Maintenance Soldiers adapt to bigger, newer vehicles

LOGAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Soldiers from the Maintenance Platoon, 173rd Special Troops Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, continue adapting to the new maintenance challenges the Army’s relatively-new Mine Resistant Ambush Protectant vehicles present. 

Deployed to Forward Operating Base Shank in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, these troops work to maintain the mission-essential vehicles, which are highly resistant to roadside bombs.

“Quality assurance and quality control is what we conduct on a day-to-day basis on each vehicle,” said U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Sara J. George, maintenance platoon supervisor from New Brighton, Pa. “This is to protect the Soldier who is actually going to be on the road on a daily basis.”

“If the truck is not mission capable, it’s not safe to go outside the wire. What we strive to do is make sure everything is correct,” said U.S. Army Pfc. Shannon L. Reid, an all-wheel vehicle mechanic from Augusta, Ga.

The advent of new vehicle systems presents new challenges to George and her platoon. The size alone of many parts of the MRAP can create difficulties. 

“All the parts are bigger and heavier with more armor,” Reid said.

“It’s obviously a much bigger piece of equipment to deal with, but my guys are all over it,” said George.  “It’s a challenge for them, but they’re excited about it because they’re into maintenance; they like the field and they don’t mind the job.”

Reid says the only way to acclimate to the new parts is to handle them on a daily basis. 

“Learn everything you can just by working on them everyday. We learn something new every time we get an MRAP in,” Reid said. 

Sometimes this adjustment requires a learning curve.

“If I don’t fix it right, I get mad at myself, then I want to fix it better the next time … a lot of pride comes with the uniform,” Reid said. 

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Drew P. Mosher-Buyno, an all-wheel mechanic from White Plains, N.Y., says the learning curve is a part of the excitement.

“The best part is troubleshooting vehicles when there’s a problem in the vehicle and we don’t know what it is,” said Mosher-Buyno. “I like trying to figure out what the problem is …just changing parts isn’t that fun.” 

“We get a lot of a satisfaction if we do find the problem; we get to fix it,” Mosher-Buyno added.

Reid shares the same sentiment.

“If you don’t have a challenge, you’re really not doing anything,” Reid said. 

Part of the challenge includes working on vehicles in a theater of warfare, a far cry from working in a garrison environment.

“It’s a much bigger responsibility, you take a lot more to heart,” George said.

“It feels good to know that what we do as the maintenance platoon and maintenance section keeps our soldiers safe and keeps our brothers and sisters going, knowing that the mission is going to be complete and we’re not going to have an issue with their vehicles.”

“They’re going to be safe on the road because we have done our job,” she added.