Photo By Sgt. Mitch Armbruster | Spc. John Donnan, a combat mechanic with the 725th Transportation Company, takes a new...... read more read more
FOB ENDURANCE, Iraq - Covered in oil and working to keep trucks on the road, a mechanic has to be ready to adapt to the mission and the abuse the vehicles take.
The 725th Transportation Company, a National Guard unit from North Carolina, works hard to improve vehicle maintenance on Forward Operating Base Endurance for the 71st Corps Support Battalion.
"We run missions seven days a week. We have very little notice on no roll days," said Sgt. 1st Class James Deanes, the maintenance NCOIC. "It's hard to be proactive."
No roll days, as Deanes calls them, are days without missions. Those days allow the maintenance team a chance to train and recover.
Deanes had to train his Soldiers because many of them were new to the maintenance field. The bulk of their experience came from Advanced Individual Training and they lacked the knowledge of an experienced mechanic.
"We've been busy and this has been a learning experience," Deanes said. "We've accomplished something by being here and throwing them into the fire. They know the text book and the real world side of the job."
Deanes was quick to add his Soldiers have learned valuable skills on this deployment.
The 725th is running missions regularly and the maintenance team has seen it all. Staff Sgt. Reginald Aycock, senior maintenance NCO, said the damaged roads are hard on the humvees and trucks. They've fixed oil pans, mirrors, transmissions, motors and humvee basic issue items.
"The gun trucks are a big priority," said Aycock. They are the lifeline on the roads and the team knows they are an important element to the missions, he added.
Some mechanics stay on the FOB working on vehicles while others like Staff Sgt. Robert Simonson, a light-wheel vehicle mechanic, participates in missions. Simonson was a member of the U.S. Navy and made the transition into the Army National Guard because he wanted to keep serving. The unit has been fortunate on the missions but Simonson was on a mission with a major mechanical issue.
"The one and only time we had to tow a vehicle," Simonson said. "A front tire and wheel fell off a truck." Simonson describe the incident as an accident off a television screen, with sparks much like NASCAR.
Whether on the road or in the shop, the mechanics receive thanks from the drivers for the job they do.
| Date Taken: | 04.26.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 04.26.2006 11:33 |
| Story ID: | 6127 |
| Location: | QAYYARAH, IQ |
| Web Views: | 92 |
| Downloads: | 26 |
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