Photo By Master Sgt. Michael Matkin | Arizona Army National Guard Spc. John Decker, 222nd Transportation Company, and Spc....... read more read more
The Arizona National Guard COVID-19 Task Force LOG transportation team’s vehicle maintainers have provided continuous critical support for the COVID-19 mission since the TF LOG stood up in March of 2020.
The small team of seven mechanics has not skipped a beat when it comes to keeping the fleet of vehicles operational during the COVID-19 crisis response efforts for the state of Arizona.
“The transportation team has conducted over 90,000 miles of driving, utilizing over 100,000 man hours, in support of numerous missions under Task Force LOG during the COVID-19 support mission,” said U.S. Army 1st Lt. Joshua Gallagher of the 2220th Transportation Company. “Our maintenance section is responsible for keeping our M915 semi-trucks operational and able to sustain local and out-of-state missions. They install replacement parts, conduct recovery operations in the event of a breakdown, and periodically conduct routine maintenance on our assigned vehicles.”
The mechanics responsibilities for the fleet of vehicles has been an all-encompassing job.
“We do the regular maintenance on all of the unit’s vehicles, but we also fix anything that breaks on them to make sure they can be out there getting the mission done and getting supplies to food banks and vaccine sites,” said U.S. Army Spc. Robert Kelty, 222nd Transportation Company wheeled-vehicle mechanic. “Since the beginning of the COVID-19 mission, I have helped with a range of repairs and maintenance such as replacing radiators on High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles [HMMWVs], changed out hub assemblies on some of the Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks [HEMMTs], repaired chips in some of our vehicles’ windows, and even some small body work on the trucks to keep them in good condition.”
Without the team of mechanics the mission would not be able to effectively support the ongoing COVID-19 missions.
“Our job is to maintain the trucks that are being used for the COVID-19 mission,” said Kelty. “These trucks are frequently running over 300 miles each week, which creates a lot of wear on the vehicles. It’s our job to make sure the trucks are up and running so they can continue their mission. For example, if our trucks are supporting a mission to deliver food and supplies to community centers and events and something happens to that truck it would delay the delivery of the supplies, which could delay getting the critical supplies to the people who need them. This is why it’s so important to keep our vehicles maintained and operational.”
The transportation mission of the AZNG COVID-19 task force goes beyond the state’s borders and has been critical to providing necessary community support.
“Team Transportation has a unique logistical support role among Task Force Logistics and is the only company that has assigned military vehicles able to support missions both in the state of Arizona and surrounding states,” said Galleghar. “TM Transportation has ongoing missions across the state with our main element based in Phoenix, with detachments in Nogales and now Flagstaff. Our company conducts cyclical transportation operations from Arizona to California and back, with the purpose of delivering acquisitioned supplies to food banks around Arizona. Our Company had the unique duty of providing transportation logistical support, in addition to being responsible for a variety of daily food bank support operations.”
Their support has helped fill the increase in demand within the transportation industry due to the COVID-19 crisis.
“I feel like our contributions are really helping out during this pandemic and that without us helping support transportation missions, the civilian truckers would still be really overwhelmed,” said Kelty.
The continuous support from the mechanics has also allowed for additional training and improves the overall mission readiness of the personnel.
“It feels good to be doing something more than just rotating tires every year because we doing something that really helps support our communities,” said Kelty. “It’s been a new experience and it has helped me become a better leader and help us all grow and learn to adapt to new environments.”
| Date Taken: | 07.08.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 07.08.2021 13:17 |
| Story ID: | 400545 |
| Location: | PHOENIX, ARIZONA, US |
| Web Views: | 242 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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