Courtesy Photo | Sgt. Justin Pecht, a metal fabrication specialist with the 298th Support Maintenance...... read more read more
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Story by: Pfc. David T. Christian
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq — Soldiers with the allied trades section of the 298th Support Maintenance Company, 13th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) commonly display the ingenuity of the modern Soldier.
The projects completed by the allied trades Soldiers are planned and built by Soldiers in both the metal and wood shops.
“Everything we do is completely new and different,” said Spc. Duane Bair, a metal fabrication specialist with the 298th SMC and a Saxton, Pa., native. “Everything is completely custom, from completely fabricating storage containers for the new military all-terrain vehicles, to building canopies for the gunners in the turrets on [Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicles], to rebuilding the mountings for … antennas.”
They created a lot of custom tools for the 298th SMC Heavy Equipment Transporter repair shop. Some of the hammers and wrenches used in the HET repair shop were specifically designed to make the jobs of the mechanics safer and easier, said Sgt. Rex A. Wertz, a metal fabrication specialist with the 298th SMC and a Bedford, Pa., native.
Some of the Soldiers in the welding shop are not actually welders, coming from different military occupational specialties and backgrounds.
“We work very well together,” Wertz said. “If one Soldier doesn’t know how to do a specific job, we work together to get the job done, ensuring that it is done right, and that the Soldier gains the knowledge necessary for future, similar jobs.”
Staff Sgt. Robin T. McGill, noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the allied trades weld shop with the 298th SMC and a Lewisburg, Pa., native, has been working in the metal fabrication industry for more than 20 years, and has personally trained most of the Soldiers under his supervision.
“If it is made of metal, it falls under our scope of operations,” McGill said. “If it is metal and it is broken, cracked or bent, we can fix it.”
The other half of the allied trades operation is the 298th Support Maintenance wood shop, a diverse group of Soldiers who design and build almost anything requested.
Spc. Bryan N. Davis, an apprentice in the wood shop with the 298th SMC and a North Beach, Md., native, said this is his first time working with wood, but he is learning quickly and enjoys it.
“Everything I do here is going to be different, no matter what I make,” he said. “The skills I am learning here will be great for future jobs and hobbies, and it’s always a new challenge for me, because I’m just starting to learn.”
Davis began learning by cutting shelves and picture frames, and then moving on to benches and award plaques, eventually to helping build the chain of command board for the 13th CSSB.
Sgt. 1st Class David Sunderland, noncommissioned officer-in-charge of Bellwood, Pa., native, said his job is to supervise all work being done in the shop, tracking all the orders and assigning a priority to each one.
“I call myself a working supervisor,” he said. “Sometimes we have more work than the Soldiers alone can do, and sometimes I can show them how to do something they haven’t seen before. I also check each and every individual piece we work on before it ever leaves the shop.”
The Soldiers of the wood shop have worked on building a Pavilion for the 3rd Sustainment Brigade and many little odds and ends, such as flag cases for Soldiers. Sunderland said that the fact the flag cases are built by Soldiers for Soldiers makes them some of the most important items that they work on.
“We are here to help Soldiers,” Sunderland said. “If they need shade, we give them that. If a Soldier needs storage space, we give them that. We don’t work on frivolous items.”
| Date Taken: | 06.03.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 07.09.2010 06:24 |
| Story ID: | 52579 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 190 |
| Downloads: | 80 |
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