1-84 tames the beast

Photo By Spc. Nathan Goodall | Spc. Dakota R. Benedict, a track vehicle repairer with Service Battery, 1st Battalion, 84th Field Artillery Regiment, 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, works on an M984 Wrecker-Recovery vehicle engine at Forward Operating Base Griffin, Afghanistan May 16.  

FORWARD OPERATING BASE GRIFFIN, AFGHANISTAN

05.14.2011

Story by Spc. Nathan Goodall 

170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team

FORWARD OPERATING BASE GRIFFIN, Afghanistan - When your car breaks down a tow truck takes it in for repair, but what happens when the tow truck breaks down?

Mechanics with Service Battery, 1st Battalion, 84th Field Artillery Regiment, 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team worked on a recovery vehicle engine here May 16.

“You stripped that bolt?” said Spc. Edward Churbe, a San Antonio native, now a generator mechanic with Service Battery.

“I can’t help it that I’m so strong,” said Spc. Kevin S. Burd, a Saint Helens, Ore., native, now a track vehicle repairer with Service Battery.

The mechanics, hands and uniforms covered in engine grease, sweated over the engine of an M-984 heavy expanded mobility tactical truck wrecker-recovery vehicle, more commonly known as a wrecker. Humidity pushed the temperature over 100 Fahrenheit and they worked for hours. The heat and stripped bolt meant nothing to them, fixing the engine was what mattered.

The wrecker’s 4, 150-pound, V8, diesel engine can push out 455 horsepower and 1,100 pounds of torque. That’s enough to move the 53,000-pound wrecker and then some.

“It’s a big recovery asset,” said Churbe, staring at the armored tow-truck through ballistic sunglasses. “Vehicle recovery is always a big part of the military. This wrecker has been our main focus.”

“We want it to get done so we can go out and do our job, which is recovering all the vehicles that get disabled or break down in the line of duty,” said Sgt. Matthew B. Jordan, a Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., native, now the shop foreman with Service Battery.

The wrecker was dead-lined, or deemed unfit for use, since Service Battery arrived in Afghanistan, said Jordan.

“We’ve gone through three starters, two engines, multiple hydraulic lines, two hydraulic cylinders, two broken wenches, all kinds of stuff,” said Churbe.

The hoard of problems with the vehicle wasn’t enough to discourage the mechanics, said Jordan.

“[Fixing it is progressing] their mechanical skill,” said Jordan. “They’re having a good time learning with it. At first they got kind of frustrated, but it seems like the longer they work on it the better they get at it and the more team camaraderie they get from doing it.”

The mechanics were trained to repair different devices such as track vehicles or generators, but they’re constantly learning to fix everything they need to. They understand the importance of their job, said Churbe.

“If something were to break down and cost someone their life,” Churbe said and paused. “Well we’ve got to be very passionate, very careful with our work and have attention to detail with everything we do.”

The mechanics do repair work for two batteries and travel throughout northern Afghanistan. They are “the adhesive bond for the battalion,” said Churbe. “If we don’t do our job, they can’t do theirs.”

The mechanics do not have much downtime between fixing equipment for the battalion and working on the wrecker. They’re hoping to get one of the new models soon, but until then they will make do with what we have, said Jordan.

The broken wrecker has come to be known as “the beast of burden,” or “the beast that doesn’t want to run,” but it is a beast Service Battery soldiers are intent on taming, said Churbe.

“We really wanna see this thing run,” said Jordan. “When it turns over it will make us feel proud because it is a lot of work to get it fixed.”

• Date Taken: 05.14.2011
• Date Posted: 05.20.2011 06:30
• Story ID: 70737
• Location: FORWARD OPERATING BASE GRIFFIN, AF