Photo By Staff Sgt. Sebastian Rothwyn | U.S. Army Sgt. Jonathan Rodriguez, an allied trade specialist with the 783rd Support...... read more read more
CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait -- When a welding project came to the 783rd Support Maintenance Company shop directly from U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Michel M. Russell, Sr., commanding officer of the 1st Theatre Sustainment Command, those Soldiers got to work.
To make the part—an adaptor, which enables the safe lowering of the belly armor of a Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected, or MRAP, tactical vehicle—possible, Staff Sgt. José Cosme, an allied trade specialist with the 783rd SMC, in charge of the shop, gathered his team and created a plan.
Cosme said that he knew his team was capable of completing the task and doing so on time.
Many of the 783rd SMC Puerto Rico National Guard welders and machinists have over 15 years of military and civilian welding and machining experience, but these Soldiers realized they needed to get innovative; especially, since the vehicle was no longer made and its parts were no longer available to order.
Sgt. Jonathan Rodriguez, an allied trade specialist and master welder with the 783rd SMC, said that to fabricate the specific part that allows mechanics to safely move the belly armor on and off an MRAP, the team needed to make the right bends on the adaptor that would enable attachment to a transmission jack.
Initially, the team cut and welded to make the needed bends. But that became a guessing game the deeper they got into the process, said Rodriguez.
“We ended up making our own press to bend a one-fourth inch of aluminum to the required angle,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez has been welding since he was 16-years-old. He learned the initial skills of the trade in a vocational school in the mainland of the United States. Now, he runs his own shop when he is not actively serving in uniform.
He said that the skills he gained in the civilian world helped him as he worked on the project.
“As a Guardsman I only work in a military capacity a few days a month,” Rodriguez said. “I practice and further my trade in my civilian life and bring those skills to the military.”
For Spc. Dayana Morales, an allied trade specialist with the 783rd SMC, who assisted in the precise bending of the adaptor, her military training helps her train students in the civilian world.
Training for allied trade work across the globe provides students with the hands on experience to have on-the-job know-how said Morales, but the Army provides the theoretical insights to make students in Army allied trade Advanced Individual Training understand their work in a multifaceted way.
National Guard Soldiers often hold civilian jobs or attend school while maintaining their civilian career. Guardsman are a unique element of the U.S. Army that serve both community and country.
The 783rd SMC deployed to Kuwait for an overseas mission but Soldiers within that company have responded to domestic emergencies and reconstruction missions in Puerto Rico.
Sgt. Rafael Rivera-Mercado, an allied trade specialist and section sergeant with the 783rd SMC, cut and welded during the adaptor project. When Hurricane Maria affected Puerto Rico in 2017, Rivera-Mercado used his skills to weld the tree-damaged front bumpers of Light Medium Tactical Vehicles. As a shop supervisor and inspector in the civilian sector, he even brought people from that world into the military world to help him complete his task.
Although the National Guardsman’s primary mission is the federal mission as the combat reserve force of the U.S. Army, they bring their mission readiness to the state or territory when a governor response is needed during emergencies at home.
Spc. Felipe Colon, an allied trade specialist with the 783rd SMC, who assisted Rivera-Mercado with design and planning during the adaptor project, said that teamwork helped ensure the efficient completion of the job.
The adaptor that the 783rd SMC shop made is 50% lighter and has 60% more fluidity, said Cosme. And for those two reasons, it has made the part safer for mechanics to don on and off MRAPs.
At the 783rd SMC shop in Camp Buehring, Kuwait, ingenuity helped the team through the challenging moments.
Staff Sgt. Victor Reyes, an allied trade specialist with the 783rd SMC, who assisted in machining during the project, said that his team can create anything needed to make any innovation possible.
“I'm proud of my section because everyone has a skillset from their civilian life,” Reyes said. “Everyone is an expert in some area and we all come together and have the necessary skillsets needed to create that which is necessary and complete the mission.”
| Date Taken: | 12.06.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 12.10.2022 07:07 |
| Story ID: | 434901 |
| Location: | CAMP BUEHRING, KW |
| Web Views: | 323 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, A Job Weld Done by Allied Trade Specialists, by SGT Ryan Scribner, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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