Photo By Pvt. Deangelo Wells | Spc. Travis Hoyle, of Cornstock, Mich., quartermaster and chemical equipment repairer,...... read more read more
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CAMP ADDER, Iraq – Soldiers in 64th Brigade Support Battalion spend countless hours in their vehicles moving supplies and equipment all across southern Iraq through the intense heat. The cool air they enjoy in the cabs of their trucks can largely be attributed to the hard work of Spc. Travis Hoyle, of Cornstock Park, Mich., who takes the job of keeping his fellow soldiers cool very seriously.
Many of his peers and supervisors recognize him as the wizard of air conditioning because he has researched and learned multiple ways to improve the cooling systems in his company’s vehicles.
Hoyle, quartermaster and chemical equipment repairer, Company B, 64th BSB, 3rd Advise and Assist Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, accepted the mission of salvaging parts and equipment from inoperable vehicles and refitting that equipment into palletized loading systems and fuelers that have poor air conditioning units.
Salvaging parts and equipment already on hand saves the Army from buying new equipment. Hoyle recognized this when he tackled the mission and decided to use everything available to prevent spending unnecessary money.
“When we first got to the motor pool, I had found that there was equipment left behind. Everything from various military vehicle parts to tool kits. I picked them up and used them to my advantage. A lot of that equipment I can use for the refitting mission,” said Hoyle.
Hoyle’s refitting mission allows soldiers battered by the Iraqi heat to have a better air conditioner in their vehicle, allowing them a much higher degree of comfort while on the road for several hours.
“When soldiers from other vehicles get into the ones we’ve modified, the soldiers feel the difference from the moment they got in,” said Hoyle.
When Hoyle isn’t refitting vehicles, he’s working on air conditioning systems for buildings in the motor pool. The first mission he and Spc. Yeu Wei received was to fix faulty air conditioners. When they arrived, only 10 of 73 air conditioners functioned properly. They worked diligently and repaired 58 of these faulty units.
“He knows exactly what he’s doing. I couldn’t do this alone and neither could he. It’s a good thing both of us were able to work together to get things done,” said Wei, power generating equipment repairer, from Tian Jin, China.
A day for Hoyle is never the same as the previous one. He goes from installing compressors in military vehicles one day, to siphoning fuel from a bad generator the next.
“Every day is an adventure. I can be doing compressors or generator work one day, and the next I can be doing air conditioning systems in buildings. I never know what’s going to happen the next day. That’s why I enjoy my job so much,” he said.
Hoyle continues to educate himself, striving to learn even more about generators and air conditioners.
“I am a competitive person,” said Hoyle. “When I couldn’t fix all of the units alone, I decided to learn more. I started reading more and created note cards to remember what goes where and allows things to function more effectively.”
| Date Taken: | 11.14.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 11.17.2010 01:46 |
| Story ID: | 60292 |
| Location: | CAMP ADDER, IQ |
| Web Views: | 232 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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