By Spc. Douglas York
Multi-National Division - Baghdad
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq – Being a deployed Soldier, regardless of one's military occupational specialty, is perhaps at times a thankless job that requires troops to work long hours, in hot weather, while being away from home.
Though the jobs they do can be trying, and the work may often be cumbersome or routine, for the mechanics serving with Headquarters Support Company, Division Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, those jobs are also very fulfilling.
"I love my job; I love being a mechanic," said Sgt. Timothy Kuster, a native of Lancaster, Penn., who serves in the battalion motor pool as a quality assurance/quality checks non-commissioned officer for HSC, DSTB, 4th Inf. Div. "I couldn't dream of anything else. When I came in the Army, I told my recruiter I wanted to be a mechanic. He tried to offer me other things, and I said 'I want to be a mechanic!'"
Kuster and his fellow HSC mechanics take care of approximately 180 pieces of equipment for Company A, Co. B and half of Co. D, all with the DSTB. They take care of everything up to and including vehicle dispatches, fluid leaks and complete engine rebuilds.
"We also have a generator and an air-conditioning section," said Sgt. Bradley Griffis, the motor pool's shop foreman, who is a native of Denver and has spent the last 12 years of his life dedicated to military equipment. "I ultimately run all three shops [wheel, generator, AC], and we make sure everything is fully mission-capable and that there aren't any problems."
Part of that preventative process requires Griffis to operate the motor pool shop 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to keep his units' equipment going.
"If there are problems, we fix them right away or repair it as quick as possible to get them back on the road for the mission the next day or evening," Griffis said.
"Each Soldier is down here for 12 hours a day, busting their tails to make sure these trucks are safe and stay on the road," Kuster added.
Of course, part of keeping those vehicles safe and mission-capable requires not only the right know-how, but also the right parts. That's where Spc. Lisa Mack, a native of Saint Charles, Mo., who serves as the motor pool's parts distributor, comes in.
"I keep track of what's back there and have to know what's on hand as well as ordering parts," Mack said. "If someone needs a part, I know if I've got it and can go back there and get it."
She also noted that perhaps the most difficult challenge of her responsibilities involves keeping the room organized and clean.
Once Mack distributes the parts to her co-workers, they quickly begin the process of bringing the vehicles they work on back to nearly new condition.
The vehicles these mechanics take care of range from up-armored Humvees to the new mine resistant ambush protected vehicles.
Mack also noted that from a parts standpoint, with the MRAPs being so new, it is tough to find national stock numbers and that when they do find the numbers, the MRAP yard might not have the part in stock. However, Griffis' crew presses on and they do their mission to the best of their abilities without fail or expectations of gratitude.
"I think that all in all, as these Soldiers accomplish each vehicle and find out what's wrong – if they troubleshoot it, they fix it, and so on – it gives them a sense of accomplishment ,and I think that's their reward for it," Griffis said. "However, I think they would also like to hear it, and so I try to tell them they are doing a good job whenever I can."
Thanks or acknowledgement is something most people would like to hear or feel regardless of their jobs. However, Kuster and Mack took a more philosophical approach on the topic.
"Without us, these guys can't roll outside the wire," Kuster said, speaking of his peers.
"It's one, two or three up in the MOSs (in terms of importance) because the guys that go out and kick in doors depend on us to keep their vehicles running," Mack added, in speaking on the importance of a mechanic's job to the military.
In the end, regardless of whether there is an acknowledgement by the masses for their efforts, the three Soldiers, and those they work with, will continue to press on, taking satisfaction in the jobs they do and from each other.
"I enjoy fixing the trucks, and seeing them roll out as if they were brand new. It is self-satisfying for me because I know that I did that," said Mack.
"It always makes me feel good when there's a problem with a truck and then I troubleshoot it and I find that problem; it makes me feel good that I just fixed that problem," added Kuster.
Yet for all of those sentiments, Griffis perhaps said it best.
"I work with a great bunch of people down here, from my fellow sergeants down to the lowest ranking Soldier. We're all basically family down here, and we know within our hearts that this is rewarding."
With hearts as big as theirs, no one will ever have to question if these mechanics are fully mission-capable.
| Date Taken: |
08.07.2008 |
| Date Posted: |
08.07.2008 12:15 |
| Story ID: |
22231 |
| Location: |
BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: |
136 |
| Downloads: |
103 |
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