The Freightliner M-915a3 tractor truck was equipped with a Detroit Diesel Series 60 DEC IV 12.7-liter diesel engine, produced 430 horsepower, used an Allison 6-speed automatic transmission, weighed 8.45 tons, carried a payload capacity of 30 tons, and was fitted with a Rhino vehicle-mounted system to pre-detonate improvised explosive devices. It was dedicated in remembrance of the sacrifices of service members, families, and fallen warriors who supported combat convoy operations during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and stood as a tribute to the operators, maintainers, and other vital personnel who enabled the combat convoy mission in Iraq. In 2003, the United States Army requested forces and asked airmen to fill four light-medium transportation companies, and in 2004 the Air Force and Army agreed to employ units to conduct combat line haul missions supporting United States forces in Iraq. In the following years, Air Force Expeditionary Logistics airmen played a major role in delivering supplies and goods to United States and allied forces. In August 2011, U.S. forces began the largest retrograde of cargo and personnel since World War II. The last Air Force convoy crossed the Iraqi border on 17 December 2011, and on 20 December 2011 USCENTCOM and USAFCENT approved the request for forces as mission complete. This particular M-915a3 tractor truck was struck by an improvised explosive device on 19 November 2011, leaving shrapnel holes in the right-side armor and a cracked driver's-side windshield as reminders of the dangers faced by Air Force combat truckers in Iraq. Air Force combat convoy operations from October 2003 to December 2011 logged 105,227,476 combat miles driven, 2,063 northbound convoys, 132 small arms attacks, and 141 improvised explosive devices, and the dead included SSgt Dustin W. Peters, A1C Carl L. Anderson, Jr., TSgt Jason L. Norton, SSgt Brian S. McElroy, and A1C Eric M. Barnes.