Mechanics help Soldiers stay mission ready

Photo By Master Sgt. Opal Vaughn | Wheeled vehicle mechanics, Sgt. Brenton Hobbs, Pvt. 1st Class Jay Smith and Spc....... read more read more

Photo By Master Sgt. Opal Vaughn | Wheeled vehicle mechanics, Sgt. Brenton Hobbs, Pvt. 1st Class Jay Smith and Spc. Antonio Ibarra, all with Combat Readiness Team, 5th Squadron, 1st U.S. Cavalry, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, work hard on an engine to get a truck to start up at the motor pool at Forward Operating Base Caldwell, located in Diyala, Iraq, Nov. 20.  see less | View Image Page

12.12.2008

Story by Spc. Opal Vaughn  

14th Public Affairs Detachment

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By Spc. Opal Vaughn
14th Public Affairs Detachment

No one ever likes taking their vehicle to the shop.

Often, a person will take their car in to get something simple like the brake pads replaced; a job that will only cost them around $35 or so.

By the end of the initial consultation, they'll drive out of the shop needing several other parts and pieces replaced, repaired or added to the vehicle, costing them far more than they originally bargained for.

Good or bad, vehicle maintenance is a necessity which cannot always be avoided. Even in the military, all vehicles and aircraft must be maintained in order to continue supporting missions.

The U.S. military employs a great variety of vehicles and every one must be maintained, especially while deployed. This is particularly true at Forward Operating Base Caldwell, Iraq, where there is an entire team of unit mechanics on the job.

In the middle of Iraq's never ending season of sandstorms, mechanics with the Combat Readiness Team, 5th Squadron, 1st U.S. Cavalry, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, kept on working until every vehicle in their lot was either fixed or scheduled to be replaced, Nov. 20.

"My unit is responsible for the overall maintenance of all of 5-1 Cav's equipment whether it be weapon systems, night vision, any type of wheeled vehicle; if it needs to be fixed, that's what my section does," said Ripley, Tenn. native Sgt. 1st Class Nicholas Treadway, the motor sergeant with CRT, 5-1 Cav.

Treadway continued, "Right now we're experiencing a sand storm and I'm pretty sure that Wainwright wouldn't have a sand storm right now. What you see here is what you get. Just because there's a storm doesn't mean my guys get a break. As long as there's a mission going on then my guys will press on. These guys, the impact of their job, what they do is the same through and through," Treadway added.

One mechanic continued to be persistence even as the wind continued to kick up more sand. With a bandana-covered face and eye protection donned, Mineral Wells, Texas native, Spc. Antonia Ibarra, a wheeled vehicle mechanic with CRT, 5-1 Cav., continued to work hard with assistance, trying to get a truck engine back in working order.

"Sometimes you just gotta find a way to get something working even if you cannot figure out the problem, you just gotta keep working until you find a way," said Ibarra. "The long hours of troubleshooting a maintenance issue and being in Iraq can be difficult at times, but it's a fun job."

A mechanics job may not seem important from an outsider's point of view, but in a battlefield environment, every Soldier's job is just as important as the next one. "In Iraq there are missions going on all the time, not like in the rear; so you have to be ready to get something done at any time," Ibarra stated.

"We do not physically support missions outside the wire but we do go on missions to recover vehicles if necessary. Without us though, no one would be out on the front line; a vehicle has to be able to run properly and safely to get you out on mission. If there's a vehicle down then no one can do their jobs effectively," Ibarra added.

Assisting Ibarra were several other mechanics, in particular, Emporia, Va. native, Sgt. Brenton Hobbs, a light wheeled vehicle mechanic with CRT, 5-1 Cav. Standing tiptoed on a cinder block, arm outstretched trying to start the truck, Hobbs, continued to work fiercely not taking his eyes away from his work.

"If we get a vehicle in, we get it fixed and out immediately," Hobbs stated. "We cannot afford to get backed up and delay any missions. A vehicle not mission capable hinders other Soldiers from going out and doing their job, so we try to make sure we troubleshoot each vehicle until there is nothing more we can do."

When there is nothing more a mechanic can do, another specialist is called in as a last resource. "My days are usually busy," said San Jose, Calif. native, Spc. Chad Overholt, a special electronics devices and radio repairer with CRT, 5-1 Cav.

"When the guys come in from mission they usually have their thermals from their goggles, night vision and most times, their radios come in all broken," Overholt stated. "So chances are if it takes an electrical current then I work it."

Forward Operating Base Caldwell is not as large as its sister bases and as a result, staffing can sometimes be shorthanded, according to Overholt.

"It can be difficult at times. There used to be an NCO [non-commissioned officer] above me but he left so now I do his job and mine," Overholt stated. "Most problems lie with technical manuals.
There aren't enough to go around and a lot of the stuff I work on I'm not too familiar with yet. I am very versatile though, so I pick things up quickly. With time, I'm sure I will be an expert on every type of equipment."

Even with the many difficulties of sand storms, not enough man power and constant troubleshooting, the reality remains the same; Iraq will always be Iraq.

"The difference between being in the rear and Iraq for a mechanic is the possibility of incoming or direct fire," Treadway stated. "But our job never changes despite our deployed or non-deployed status. We do the same thing, just better."