38th Main Support Battalion

Soldiers from the 1438th transportation company and the 38th support battalion (main) have volunteered for state active duty to support the Hoosier Hay Lift. Seven barge loads of donated hay bound for drought- and flood-stricken Oklahoma farmers were loaded and shipped from the Southwind Maritime Centre at Mount Vernon, Ind. Hay has been pledged by more than 1,200 farmers from over 40 Indiana counties. Three-thousand round hay bales equal more than 200 semi truckloads of hay -- presenting the Hoosier Hay Lift with unique delivery challenges. Barges were chosen as the transportation source because each barge can move as many as 30 truckloads of hay at a time. The Ohio/Mississippi River system links southern Indiana to Oklahoma via the Arkansas River. Five companies donated barges to the Hoosier Hay Lift, and the first to come forward was Jeffersonvilles American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL).