Staff Sgt. James McCullough, a convoy commander with the 1138th
Transportation Company, a Missouri National Guard unit attached to
the 142nd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 101st Sustainment
Brigade, stands with his son, Spc. Ryan McCullough on Sept. 24,
2011. Photo by Army Spc. Michael Vanpool
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BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (9/26/2011) – Staff Sgt. James
McCullough deployed to the Persian Gulf with the 101st Airborne
Division in support of Operation Desert Storm nearly 21 years ago.
His son, Ryan, was born the day after he arrived back from his
combat tour.
Fast forward to Operation Enduring Freedom in
Afghanistan: James and his first son, Spc. Ryan McCullough, are both
providing convoy security in the same unit, the 1138th
Transportation Company, a Missouri National Guard unit attached to
the 142nd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 101st Sustainment
Brigade.
The company resupplies service members in eastern
Afghanistan where the roads range from the urban center in Kabul to
steep mountainsides. Both the father and son ride in gun trucks
through these roads. James serves as convoy commander, in charge of
all the gun trucks in the convoy, while Ryan drives the scout truck,
the first gun truck in the line of vehicles.
The McCulloughs,
natives of St. Charles, Mo., are in different |
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platoons, so they are never in the same convoy together. However,
they both drive the same roads. |
“I go on the same routes he does, I know the dangers,”
James said. “It's made me better on purpose. I think to
myself, ‘What would I want my son's convoy commander to do
to optimize his safety, the whole convoy's security?' I take
that mentality and drill it into my platform.”
While
the unit learned the rigors of driving in Afghanistan before
deploying, James applied some of his knowledge from his
previous deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The terrains of the two countries are different, but the
mission remains the same.
“He's experienced the same
things I am now,” Ryan said. “But now, we're both working
through the same experiences. I get to learn from him not
just as a Soldier but also on a personal level.”
When
the training and preparation is done, the father, son and
rest of the unit go on their own roads, traveling from base
to base.
“Seeing a lot of these guys grow has been
phenomenal,” James said, “and seeing my son alongside them
is just incredible.”
For the Soldiers of the 1138th
Trans. Company, there is little down time. There's always
another mission on tap when they return to Bagram Air Field.
With just a few days in between convoys, both McCulloughs
load into their own gun trucks, and they roll out in
different directions.
“There's times when he's on the
road and I'm on the road, so we don't see each other that
much,” Ryan said. “I'm always saying that I talk to my
family back home more than him.”
Their family in
Missouri is no stranger to the company. James's father
served in the unit and worked his way to become a platoon
sergeant. When he was a young soldier, James learned from
his father while both were in the unit.
The fatherly
wisdom and advice were the products of years in the company
and a tour in Vietnam with the 101st Abn. Div.
“I
learned a lot from my father,” James said. “Whether I wanted
to or not, I absorbed how my father ran his platoon and how
he did things. Some of those things I didn't understand
until later in my military career.”
Just as James
learned from his father in the company, Ryan got up to speed
on the essentials of running convoys in the months leading
up to the unit's deployment. When they both arrived here
this past spring, James had no choice but to watch his son
drive off.
“He had to become his own man,” he said.
“I couldn't build him.”
By Army Spc. Michael Vanpool
101st Sustainment Brigade, 101st
Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2011
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