FORT EUSTIS, Va. –
In a solemn ceremony July 30 at the Wylie Theater on Fort Eustis, the 8th Transportation Brigade furled and cased its colors, formally closing the chapter on the unit's 67-year history.
Before the casing of the colors, Brig. Gen. Brian R. Layer, chief of Army Transportation and Fort Eustis commander, spoke of the significance of the ceremony and the mark the unit's final commander Col. Daniel M. Georgi, leaves for history.
"Colors are emotional symbols; they are ennobled by the blood of their Soldiers and stiffened by the resolve of great leaders," Layer said.
"The colors are like the batons of a relay race passed from runner to runner, as we moved the colors from commander to commander. Each tried to accelerate the pace of improvement and play catch up to excellence," Layer said.
"Well done, Dan. You've closed out this unit's history, leaving it forever without parallel," Layer said.
Layer then awarded Georgi with the Legion of Merit medal for exceptional conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements.
As Fort Eustis leaders, Soldiers and guests watched, Georgi and 8th Trans. Bde. Command Sgt. Maj. Joe R. Clarida Jr. furled and cased the unit's colors for the final time in its history.
"This is the last transportation brigade in the United States Army and it comes down today. It is the end of an era, but it will be a long lasting legacy that we can all be proud of and that we will always remember," Georgi said.
After the colors were furled and cased, and the final 'thank yous' delivered, Georgi took command of the brigade for one last time and with a final salute to Layer, closed the final page of the brigade's history.
"Sir, the colors have been cased," he said.
"Job well done," answered Layer.
From Washington to Virginia via Vietnam
The 8th Trans. Bde. originally stood up Dec. 9, 1943 as the 8th Traffic Regulation Group at Fort Lawton, Wash. The group served in the European Theater of World War II in northern France and in the Rhineland Campaigns of 1944 and '45. At war's end, the unit furled and cased its colors in 1946 at Reims, France, and later reactivated in 1949 in Frankfurt, Germany.
The unit became a regular Army unit in 1951 and was designated the 8th Transportation Group in 1955; after an eight-year term, the unit was deactivated in 1963. In June 1966, the group reactivated for service in Vietnam, marking a turning point for Army transportation during armed conflict.
Sept. 2, 1968, a convoy of about 40 vehicles fell under fire from North Vietnamese Army soldiers. Not trained for such events, the Soldiers exhausted all ammunition on hand and within minutes, seven Soldiers were killed and 43 vehicles were damaged or destroyed. This attack marked the first major ambush of an American convoy and changed forevermore the nature of transportation operations in theater.
Prior to the attack, protection of convoys was primarily the responsibility of military police or combat arms units. After the ambush, it was apparent that dedicated firepower was needed to protect the convoys. Mounting machine guns to cargo trucks and reinforcing vehicles with steel plating, the Soldiers developed the idea of hardened convoys. Although the Soldiers' efforts provided protection and firepower, convoy doctrine needed sprucing up as well.
Less than a month after the September ambush, Col. Joe Bellino assumed command of the 8th Transportation Group in October and immediately set to rewriting convoy doctrine. Bellino advanced the idea of a dedicated gun truck. By this time, ring mounts were finding their way through the supply system to units in country, and Bellino took advantage of the boon and increased the number of gun mounts on trucks from one to three and manned each truck with a gun crew, advancing a dedicated firing platform. Bellino then split convoys into smaller units spaced five minutes apart and provided all convoys be equipped with radios for better command and control.
The new doctrine was tested in November when NVA forces attacked a convoy of 70 trucks. Ready to fight, the truck drivers fought back and held the enemy until reinforcements arrived. Although the 8th Trans. Group lost 14 trucks and two drivers were killed, 41 NVA fighters were killed and four captured.
The innovation and actions of the 8th Trans. Group Soldiers did not go unnoticed.
"These eighth group truckers are the unsung heroes of this war," said Lt. Gen. William B. Rosson, commander, I Force Field, Vietnam, in an after action review of the attack.
The brigade was again deactivated in 1971 until July 14, 1986 when the unit was reactivated at Fort Eustis and, except for a brief skirmish in Somalia in 1993, the skills learned in Vietnam went virtually untested.
A new era
When the call to war sounded following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Army immediately geared for war, amassing vehicles, equipment and manpower for conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Technologically advanced, armed with the latest in war fighting technology and outfitted with vehicles developed for any clime and place, transporters appeared armed and at the ready. However, the March 2003 ambush of a vehicle convoy element of the 507th Transportation Company out of Fort Bliss, Texas, incited modern war fighters to resurrect the lessons of yesterday. Utilizing the doctrine developed in the tropics of Southeast Asia and adapting them to the deserts of Southwest Asia has saved countless lives, millions of dollars in damaged or lost equipment, and put today's transporters on the road to success.
BRAC
Until July 30, the 8th Trans. Bde. has been responsible for producing highly-motivated, disciplined and physically- tough Soldiers proficient in battlefield skills and provided administrative and logistic support for the U.S. Army Aviation Logistics School, the U.S. Army Transportation School and NCO Academy, and, when needed, conducts sustainment operation/support for deploying units.
With an illustrious history behind it and retirement of the brigade colors, some elements of the 8th Trans. Brigade will continue to move forward while others retire their colors or stay in place.
The deactivation of the brigade is in accordance with the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure decision. Under BRAC:
The 221st Military Police Detachment will remain in place at Fort Eustis.
The 1-222nd Aviation Regiment now falls under the U.S. Army Aviation Logistics School and continues to provide support for Phase IV and V of the Initial Entry Training and Soldierization process.
A portion of the 508th Transportation Company will move under the 266th Quartermaster Battalion at Fort Lee.
The 71st Transportation Battalion cased its colors in a deactivation ceremony July 16 at the U.S. Army Transportation Museum on Fort Eustis.