Photo By Staff Sgt. Walter Lowell | The SP4 James A. Loux, Logistical Support Vehicle-6, moves its cargo through the...... read more read more
PERSIAN GULF – What does the U.S. Army do when it has to haul thousands of tons of equipment and vehicles across an ocean to operations in places like the Middle East? It calls upon its fleet of Logistical Support Vessels (LSV) and Landing Craft Utility vessels (LSUs).
Each of the Army’s sturdy and rugged LSV’s has over 10,000 square feet of deck space and has the ability to carry two-dozen M1 Abrams main battle tanks. But Sailors do not run them, Soldiers do.
Any number of problems can happen when out to sea with no port in sight. So the Army trains Soldiers to maintain and repair these boats and they are as rugged and sophisticated as the equipment they work.
“We do it all ourselves,” said Army Staff Sgt. Jeremy Avery, an 88L watercraft engineer and an auxiliary non-commissioned officer assigned to the 1099th Transportation Detachment deployed to Kuwait. “All of our engineers can work every piece of equipment we have onboard the vessel. We do not have anyone that is specifically specialized in any one thing.”
Pvt. Jacob Pivaroff, a watercraft engineer assigned to the 1099th TD, has been working as an engineman on LSV-6 for about six months. Before enlisting in the Army, Pivaroff was not very mechanically inclined but he read an article about Army watercraft and became interested in the program.
“We have to learn all the main systems below deck,” said Pivaroff. “I can start the day working on plumbing, before lunch I can be working on electrical and generators, [and] by close, I can be working on the main engine.”
In addition to those systems, Pivaroff said the boat engineers have to be able to make repairs to the boat's hull, the air conditioning, heating and ventilation units, cranes, fire suppression system, water purifier and hydraulics while out to sea.
“Never know what is going to happen,” said Spc. Winfield Maynard, a watercraft engineer with the 1099th. He has been in the Army for four years as an engineer. “You never expect something to break until it breaks.” Maynard went to college majoring in civil engineering before he enlisted. He has a vast knowledge of both mechanics and boating.
Due to the many complicated components onboard a vessel, engineers are required to take three additional schools after their basic combat training during their careers.
When a Soldier graduates basic, they go to Military Occupation Specialty schools or Advanced Individual Training. Once a Soldier is done with AIT they are what the crew calls a “10-level.” From there, the service member can attend schools to develop their skills, said Avery. Each school, 20-school, 30-school and so on, becomes available as they go up in rank. Each school gives Soldiers more qualifications which allows them to work on more advanced systems.
Avery is an 88L20, Pivaroff an 88L10 and Maynard an 88L10. The engineers use this distinction to delegate different tasks to a other engineers.
Soldiers con complete their 10-school before being promoted and repair equipment that is typically worked on by higher-ranking service members.
These three Soldiers serve on LSV-6, the SP4 James A. Loux. Its home port is at Kuwait Naval Base, Kuwait. The besson class vessel is named after SP4 James Arthur Loux, a 21-year-old Soldier, who was killed in action in 1971 serving in Vietnam. The Army posthumously awarded Loux the Silver Star for bravery under fire.
LSV-6 is 273 feet long and 60 feet wide at the beam. It is propelled by two EMD 16-645E2 engines that produce 1,950 horsepower each. The craft can reach speeds over 11 knots, about 13 mph, with a full load and has an approximate range of over 6,000 nautical miles.
“You get to see a lot of different things and places,” said Maynard.
He has been to Japan, Korea, Alaska, Washington, Maryland, Virginia, Maineand the Middle East.
Pivaroff shares Maynard’s love of traveling.
“I don’t hear other mechanics talking about going to more than two countries during deployment,” he said jokingly.
“So far I love this field,” said Pivaroff. He plans on continuing his new-found career in engineering after his enlistment is over.
Maynard wants to continue his education and is still on the fence if he wants to stay in the Army or not.
| Date Taken: | 02.28.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 07.13.2016 02:46 |
| Story ID: | 203795 |
| Location: | ARABIAN GULF |
| Web Views: | 1,063 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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