Marine motor transport on the move in Mozambique during Shared Accord 2010 

Medicine, water, Marines and ammunition; motor transport Marines here make sure the essential ingredients of Exercise Shared Accord 2010 are in place and on time.

“If no motor-t were here there would be no movement,” said Staff Sgt. Nkrumah Pollard, a maintenance chief with 4th Landing Support Battalion. “We are the corner stone of all transportation here.”

With more than 100 vehicles at their disposal, the reserve Marines, sourced from 4th LSB in Vienna, Ohio, and Headquarters and Services Company 2nd Battalion, 25th Marines in Garden City, NY, have been criss-crossing southern Mozambique delivering service members and supplies since their arrival here in late July for SA10, a U.S. Africa Command sponsored, bi-lateral military exercise and humanitarian mission hosted by a different AFRICOM partner nation each year.

Lance Cpl. Adrien Rosamond, a motor transport operator who drives 7-tons and Humvees, has had little rest since arriving in Mozambique July 25. 

“Since we’re so short on drivers I’ve had a lot of driving time; it’s good training,” he said. “We’ll be driving all day and about to hit the rack when another convoy comes up.”

From the capital city of Maputo, to remote training areas, villages and everywhere in between, Rosamond follows one rule: “take it slow, take it safe.”

Shared Accord 2010, which is coordinated by U.S. Africa Command’s Marine component, U.S. Marine Forces Africa, brings together more than 1,000 U.S. service members and Mozambican soldiers for the purpose of increasing Mozambique’s capacity to carry out peace and stability operations.