Courtesy Photo | Members of the 3-411th Logistics Support Brigade check under the hood of a Humvee at...... read more read more
By Amy May
Camp Atterbury Publc Affairs
CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. - If imitation is the highest form of flattery, members of the 3-411th Logistics Support Battalion have every reason to be proud.
The Army Reserve unit's work to make Camp Atterbury's training vehicles more up-to-date has been copied at training sites all over the country. It all started when then commander, Col. Christopher Holden, asked the unit to make the Humvees used for training at Camp Atterbury look and feel more like the ones troops were using in Iraq and Afghanistan.
This practice, called "VIS-MOD," – visually modified – is one of the reasons the unit won the Army Award for Maintenance Excellence for fiscal year 2007, said the unit's executive officer, Maj. Larry Cox.
Older Humvees have been altered to make them look and handle like the up-armored ones. This is necessary, he explained, because the up-armored vehicles are in short supply, so they need to go to the troops overseas instead of going to training sites. It is still important, however, for training Soldiers to be familiar with the new vehicles. The VIS-MOD Humvees allow the Soldiers to get some experience with the vehicles they will be using overseas.
"If they better understand the maneuverability of them, it increases the odds of them accomplishing the mission and coming home," Cox said.
The 411th, which entered the competition in the "small unit" category, won first place among all Army Reserve units in the country and placed fourth overall.
The awards process begins with a written application that includes a summary of the unit's accomplishments, actions, use of resources and innovative practices. The Army also sends an inspection group to watch the unit at work.
"They look at efficiency, the amount of support you do, how it is used," Cox said.
The VIS-MOD was innovative, but Sgt. 1st Class Michael Rockwell pointed out that the unit also does more with less.
"We're maintaining a brigade's worth of equipment with a detachment size shop and staff," Rockwell said. "We work hard. We are all mobilized Reserve, with no civilian employees. We are the only [shop] like that."
The unit is part of the 205th Infantry Brigade at Camp Atterbury, which is in charge of training and validation for troops activated for overseas duty.
The unit's regular duties include maintenance of the 110 pieces of rolling stock that are used while training troops at Camp Atterbury. The maintenance needs are extensive, Cox said.
"They get ridden into the ground with all the things they do here," said Cox.
The 411th does more than fix Humvees, however. The unit is also in charge of supplying fuel, water and other equipment to troops training at Camp Atterbury and Muscatatuck Urban Training Center and scheduling the vehicles for all the units that need to train on them.
"[The award] was for the entire battalion as a whole: maintenance, supply, administration and training," Chief Warrant Officer 2 Francis Tomczuk said.
They are especially proud of their VIS-MOD project, however.
"We basically came up with the most realistic equipment we could with the most cost avoidance," Rockwell said.
It costs $1.2 million for a new up-armored mine resistant ambush protected troop transport truck. The 411th was able to replicate one for $30,000. They spend less than $2,000 to retrofit a Humvee. They are also working on VIS-MOD for the 915 trucks, which are used to transport supplies and fuel.
Many of the added components are made of wood, such as the turret on top of the Humvees. It allows someone to actually ride in it and see what it feels like and where its blind spots are. The VIS-MOD copies the smaller, thicker windows of the up-armored models and has replicas of the newer mine-detection devices. They have tried to replicate the inside of the Humvee, with its switches and communications systems.
"The design we came up with First Army adopted Army-wide," Rockwell said, adding that retired Lt. Gen. Russell Honore, commanding general of First Army, visited Indiana frequently when he was in charge of training and was very complimentary.
"I've been to other Army [mobilization] stations. It's very neat to get on the ground and see one that looks just like ours," Sgt. 1st Class Tully Culp said, adding that he's even seen components of the 411th's design on Indiana National Guard vehicles.
It's not unusual for Soldiers to be the first ones to come up with new designs. They are working with the equipment and are the best ones to know how to make it better, Tomczuk said.
"Many designs on military vehicles were invented by guys on the ground," he said.
Rockwell said the Soldiers in the Operation Warrior Trainer program bring back ideas on how to modify vehicles to more closely resemble what's being used now.
"It's really hard to keep up with the technology. They are constantly changing things over there," Rockwell said.
Cox said being recognized for their work is an honor, but the Soldiers have always been proud of their work and the unit, which they say is like a family.
"It's not like we feel we need a pat on the back," he said. "We know we're doing the right thing. Still, it's a great honor to see them validate how we've done things."
| Date Taken: | 08.29.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 08.29.2008 15:44 |
| Story ID: | 23025 |
| Location: | CAMP ATTERBURY, INDIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 235 |
| Downloads: | 150 |
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