CAMP TIGERLAND,
Iraq (Jan. 28,
2005) – On the
support side, there
is probably no
tougher job than
extracting the main
gun on an M-1A1
Abrams tank.
It's usually done in
a maintenance
facility with cranes
and lifts and all
the specialized
tools to do the job.
But the maintenance
support team of the
199th Forward
Support Battalion
here does the job in
a tent. Aluminum
palettes used to
load Air Force C-130
and C-17 cargo jets
keep the soldiers
out of the mud and
dust. The lift is a
crane on the back of
a heavy expanded
mobility tactical
truck, which is an
Army recovery
vehicle.
"You can't send
these vehicles back
to Kuwait for work.
They are needed
here, now," said
Sgt. 1st Class Eric
Wade, maintenance
team NCO in charge.
"We work as long as
needed to make sure
equipment goes to
the troops going
outside the wire in
the best shape."
And that's the
attitude for all
members of the
battalion's B
Company , which
maintains all the
vehicles, radios and
armament of the
256th Brigade Combat
Team of the
Louisiana National
Guard. The "Tigers"
are a 4,000-strong
brigade under the
operational control
of Task Force
Baghdad. Soldiers
from New York and
Minnesota augment
the Louisianans. "If
the brigade has it,
we fix it," said
company commander
Capt. Mark McCoy.
The company provides
direct support of
the equipment in the
brigade. And it is
needed. Iraq is
tough on the
equipment, said a
number of soldiers
in the company.
Dust, mud, accident
and combat losses
are compounded by
just plain use.
"We drive the
vehicles far more
than we ever did
before," McCoy said.
"We use the weapons
more, we are
constantly on the
radios. We monitor
all preventive
maintenance too."
"The guys who go
outside the wire,
they do the real
work," said Sgt. 1st
Class Archie Smith,
the NCO in charge of
another B Company
maintenance support
team, referring to
missions such as
patrols in
surrounding civilian
communities. "They
are the guys kicking
in the doors. We
just have to make
sure that the
equipment they take
with them works the
way it is supposed
to."
"We will work the
long hours, do
whatever it takes to
make sure the
soldiers on patrol
have what they
need," said Sgt. 1st
Class Resit "Turk"
Ozsoy, maintenance
control supervisor
with the company.
Shop officer 1st lt.
Hal Bridges agrees:
"No one wants to
have someone killed
because of a mistake
here."
The group would work
this way for anyone,
but it is reinforced
because of the ties
of friendship and
kinship within the
brigade. These Guard
soldiers literally
went off to the
fight in Iraq with
their closest
friends, brothers,
sisters, fathers and
sons.
An example is the B
Company leadership
team. McCoy has
known 1st Sgt. David
Leonard "since we
were this high," he
said, pointing to a
level around his
knee. "We have been
through so much
together."
At any time, B
Company has 500 jobs
under way. This is
down from when the
brigade first came
to Tigerland. "I
think some of the
problems we had
breaking in new
equipment are over,"
McCoy said. "Still
as soon as we push
some out the door,
we have more coming
in.
The company is
looking ahead. Ozsoy
said he anticipates
the air conditioners
in the armored
Humvees will be a
problem, and they
will be an absolute
necessity as Iraq
heads into summer.
"It's not a problem
now because it's
cool," he said. "But
when it gets hot,
soldiers will need
air conditioners
because they can't
open the windows:
Doesn't make sense
to open armored
windows, does it?"
The mechanics
complain a lot about
the design of the
M-1114 armored
Humvees. They say it
adds a lot of work
to the maintenance.
"I can have the
engine out of (a
regular Humvee) in
about two hours,"
said one mechanic
with the company.
"But it'll be six
hours at least, to
take an engine out
of an M-1114."
All soldiers in the
company work as long
as it takes to
repair needed
equipment. "It's
24-7 if our guys
need it," said Wade.
"We owe it to them."
