Photo By Sgt. Mitch Armbruster | Sgt. DeeAnn Bishop, a small arms repair technician with the 317th Maintenance Company,...... read more read more
Q-WEST BASE COMPLEX, Iraq - Soldiers face constant challenges keeping equipment in good working order. Iraq's extreme heat, along with dust and sand, consistently make maintenance a major part of the work Soldiers in the maintenance field have to endure.
The 317th Maintenance Company, stationed at Q-West Base Complex in northern Iraq, work on all aspects of vehicle, weapon and equipment maintenance to support the efforts of warfighters.
When the Soldiers arrived in Iraq, they had to reconfigure the motor pool and their workspaces away from the company. Old aircraft hangers near the flight line became work areas.
"The Soldiers did a great job getting things taken care of," said 1st Lt. Edward Bouldin, the 317th executive officer.
The maintenance crew inventoried parts the previous unit left behind and found parts they didn't need or could use, separated them and turned in the excess.
"The Soldiers worked hard to make this the best motor pool," said Sgt. 1st Class Richard Aydelotte, a platoon sergeant with the 317th. "They've turned in 25,000 gallons of waste."
The waste turn-in was the most in the QBC area in a two-year period. The 317th knew turning in the waste was a step toward making working conditions for their Soldiers better.
In addition, to make conditions easier, Aydelotte said they requested more computer systems. The mechanics use the systems to do diagnostic checks on the vehicles turned in for repair. The computers hold paperless manuals to help troubleshoot problems on vehicles. The technology offers Soldiers a tool to save time and work more efficiently to get vehicles back to the customers.
"The Army trained me as a mechanic to fix Army equipment," said Sgt. Eric Hoskins, the motor pool NCOIC. "We have a mission out here, if we can fix it, we will fix it."
Hoskins stated, his crew helps anyone around the base with their maintenance issues. Like Hoskins" crew, teams of 317th Soldiers work on special projects in the metal shop, air conditioning installation and weapon's maintenance.
The 317th has a vehicle lift, one of the only lift systems for maintenance support in the country. The lift offers Soldiers more mobility and cuts maintenance time. Bringing the system to Iraq was a proactive measure by the 317th and allows mechanics a freedom of movement.
The system helped the Soldiers do more than 320 jobs, a number 10 times greater than the workload in garrison.
While the mechanics working on vehicles have their hands full, the 317th has a team of five Soldiers working on air conditioning installation. With the heat of the summer already affecting Soldiers, the air conditioning jobs are a major concern. The crew has done more than 400 jobs in a six-month period according to Sgt. 1st Class Terry Tookes, the general support NCOIC.
"These guys are always working," said Bouldin. "They have future jobs on their plate."
The metal shop, like the air conditioning crew, has been busy while deployed in Iraq. They have fabricated many different metal jobs. People bring the metal shop an idea, they tell them what they need and what their product has to do. With this information they build the parts for those in need.
The 317th weapons maintenance team works with Iraqi soldiers to maintain their rifles. The crew works on the Iraqi weapons, and they are training the Iraqi soldiers to understand the importance of taking care of their weapons. Soldiers working on the weapons have completed more than 750 jobs.
All of the 317th's maintenance people agreed, the job is about customer service. The company's goal is taking care of the Soldiers within the company and those that seek out the 317th for maintenance.
"The Soldiers did it. They worked hard and they took pride in it," said Bouldin about the efforts all of the 317th. "Soldiers make the leadership's job easier."
| Date Taken: | 06.19.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 06.19.2006 09:58 |
| Story ID: | 6840 |
| Location: | QAYYARAH, IQ |
| Web Views: | 114 |
| Downloads: | 28 |
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