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380AEW Article

Soldiers give time, skill to help others while deployed

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Chance Babin
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  A group of electronics specialists have started a volunteer shop to repair personal electronics for the deployed Airmen, Soldiers and Sailors at the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, lending their time and talents to help other service members, while gaining valuable experience and honing their skills.

"I came up with the idea as a response to the need for consumer electronics repairs after visiting the lodging office and hearing the complaints from Soldiers regarding the lack of power transformers for their barracks," said Army Staff Sgt. Jeremy Hedlind, the missile maintenance NCO for the intermediate support element of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment. "I quickly determined that many of the broken transformers from the lodging office could be repaired and returned to service."

The repair service came easily for the group, whose normal duties include repairing 75 major parts of the Patriot Missile System from the engagement control station and radar to the launchers and antenna mast group.

The group started by working on transformers, but quickly realized there was more work to be done. They expanded their volunteer operations to include repairing broken televisions and vacuum cleaners that had been brought to the lodging office, Hedlind said. They soon had requests from various Army offices on the base for help repairing broken paper shredders and printers. As word of their service spread throughout the wing, they started working on personal electronics as well.

"We repair most consumer electronics devices including televisions, fans, paper shredders, Xboxes, PlayStation 3s, vacuum cleaners, transformers, battery chargers, laptops and printers," Hedlind said. "We also salvage parts from economically non-repairable equipment and use the salvaged parts to repair other equipment. Since the volunteer repair shop is unfunded, salvage repair parts are often the only source of repair parts available."

The work the volunteer Soldiers perform not only helps other service members, but also helps them hone their skills.

"The volunteer repair shop provides hundreds of additional training opportunities for my soldiers at no cost to the unit or the Army," Headlind said. "This is extremely valuable with regard to basic electronic component troubleshooting. Solidifying their understanding of the operation of basic electronic components makes them better technicians at work."

The service the Soldiers provide enables Airmen and Soldiers to get their electronics repaired on location and saves them time and money, as well.

"This reduces the lead time for repairs because they would normally have to ship this equipment to the United States," Headlind said. "We also do all of our work free of charge. We are not allowed by regulation to profit from the repair work we do so our work is done at cost of parts only. Generally, this means zero out-of-pocket costs to the end user."

For the Soldiers doing the repair work, giving back to the other Airmen and Soldiers is a big part of why they volunteer.
"Just knowing that we are helping others by fixing their electronics, and probably raising their morale, makes me feel like I have done something worth doing," said Army Sgt. Anthony King, a Patriot system repairer with the 3-4 ADAR. "It makes me feel like the opposite of a parasite."

While King enjoys lending his skills to help others, he realizes the group is also gaining valuable experience.

"We all just enjoy working on electronics," said King, a Mobile, Ala., native. "This program has also given the Soldiers in the intermediate support element, and me, a chance to improve or perfect the skill of basic electronics [repair]. This is making us more technically and tactically proficient. As ordnance Soldiers, we have no greater task."