United Fight: Vehicle maintainers travel rough road

Published April 30, 2009
By Staff Sgt. Stacia Zachary
USAFCENT Combat Camera News Team

FORWARD OPERATING BASE GARDEZ, Afghanistan -- Vehicle maintenance conducted in the most equipped garages can present its fair share of challenges. For vehicle maintainers assigned to the Paktya Provincial Reconstruction Team, garages, a well-stocked supply warehouse and proper tools are a remote luxury not often afforded here.

"Working on vehicles here have been difficult to say the least," said Master Sgt. Alexander Bryant, deployed from the 30th Logistics Readiness Squadron at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. "Getting the right equipment and having the right tools is one of the toughest challenges when fixing whatever vehicle breaks."

The Paktya PRT vehicle maintainers are responsible for maintaining HUMVEEs, mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles, light-military tactical vehicles as well as any other vehicle owned and operated by U.S. military forces and civilian assets.

"When we first got here, I had never worked on an MRAP before," said Staff Sgt. Robert Reich, deployed from the 35th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Misawa Air Base, Japan. "I had to completely learn how it worked from the inside out and I had to do it quick."

Additionally, vehicle maintainers had to learn how to report maintenance issues using the Army's Sam-C program. This program essentially opens a work order on a vehicle, forwards the problem up to headquarters at Bagram Air Field and places an order for the parts required to fix the vehicle.

"This was a challenge simply because it is a system separate to how the Air Force reports vehicle maintenance issues and because the availability and accessibility of parts is limited," said Staff Sgt. Nestor Sosa, deployed from the 97th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Altus AFB, Okla. "Learning how our sister services operate while still keeping with Air Force vehicle-in-commission standards has it's obstacles, but it also opens the door for how else things can be done."

A typical day for the vehicle maintainers involves a lot more than working a 10-hour shift. Here, they are also responsible for going out on convoys, which includes providing security, manning the .249 assault gun and providing immediate attention to any and all vehicle issues while out on a mission.

Sergeants Bryant, Reich and Sosa are responsible for all the vehicles maintained at the Paktya PRT - often a tall order for a shop of only three Airmen. To help lessen the workload when multiple vehicles are in line for repair or while one of the maintainers is on a convoy, two local nationals fill in where necessary.

"We always have to have at least one maintainer on every long-mission convoy," Sergeant Sosa said. "So, it's important that Johnny and his nephew, Anuna, are here to balance the work when there is a vehicle surge. They are very competent and give us the ability to work on several vehicles at once."

For Sergeant Sosa, this deployment has given him the best opportunity to use his vehicle know-how and apply it in the most austere conditions.

"Here my expertise is put to better use and valued more," he said. "I have more of an impact on vehicle situations because the guys rely on me to keep the vehicles moving or get them fixed and road worthy."

More than that, working in a joint service tasking in a demanding environment and volatile conditions have brought the concept of one-team, one fight into full perspective.

"My goal here isn't just to get a vehicle back online," Sergeant Sosa said. "Here the goal is more simple and more (necessary) - make sure the vehicle works so that everyone who goes out comes back home. If I don't do whatever it takes to give them a reliable vehicle, it may mean someone's life."