- Convoy commander of 1404th Transportation Company, 1st Lt. Michael Petersen “Little by little, we see the drawdown taking effect as we pull equipment from Iraq and bring it across the Kuwaiti border.”
by Tyler Williams
photo by U.S. Army Spc. Joshua Sizemore
Convoy Commander of 1404th Transportation Company, First Lieutenant Michael Petersen, works on logistical convoy operations at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. Michael is a 25-year-old Mystic native who joined the Army in 2003, while in college, and received his commission in May 2007. Michael earned his bachelor’s degree at UConn. Michael, speaking about Mystic, says, “I have very strong ties to the area that I hope to return to very soon!”
The 1404th Transportation Company’s current mission is to support the responsible drawdown of Iraq, by hauling equipment from Iraq to Kuwait. Michael serves as a Platoon Leader and a Convoy Commander for missions that lead soldiers to pick up equipment in and around the different bases in Iraq. Michael says, “As a platoon leader, I’m responsible for the planning and training of all the soldiers who serve under me, as well as, ensuring their well-being in a deployment environment.”
Michael explains the difficulties of his job and he says, “One of the greatest challenges that I face comes from logistical support. Each mission requires that a lot of different soldiers and contractors work together in order to get the job done. Rarely are we all on the same page and it is part of our jobs as convoy commanders to ensure everyone is on schedule and ready to go when the time comes.”
Michael meets the challenges of his job head on and everyone involved knows that this job is one that doesn’t afford the opportunity for down time very often. Michael describes how he copes and he says, “When you’re out on the road, you understand that there will be long days and nights of driving, hauling and preparing cargo for its next destination and ensuring all of the maintenance issues are being fixed. It takes an incredible amount of patience to keep yourself and all of your soldiers ready to react to changes at a moment’s notice.”
To Michael the most positive part of this whole deployment is that he is not only part of a much bigger mission, but that he also sees the fruits of their efforts. Michael says, “We have definitely seen the difference in equipment yards from the time we started running missions until now, and it is directly due to the efforts my soldiers are putting forth in these missions. Little by little, we see the drawdown taking effect as we pull equipment from Iraq and bring it across the Kuwaiti border.”
It is always hard to be away from family and friends and Michael says, “I can definitely speak for a lot of us when I say that the worst part is being away from home.” Even though the soldiers are lucky enough to have ample opportunity to speak with family and friends, Michael states, “It just isn’t the same, and I know that everyone is looking forward to getting home as fast and as safely as possible.” Michael misses CT and he says, “With as stressful as everything has been, I really wouldn’t mind just being able to have a relaxing day on the beach with friends, even though I am kind of getting tired of all the sand out here!”
Michael is a true patriot and he is undoubtedly an amazing Platoon Leader and Convoy Commander. He shows his stars and stripes and says, “A patriot is someone that is willing to go above and beyond in order to serve their country. Every single one of my soldiers is someone who has taken that call and done everything and more that has been asked of them. I am proud to serve with the soldiers that I lead and hope that everyone back home realizes what a difficult and stressful time they have had over the last year.”
