1218th Transportation Company Truck Doctors

Courtesy Photo | Sgt. Avila-Davila, of West Palm Beach, Fla., Sgt. Willie Daggins from Fort Lauderdale,...... read more read more

Courtesy Photo | Sgt. Avila-Davila, of West Palm Beach, Fla., Sgt. Willie Daggins from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Sgt. Alan White a West Palm Beach, Fla., resident and Spc. Romaine Osbourne from Boynton Beach, Fla., all wheeled vehicle mechanics for the 1218th Transportation Company, 751st Combat Sustainment Support Battalion under the 96th Sustainment Brigade, 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), conduct an inventory of parts on-hand in the 1218th maintenance bay.  see less | View Image Page

AL ASAD, IRAQ

12.08.2009

Courtesy Story

13th Armored Corps Sustainment Command (13th ESC)

✔ ✗ Subscribe

11

By Sgt. Julia Norberg
1218th TC, 751st CSSB, 96SBDE

AL ASAD AIRBASE, Iraq — Dec. 8, 2009, in the 1218th Transportation Company motor pool, four mechanics work on a troublesome fifth wheel device from a M1070 Heavy Equipment Transporter. "It just wasn't working properly, so we figured we would try and rebuild it," said Pfc. Marc Thompson, a wheeled vehicle mechanic and West Palm Beach, Fla., native.

After a few minutes of tinkering with the spring loaded mechanisms, locking pins and bulky parts, Thompson and his fellow mechanics have completely revitalized what normally would be written off as a 6-year old unserviceable part. Thompson's supervisor, Sgt. 1st Class Joe Cortinas, the 1218th Transportation Company motor sergeant and a West Palm Beach, Fla., native said, "This 'can-do' spirit and 'no job is too big' attitude, highlights the motivation and drive of the 18 soldier, 1218th TC maintenance section.

Cortinas took a moment to describe the motivation and drive exhibited by his soldiers. "These guys just grabbed this equipment, were unfamiliar with it, started working on it and have done a beautiful job maintaining it since we got here."

He went on to say, "It is amazing how quickly they grasped the knowledge; 90-days later they are subject matter experts and maintaining the fleet of trucks to the highest standard possible out here."

He is right the proof is in the paperwork. According to maintenance records provided by the 1218th TC maintenance officer, Chief Warrant Officer Robert McKenzie, a native of Stuart, Fla., the operational ready rate of the unit has seen a dramatic increase. Non-mission capable reports from September 2009 when compared to similar reports published in December 2009 show a 25 percent increase in the operational ready rate.

McKenzie said, "I believe it [improving the readiness rate] had to do with figuring out how the supply and maintenance system worked here at Al Asad."

He said that by developing relationships with people on post, his maintenance section has been able to think and work outside of the box to dream-up creative solutions to problems that have no immediate fix. "The hard work of all our maintenance folks just completes the process."

Sgt. Elvin Avila-Davila, a senior wheeled vehicle mechanic and West Palm Beach, Fla., resident contributes the success of the unit maintenance program to two major factors.

"We have finally got a handle on all the left over parts from previous two or three units; those parts are all organized now, which helps us out a lot. We have also been taking PMCS personally. I couldn't live with myself if I knew someone got hurt, or worse, because one of us didn't check something before a truck went on mission."

Avila-Davila went on to say that with the parts situation now under control and with an adequate stockpile of needed parts the unit is able to quickly identify and solve "dead-line" faults and malfunctions without interrupting mission readiness. With regard to PMCS, he noted that when he is running the Quality Assurance and Quality Checks line (a last line of maintenance defense before a 1218th truck is certified to go on mission) he doesn't overlook any details.

"We hit the big stuff and the little stuff, my favorite is checking the lug nuts on the wheels," Sgt. Avila-Davila said.

This detail oriented approach is a necessary step for the wheeled vehicle operators in the 1218th TC, like Sgt. Thomas Mcdonagh, a West Palm Beach, Fla., native who takes pride in ensuring the readiness of his vehicle. Mcdonagh, said, "The QA/QC process does take a long time and it can be a pain, but it is to ensure our safety and our vehicles readiness before it goes out on the road."

The maintenance expertise of the 1218th TC has also seen a shift in focus, in accordance with overall changes to the mission.

"As our mission changes, the focus changes, so we have to realign our maintenance program to fit what is needed most and what is mission essential," 1st Sgt. Bobby Parlor, a West Palm Beach, Fla. native and the 1218th TC's first sergeant said.

Parlor went on to say that while their primary job of maintaining prime movers is still on-going, there has been an increased focus on maintaining material handling equipment, such as all classes of fork-lifts and container handlers, known commonly as Kalmars.

Mechanics like Pvt. Timothy Gandolfo, a West Palm Beach, Fla., resident have been more than happy to meet the challenges that a shift in the unit's maintenance program has brought about. "I didn't know how to maintain a Kalmar when I got here, but after just working with it and reading about it we have been able to keep them in operation," Gandolfo said.

Cortinas, mentioned that his mechanics are the heart and soul that keep the company running. Boynton Beach, Fla., native, Spc. Romaine Osbourne, a wheeled vehicle operator attached to the maintenance section as an augmentee stated, "We are a family down here; with teamwork we can get anything accomplished."

The 1218th Transportation Company is a unit out of the Florida Army National Guard with approximately 100-days of service in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.