Photo By Pfc. Cynthia Teears Van Cleve | Spc. Derek Martin from San Diego, Calif., tank gunner, 1st Platoon, Company C, 1st...... read more read more
By Spc. Cynthia S. Teears
11th Public Affairs Detachment
MOSUL, Iraq— Soldiers of Company C, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment from Fort Carson, Colo., have been busy the last couple of weeks performing their tanks' annual services on Forward Operating Base Marez in Mosul, Iraq.
The annual services for the company's tanks are almost done, said Sgt. Aaron Frazier from West Salem, Ohio, maintenance crew leader and tank maintainer, 1st Plt., Co. C, 1st Btn., 8th Inf. Reg. The last tank to receive its annual services should be finished soon.
The company rotates from Combat Outpost Power, which is located on the east side of Mosul, back to FOB Marez every four days, said Spc. Derek Martin from San Diego, Calif., tank gunner, 1st Plt., Co. C, 1st Btn., 8th Inf. Reg. Maintenance is always priority on the first day back.
"You gotta take care of her all the time," Martin said about his tank. "If you don't, she'll start breaking down on you."
The company's tank maintainers help each other so that no one maintenance crew gets stuck out by themselves trying to fix a problem.
During the annual services the tank's crew and maintainers replace the air filters, seals, personal heaters, fuel filters and purge the thermal sights of the tank.
"We purge all the thermal sights with nitrogen so it pushes out all the moisture and makes the sights more clear," Frazier said. "Now, they can see where they're going and make an accurate shot."
The air-gas turbine engine for the M1A1 Abrams Tank System is very similar to the engine on some helicopters, said Frazier. The engine for the tank is unique and very powerful.
The crews also ground hop the power pack of the tank during the annual services. A power pack is the engine and the transmission. When the power pack is ground hopped it is disconnected and lifted out of the tank's body and placed in front of the tank. It is then reconnected with hoses and extension cords so the crews can run the engine and look for leaks and other problems while the engine is running.
"You have to disconnect the final drives to release the pack so they can pull it up, including the saddle pulls to pull the whole entire pack up," said Spc. Chris Stiles from Minneapolis, Minn., tank driver, 1st Plt., Company C, 1st Btn., 8th Inf. Reg.
Before the power pack is put back into the tank body, where the engine sits, the inside is power washed with water and drained, said Martin. The front of the tank is lifted up and road wheels are put underneath. This lets the water drain, while it is being washed so the inside will not have to be wiped down as much.
The tank's crews are responsible for all the basic maintenance of their vehicle and must also be available when the tank maintainers are performing the more difficult maintenance. A tank crew usually consists of a driver, a gunner, a loader and a tactical commander.
The annual services take seven days to complete with the maintainers and tank crew working together. Three and a half days for the turret alone and three and a half more days for the rest of the vehicle.
"When troubleshooting problems with the tank, most of the time it is electrical, something electrical in the turret," said Frazier. "It's a good vehicle from my perspective, but it could have better quality seals for the suspensions."
One way the Army saves money is by analyzing the transmission oil to check for consistency and metal shavings. The tank crew takes a hot sample from the engine transmission and sends the sample to the Army Oil Analysis Program. The AOAP tests tell the crew when the transmission oil needs to be changed and how well the engine is doing.
"If she continues through the whole mission and gets all the way back home, it's lives saved and money saved, cause we're not getting ambushed and lit up by the enemy," Martin said. "It saves money and it saves lives at the same time to make sure this thing is always tip-top shape and ready to roll."
| Date Taken: | 12.10.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 12.10.2008 13:31 |
| Story ID: | 27465 |
| Location: | MOSUL, IQ |
| Web Views: | 248 |
| Downloads: | 204 |
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