badly damaged they can’t continue are just left behind.
At times the Enemy has made propaganda claims and used such vehicles to mock and ridicule U.S. Forces. “We do all that we can to reclaim each and every vehicle for that reason,” said Rodriquez. Using hydraulic jacks, pry bars, and a spare tire, Rodriquez was able to repair the vehicle enough it could be towed the short distance left to the base.
“I have talked about how important it is to not let the bad guys have damaged equipment or vehicles. Chief Rodriguez took it to heart, he really knows his stuff,” said Army Captain John Thyng. Captain Thyng is Commander of F Company, for the 2-503rd in Iraq.
