Photo By Staff Sgt. Patrick Caldwell | Spc. Mindi Addis packs grease into a bearing at the combined maintenance shop for the...... read more read more
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq – One specialist started her journey to Iraq by answering an ad in the newspaper.
Spc. Mindi Addis, a mechanic and with Company Alpha, 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry Regiment, 77th Sustainment Brigade, 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command and a native of Woodburn, Ore., had just left the Air Force and was searching for work nearly 10 years ago when she noticed an advertisement for the Army. She scanned the ad, spotted the phone number at the bottom of the page and made the call.
“I needed a job,” she said. “I’ve been in eight years.”
Addis, 35, works as a full-time technician for the Army at Camp Withycombe near Portland, Ore., but in Iraq she works as a mechanic at the 3rd Battalion combined maintenance shop on post.
The mechanics at the maintenance facility mostly work on the mine resistant ambush protected vehicles that 3rd Battalion soldiers utilize while guarding convoys across central Iraq.
The mechanics face an array of mechanical and electrical problems every day with MRAPs, and Addis said she enjoys the variety of challenges her job offers.
“I like learning new things and something always pops up I didn’t know,” she said.
Addis said most of the issues with MRAPs are routine, including leaky differentials and transmissions.
Each MRAP, however, furnishes its own unique set of problems.
“They all have their little issues,” she said.
That is just fine for Addis. She said she enjoys tackling and solving a specific mechanical issue.
“I like getting my mind working,” she said. “I like figuring out how things work. Putting something together is very gratifying.”
Addis said one of the crucial elements of her success on the job is the positive attitude of her co-workers.
“I like it. Overall I like the camaraderie,” she said.
Addis said she was always interested in the mechanical side of things. Her father and grandfather were both mechanics, though she didn’t start out following in their footsteps.
She originally wanted to go to medical school and when she joined the U.S. Air Force, she worked as a graphic designer.
Now, though, she said she wouldn’t trade her job for anything. She said she also understands how important her task as a mechanic is to the 3rd Battalion’s mission.
“If we weren’t here, they wouldn’t be on the road,” she said.
According to Addis’ boss, Chief Warrant Officer 2 John Bales, the maintenance chief for the 3rd Battalion, Addis is a valued member of the unit’s maintenance team.
“She is a good mechanic and a hard worker,” he said.
Addis said she has another key project at home she plans to finish when her tour in Iraq concludes: restoring a 1979 CJ5, a 70s-era Jeep made by American Motors Company.
| Date Taken: | 04.14.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 04.24.2011 08:41 |
| Story ID: | 69268 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 346 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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