Mechanics keep New Mexico unit mission ready

Photo By Staff Sgt. Cory Grogan | Spc. Brent Pirtle of the 720th Convoy Support Company prepares his vehical to be mission ready at Camp Adder, Iraq, Jan. 24.  

CAMP ADDER, IRAQ

01.30.2010

Courtesy Story

41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team

Story by: Sgt. Candace Westlund

CAMP ADDER, Iraq — With how many miles the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles log on the roads in Iraq, the mechanics from the 720th Convoy Security Company of the New Mexico National Guard, from Las Cruces, N.M., tasked under 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment, of the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team at Camp Adder, Iraq, have the important job of keeping their unit's vehicles fully mission capable.

The 720th mechanics are working overtime on this deployment. Not only do they work in the motor pool, but they are also tasked to go on missions due to the unit being shorthanded.

Spc. Brent Pirtle, a 720th CSC mechanic from Las Cruces, N.M., has served as a mechanic for six years.

"I have been tasked out to be a gunner and a driver on missions here," Pirtle said.

Pirtle said he was proud of the fact that they have had no serious breakdowns on the road. If any incidents have occurred during a mission, they have been fixed by the mechanics.

"It is like maintaining a successful relationship. You get to know the vehicles very well and if you treat them right they will never give you a problem," Pirtle said.

There is no higher level of maintenance; everything is performed at the unit level.
"There is civilian support, but we can do in one day what they do in one month," Pirtle said.

The 720th CSC has multiple types of MRAP's and the mechanics are trained to work on all of them. Pirtle explained that while the maintenance is implemented differently on each type of truck, they are the same parts, so it is easy to learn each system.

Spc. Jaun Barela, a mechanic from Santa Rosa, N.M., said, "Without us, they don't roll."
Above all else, said Barela, "It's pretty fun, too."

• Date Taken: 01.30.2010
• Date Posted: 01.30.2010 04:56
• Story ID: 44635
• Location: CAMP ADDER, IQ