During the first two weeks of the war, the 319th hauled all the bulk fuel for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in its drive to Baghdad, a job that took them through hostile territory and into ambushes and firefights. The 319th is now working for the Army's 260th Quartermaster Battalion. It is stationed at Camp Arifjan, south of Kuwait City. Soldiers say most of their work involves civilian contractor Kellogg Brown and Root, a subsidiary of Vice President Dick Cheney's former company, Halliburton Corp. The company has contracts to haul fuel, and 319th members are riding along as armed escorts. "The main reason we're still here is to support Brown and Root," said Sgt. 1st Class David Uthe, 45, of Augusta. ... Probably preaching to the choir at this point, but yes, it was all about oil, and continues to be. Anyone see some of the recently released notes from Cheney's Energy Task Force meetings? They were basically deciding how to divvy up Iraq. Now the troops are working in hostile territory for a Halliburton subsidiary. Oil is such a dirty business. |