‘Junkyard mechanic’ brings quick thinking, resourcefulness to special forces missions

Published May 8, 2013
By Master Sgt. Leisa Grant
Air Forces Central Command Public Affairs

URUZGAN, Afghanistan -- Editors note: Names of special forces and support members are withheld for security reasons.

The mission had been attempted multiple times before. Cancellations happened as a result of weather and other complications.

The team was to build checkpoints in desolate areas of the region to aid in isolating insurgent strongholds.

"I was going to be on standby and if anything happened, they would fly me out if needed," said Air Force Staff Sgt. Ryton Hitzel, a vehicle mechanic and joint expeditionary Airman assigned to a special forces maintenance battalion, adding that he was on the fence about it. His crew knew the likeliness of improvised explosive devices and enemy contact was high. The distance was about half a day's drive and the terrain was unforgiving.

At first, everything had gone well. The first checkpoint was successfully constructed, so they moved toward the second site. Then, it happened - significant mechanic failure.

After coming around a cliff face, the right front upper-control arm ball joint came out of its socket on one of the vehicles, causing the tire to become twisted. A decision had to be made quickly. The vehicle, crucial to the mission, would either have to be blown up where it stood, or fixed.

"Ninety-nine out of 100 mechanics would say it couldn't be fixed," said the Army major in command of the entire operation.

The only Airman on the convoy did not surrender to the idea of giving the RG-33 Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle up so quickly. As he had already done many times during the deployment, he came up with a solution that would save the military about $1.5 million. More importantly, if it worked, it would prevent another team from having to come and dispose of the vehicle or take it apart piece by piece for shipment.

"Two ratchet straps and a chain," Hitzel later told the ground force commander when asked what he used to temporarily rig the vehicle in order to move it to a safer location for repair.

"Let me get this right," the commander said. "You used two ratchet straps and a chain?"

With the help of a driver, Hitzel used a bottle jack, two ratchet straps and a chain to essentially winch to another vehicle and put the ball joint back in its socket. But, this would only be enough to move it to the closest site.

Once at the site, Hitzel's work was not done, the RG-33 still needed solid maintenance.

Hitzel put together a list of parts and tools necessary to do the repair and 16 hours later, they were air dropped. Within a day, the vehicle was back up and fully mission capable; Hitzel saw opportunity where others may have seen disaster.

"What sets Staff Sgt. Hitzel apart from others is what every commander wants," the major said. "He can get me to 'yes' because he is a professional problem solver and a natural leader."

Hitzel's upbringing could be credited with his resourceful approach to problems.

"My family didn't have a lot of money growing up so we were really resourceful, kind of like the Afghans here," Hitzel explained. "They reuse things, or they fix things by modifying and tinkering with them until they cannot use them any longer."

Even before his Air Force career, Hitzel was accustomed to finding things that could later be used to fix something, anything. He would find things that weren't working and make them work or intentionally take them apart, just to see if he could fix them.

"Today's society is more about buying things and throwing them away once they're done with them or they no longer work," Hitzel said.

The idea that one man's junk is another man's treasure rings true for Hitzel, just as much today as it did when he was a young boy. One of his earliest memories of resourcefulness was finding bicycles in a junkyard and sitting down with his father to make them work again.

"The tires were bent, so my dad straightened out the rims," he said. "I'll never forget that we put them together and made them work. It kind of started from there."

Although Hitzel doesn't have a junkyard here, his coworkers can attest to the fact that he still goes on treasure hunts in his free time. If he isn't actively seeking out parts and pieces that others have thrown out, he can be found working on a generator or a vehicle - at all hours, usually with a headlamp on, grease on his face and dirt in his blonde hair.

"I've come out at 2 a.m. and seen him knee deep in a generator," said Hitzel's supervisor and battalion maintenance officer. "I have to tell him to go to sleep so he doesn't work himself to death."

As a JET Airman, Hitzel is attached to an Army unit, but also works with Navy and civilian maintenance personnel.

While he was adjusting to an environment unlike his all-Air Force unit at home station, Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., his leadership did not seem to notice it was a challenge for him in the beginning.

"He dug his heals in and started working," his supervisor said. "It really wasn't a challenge for him to adapt to the environment here."

If it isn't the mission he is directly involved with, then it is the morale.

One of the remote sites had problematic water pumps. This meant no showers in an area where hot running water and hot food were arguably the highlights of the day for the special forces and support service members there.

With some innovative thinking and a few spare parts, Hitzel made it happen.

"He went in there and took it upon himself to make sure the quality of the life at the camp was better for everyone," said Hitzel's supervisor.

From junkyard bicycles to forward operating bases, Hitzel employs the hunger to "tinker" and fix things whether it is during his duty day or after hours. He primarily works with vehicles and generators, but has been known to revive abandoned motorcycles, electronics and a multitude of other items most would have thrown away.

"Hitzel is highly motivated and a good team member who has extensive mechanical skills," his supervisor said. "Anything that clicks and ticks, he's put a wrench to it."

Junkyard Mechanic