Vehicle maintenance keeps Marines in the fight

Photo By Cpl. John McCall | Sgt. Ricky Johnson, 24, an Assault Breacher Vehicle maintainer, with 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division (Forward), from Ganado, Ariz., inspects the inside of an ABV at Forward Operating Base Jackson, Dec. 3. The ABV maintainers worked around the clock to get the vehicle back in the fight, after it hit an improvised explosive device during a recent route clearance operation.  

FORWARD OPERATING BASE JACKSON, AFGHANISTAN

12.03.2010

Story by Cpl. John McCall 

1st Marine Division

FORWARD OPERATING BASE JACKSON, Afghanistan – Proper maintenance is important for any vehicle or piece of equipment, and no one knows this better than the Marines with the Assault Breacher Vehicle platoon of 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division (Forward).

“The ABV is one of the bigger tools we use out here to combat improvised explosive devices,” said Sgt. Ricky Johnson, 24, an ABV maintainer from Ganado, Ariz. “But there is a lot of maintenance that goes along with keeping the vehicle running.”

Originally designed to clear minefields, the ABV has recently become one of the newest and safest ways to clear IED-laden roads in Afghanistan.

After using mine clearing line charges to detonate any IEDs in its path, the Marines use the ABV to ensure the road is safe by using a large plow on its front end to dig into the earth and uncover anything left behind.

With such an important job, the ABV platoon must ensure that their vehicles are properly maintained so that they can complete their route clearance mission.

“We don’t have many of these vehicles, so if they aren’t taken care of we can become useless pretty fast,” said Cpl. Andrew McClure, 23, an ABV maintainer from Boise, Idaho. “If our vehicles don’t work properly, we can’t go anywhere and clear roads of IEDs.”

Marines with the ABV platoon recently began a route clearance operation in Sangin district to clear a road that is notorious for roadside bombs. While plowing the road, an ABV set off an IED, rendering the vehicle immobile.

Using an M88A2 Hercules, a vehicle used to recover ABV’s and other heavy equipment, Marines were able to bring the vehicle back to FOB Jackson. Once the ABV was safely recovered, the Marine mechanics, or maintainers, quickly began work to get the mission-essential vehicle back into the fight.

“We pulled it apart so that we could see what kind of damage was done to the vehicle,” Johnson explained. “Having a breacher vehicle short is not something we can afford.”

The ABV operators and maintainers stay committed to their mission despite the serious danger that comes with it.

“It is a job that has to be done,” McClure added. “Roads need to be accessible to keep us well supplied and to keep the local populace and our Marines safe.”

• Date Taken: 12.03.2010
• Date Posted: 12.13.2010 11:52
• Story ID: 61887
• Location: FORWARD OPERATING BASE JACKSON, AF