Photo By Keith Hayes | Ronald Arnoldy, electronics mechanic, Communications Shop, prepares to remove an...... read more read more
The Communications Shop at Production Plant Barstow, Marine Depot Maintenance Command, ensures the safety of Marines with quality artisan workmanship aboard the Yermo Annex aboard Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif.
The Shop dismantles, refurbishes and rebuilds communications systems for myriad equipment such as the Assault Amphibious Vehicles, Light Armored Vehicles, M88- Heavy Equipment Recovery Utility Lift and Evacuation System vehicles, and the Logistic Vehicle System Replacement.
“We work on several types of components, such as the Vic 2, 3 and 5,” said Daniel Sica, Integrated Systems Mechanical Leader, a native of Syracuse, New York.
“VIC 2, 3 and 5 are communications systems used in various vehicles,” said Robert Munroe, Integrated Systems Mechanical Supervisor. “We also have TOCNET, another type of communication system used on other vehicles.”
Sica served 11 and one-half years in the Marine Corps as a diesel mechanic. After a few years in the civilian world, and a bit of training in electronics, he accepted a position with PPB in 2005. He is very passionate about his work.
“In my opinion, it is one of the most important pieces of a vehicle, because if you don’t have communication, you can’t warn someone of danger, such as enemy locations, or perhaps enemy fire,” Sica said. “Without communications, most trained people don’t move. They stay set. With communication, if someone is lost, they can be found.”
With nine personnel in the shop, including Munroe, the team continues to meet demand with some innovative management strategies. The New York native joined the Corps in 1980. He was a Marine at the plant for nine years, as a Staff Sergeant. He retired from the Marine Corps while working at PPB and came back to work for the plant as a civilian. He has since been at PPB as a civilian for 17 years now. One of his strategies is to ensure that each person can perform the duties of others in the shop.
“We cross train on every work station, so we know how to do each job in the shop,” said Ronald Arnoldy, Integrated Systems Mechanic, another Marine Corps veteran. As a Marine, he worked in Communications as well. “I worked in the Comm. Centers mainly. I also worked at the electronics maintenance companies in both (Marine Corps Base) Camp Lejeune and Okinawa.”
“We try to get everyone in the shop learning all of the different variances and vehicles, so that if there’s anyone who is not here, anyone can go in and put it together,” Sica explained.
The average turnaround is about 90 – 180 days depending on the type of equipment. Some of the kits are broken down into component kits.
“We reprogram it, make sure everything is working correctly,” Sica said. “When we get done with it, we tie up all of the cables and make sure all of the cables are routed throughout the vehicle properly. Then we conduct another test run inside the vehicle to verify that everything is functioning properly.”
Inside some of the boxes, there are tiny connections which may be broken because of whatever was done out in the field, explained Arnoldy, a native of Tipton, Kansas. It takes acute attention to detail to find each and every connection and ensure that it’s functioning properly.
“Everything is refurbished to Condition Code A,” Sica said. “It only goes back into the vehicles and back into the field once it reaches that level of quality.”
Condition Code A means that the equipment is in as good as or better than the manufacturer’s original specifications.
“Since most of the employees in the shop are prior military, they really understand that it’s about helping the Marine Corps and making sure the Marine out in the field gets what they need in order to perform their duties,” said Munroe.
| Date Taken: | 11.08.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 11.20.2018 16:47 |
| Story ID: | 300766 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 49 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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