Photo By Maj. Elias Zani | Staff Sgt. Ryan Duncan, the 442nd Air Expeditionary Squadron vehicle maintenance...... read more read more
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AL TAQADDUM AIR BASE, Iraq - The 442nd Air Expeditionary Squadron provides agile combat support at installations across Iraq, each with a team of aerial porters loading and off-loading cargo 24 hours a day.
Behind the aerial porters is a team of vehicle maintainers who ensure the fleet of vehicles are in proper working condition, keeping the cargo mission moving.
“Every vehicle we have is vital to the whole operation,” explained Senior Airman Jeffery Urquhart, a 442nd Air Expeditionary Squadron vehicle maintainer. “We only have so many assets, and they’re all important.”
Staff Sgt. Ryan Duncan and Senior Airman Jeffery Urquhart, both 442nd AES vehicle maintainers, are part of the small unit at Al Taqaddum Air Base who support the installation.
“We’re big on support. We work as a small team to get the vehicle to the operators so they can get their mission done,” said Duncan. “I know that if I’m having a hard time with something, I can lean on Urquhart, just like the rest of our team knows if they have a vehicle broken we’ll get it back to them as soon as we can so they can do their job.”
The job of a vehicle maintainer boils down to succinctly communicating within a team to solve the problems that arise when a vehicle breaks down.
The real issues arise when a team does not have the correct parts, or if a tool breaks and the team needs to wait for a replacement to arrive.
Without the accessibility of services like an auto store or expedited shipping, a small issue could result in a vehicle being out of service for weeks.
However, the 442nd AES team is part of a small, but essential vehicle maintenance community on Al Taqaddum Air Base.
“If we get stuck or don’t have the proper tools for a job, we’ll reach out [on Al Taqaddum Air Base] to see if someone has more experience with a certain part or a piece of equipment,” Urquhart said. “So we’ll get the expert advice to fix that particular problem we’re struggling with.”
Working together with concise communication to quickly fix a vehicle is imperative.
“In an austere environment like this, we sometimes have to do ‘mobile maintenance’ which is when we have a vehicle break down on the flightline we’ll go out there, make repairs and get that vehicle back to base,” said Urquhart.
Whether it is Working quickly to ensure aircraft can safely land or providing guardian angel duties for the aerial porters while they load or off-load cargo, these professional maintainers’ strength comes from the relationships they build and the trust the teams have in each other.
“Its great to see the bigger picture when you’re here,” said Duncan. “At home station you don’t always get to see what that vehicle does when it leaves your shop. Here however, you get to see what your hard work supports in the grander scheme of things and how your actions support the fight.”
| Date Taken: | 02.27.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 03.26.2019 07:22 |
| Story ID: | 315655 |
| Location: | IQ |
| Web Views: | 47 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Vehicle maintainers keep fleet healthy, operations on track, by Maj. Elias Zani, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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