Family motivates Soldier as he ensures readiness at APS-5

Photo By Kevin Fleming | Staff Sgt. James Cornejo, quality assurance, 401st Army Field Support Battalion-Qatar, shows off a correspondence he received from his family while standing outside the motor pool at Army Prepositioned Stocks-5, Sept. 16, Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar. He said staying in contact with his wife and children helps to keep him focused on his job, which is to ensure the readiness of equipment at APS-5.  

QATAR

09.30.2019

Story by Kevin Fleming 

401st Army Field Support Brigade

Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar -- Staff Sgt. James Cornejo, quality assurance, 401st Army Field Support Battalion-Qatar, has spent more than a year away from his family while ensuring the readiness of vehicles at Army Prepositioned Stocks-5 in Qatar.

Cornejo, who has nine years of service, said staying connected with his wife and two young children is essential, and helps him focus on the mission.

“We stay in contact over video chat and by sending correspondents back and forth,” he said. “The kids send drawings and I pin them up on my work board, and I send them my drawings back. I’m also thinking of making an audiobook for them.

“It definitely helps to know I’m supported at home”

As a contracting officer representative (COR), Cornejo said he verifies and validates the work performed by contractors about 50 times per day. He said everyone in the APS-5 quality assurance office is committed to the mission.

“We make sure that if the warfighter gets inside a vehicle from here, they’ll have nothing to worry about other than their mission,” he said. “We make it fully mission capable”

APS-5 in Qatar primarily consists of transportation equipment and supply. Cornejo spends most of his time overseeing work done on large trucks, including Heavy Equipment Transports (HETs) and M978 Fuel Servicing Trucks.

“We have heavy transportation equipment positioned in [U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility] because when rapidly deploying forces move out, they need the ability not just to go fast, but to also remain mobile and agile on the battlefield,” he said.

• Date Taken: 09.30.2019
• Date Posted: 09.30.2019 05:12
• Story ID: 344534
• Location: QA