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FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq (June 24, 2008) - "A leader
takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people
where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be," said
Rosalynn Carter, wife of former President Jimmy Carter.
For Army 1st Lt. Carolyn Frazier, a 3rd Infantry Division
platoon leader in Company A, 703rd Brigade Support Battalion, this
challenge is both figurative and literal.
Frazier and her team ensure Soldiers in five provinces of
southern Iraq receive the supplies and equipment they need. These
supplies range from food, petroleum, oil and lubricants to
ammunition, water and medical supplies.
Leaders in a role like Frazier's must work to keep morale high
and motivation strong in Soldiers who face danger every time they
roll out the gate in a convoy. The battalion's customers are spread
across more than 40,000 square miles of potentially hostile
territory in an area spanning from Baghdad to the Saudi Arabian
border.
Frazier said the key to survival is the knowledge they are all
out there together.
"We all prepare for missions together, travel together and get
to the destination together; it is really important for everybody
to be on the same page about what's going on," Frazier said. "To
dig deep and find motivation is harder some days than others. But
my motivation is going out with these guys and doing what they do.
... They motivate me."
Frazier is a transportation officer who transferred over to
703rd BSB after being a distribution platoon leader for 6th
Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, from the start of the unit's
deployment. Frazier took on the new job as platoon leader knowing
it would be a challenge.
"When I first got here, I didn't know what I was supposed to do
in regards to the technical aspects of being a platoon leader in
the [Supply Support Activity]," Frazier said. With help from her
Soldiers, Frazier learned how to process, issue and distribute
supplies for their customers' access.
"It has actually been a neat transition, because I have actually
learned through my Soldiers," Frazier said. "They taught me that a
change in jobs isn't a bad thing, and that working on a [forward
operating base] is very important. ... The mission here is very
crucial."
Frazier leads and cares for more than 25 Soldiers.
"My job as the [officer in charge], with the assistance of my
platoon sergeant, is to take care of the Soldiers - their family,
health and well-being," Frazier said. "It has always been very
important in my family that we watch out for each other, and I feel
the same here."
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