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Extreme Makeover: Maintenance Bay Edition

Courtesy Photo | Spc. Jonathan William Hood, a native of West Memphis, Ark., from the 70th Engineer...... read more read more

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHARANA, AFGHANISTAN

09.12.2007

Courtesy Story

Combined Joint Task Force - 82 PAO

by Army Pfc. Nathan Veach
Task Force Rugged Public Affairs Office

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHARANA, Afghanistan - Ty Pennington was not here at the construction site. Broadcasting cameras were not taping the progress of the project, and the "Extreme Makeover" crew was not installing big screen televisions in the work area.

Despite these absences, the makeover of the maintenance bay housing the maintenance teams of Headquarters Company, 36th Engineer Brigade, of Fort Hood, Texas, and the Headquarters Support Company, 70th Engineer Battalion, of Fort Riley, Kan., has a multitude of similarities to ABC's Emmy award-winning hit reality TV series "Extreme Makeover."

These Soldiers had a dream about their workplace; some would even say their workspace is their home because of the number of hours they spend there each day. For these mechanics, their maintenance bay is the shelter for their most prized assets, the vehicles they repair.

After realizing that the improvements they wanted in their bay would not be accomplished due to the overwhelming need for resources in other places around Forward Operating Base Sharana, the team took the repair matters into their own hands. Army Staff Sgt. Cody Powers, the motor sergeant for Headquarters Co., 36th Eng. Brig., from East Helena, Mont., and Army Staff Sgt. Timothy Damrell, the motor sergeant of the 70th Eng. Bn. from Berea, Ky., decided to make the refurbishment of the shop a team effort.

The team chiseled away at the old concrete that was disintegrated from considerable use to pour new concrete in its place. The chipped concrete was making it difficult to get in and out from under the vehicles during maintenance. They constructed new shelving to store tools and other mechanic's equipment. To make room for additional vehicles, they moved the office to a more efficient and appropriate location in the bay.

The mechanic teams, like the project team on "Extreme Makeover," worked together to get the job done.

"The project is fun because it's something new for the Soldiers to do and it's building teamwork within our shop," Powers said.

With every day of hard work the mechanics are getting closer to completing the bay.

"Now that we have started the work, we are getting all the help we need from the 36th Engineer Brigade and the Facilities Engineer Team on the FOB," said Damrell.

All the Soldiers involved in the project were happy to participate in the shop improvements and were working diligently to finish. Although the "winner" of their extreme makeover is themselves, the mechanics of the two units are just as excited as the TV home makeover winners to have an adequate and improved workspace.

"Everyday we are making our work places better for our Soldiers and for the Afghan people. Through the do-it-yourself project, Soldiers of the 36th Eng. Brig. and the 70th Eng. Bn. demonstrated the kind of dedicated hard work we need to contribute to the growth of Afghanistan." said Damrell.