Oshkosh has vehicles, employees serving in war

Oshkosh Truck Co. makes many of the trucks that are being used in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. But the truckmaker also has several employees serving with United States Armed Services around the world. Pete Erickson, a senior contract administrator in Oshkosh’s defense business, and John Verich, a defense pricing manager, belong to the Wisconsin Army National Guard’s 332nd Rear Area Operations Center (RAOC) located in Berlin, WI. Their unit was mobilized as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in December 2002. “We at Oshkosh salute Pete and John for serving their country in the fight against terrorism," said Oshkosh Defense president John Stoddart. The RAOC’s mission in Afghanistan is to fill primary staff positions for Bagram Base Operations. Base Operations is responsible for base perimeter security, land use management, and life support for approximately 7,000 U.S. and coalition forces, and construction projects for planned base operations.