TMDE teams calibrates the Army

Courtesy Photo | Spc. Leo Garcia, a test, measurement and diagnostic equipment technician with the 632nd Maintenance Company-Speicher Detachment, 394th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), and a Benton, Maine, native runs a test on a multimeter. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Constance A Oberg)  

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, IRAQ

08.18.2010

Courtesy Story

3rd Division Sustainment Brigade

By Staff Sgt. Constance A Oberg

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, Iraq - If soldiers in northern Iraq have a piece of equipment that needs calibration, the three soldiers with the Test, Measurement and Diagnostic Equipment team can get the job done.

“All TMDE equipment [here] is either calibrated or scheduled and shipped for calibration through us,” said Staff Sgt. Michael J. Cherven, TMDE team chief with the 632nd Maintenance Company-Speicher Detachment, 394th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), and a Doniphan, Mo., native. “If we don’t support it here, then we will ship it to the teams that do.”

The equipment that is calibrated on site can range from torque wrenches to oscilloscopes, and many items in between. They can calibrate 40-50 torque wrenches and 30 multimeters in a day, keeping the average turnaround time for equipment calibrated on site down to one day.

“Tools that soldiers or civilians use to measure or repair military equipment come to us to ensure that they function properly,” said Spc. Gregory G. Williams, a TMDE technician with the 632nd Maint. Company, and a Palm Harbor, Fla., native.

Army Regulation 750-43 states that TMDE is an essential asset to Army maintenance because of its distinctive ability to test, adjust, synchronize, repair and verify accuracy, safety, readiness and information assurance of weapon platforms and equipment using highly precise measurements across the physical/dimensional, radiological, electrical, electronic and electro-optical spectrums.

The standards that the TMDE teams use to calibrate equipment must be four times more accurate than the equipment being calibrated. This level of accuracy requires special equipment to achieve. So when the team’s standards are due for calibration, they are sent to the Primary Lab at Redstone Arsenal, Ala. for calibration.

Most of the calibration at COB Speicher is done in a shelter that sits on an M1113 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle. This vehicle/shelter combination comprises half of a full TMDE team’s equipment, with the remainder of the team and equipment located at COB Adder.

“We do a lot of shipping,” said Spc. Leo Garcia, a TMDE technician with the 632nd Maint. Company, and a Benton, Maine, native. “In fact, we have shipped more than 600 items worth more than $1.5 million to sites that can support them.”

The Speicher detachment tracks all of the shipped items so the units can account for their equipment. Once the equipment arrives at the TMDE shop, it is put through a series of tests that is outlined in technical bulletins. Depending on the piece of equipment, testing can take hours. If the equipment is found to be out of tolerance, then the technicians will repair the item so it can be returned.

The TMDE detachment at COB Speicher currently supports 4,000 lines of military and civilian equipment, with a 96.8 readiness rate. Although the team is only three Soldiers strong, they are focused on the success of the mission. Most importantly, the TMDE detachment ensures that the equipment is safe and accurate for all who will use it.

• Date Taken: 08.18.2010
• Date Posted: 09.05.2010 16:21
• Story ID: 55761
• Location: CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, IQ