Combat Logistics Battalion 22 mechs keep Marine Expeditionary Unit rolling

Photo By Sgt. Justin M. Martinez | Cpl. Jason R. Holden, a truck mechanic with Combat Logistics Battalion 22, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, and a native of Tullahoma, Tenn., disconnects starter wires from a Caterpillar C-12 engine at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, Aug. 24. The 22nd MEU is ashore in Kuwait to conduct sustainment training while serving as the theater reserve force for U.S. Central Command.  

CAMP BUEHRING, KUWAIT

08.28.2009

Story by Cpl. Justin M. Martinez 

22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait — On a warm, dusty evening, acoustic guitar rhythms accompanied by boastful country-accented vocals ripple through the air as several Marines in grease-covered coveralls get their hands dirty with a difficult task. The Marines momentarily mimic the country tune playing from small speakers as they turn wrenches through the night, taking out the heart of a 7-ton truck.

Marines with Maintenance Platoon, Combat Logistics Battalion 22, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, have spent countless hours maintaining the MEU's many vehicles during sustainment training aboard Camp Buehring, Kuwait. They've also performed maintenance miracles in support MEU units during several exercises on foreign shores. Pulling the engine on a 7-ton is just another day at the office for the knuckle-busting superheroes of the MEU.

According to the maintenance officer, the CLB Maintenance Marines are 47 professionals operating at the highest level in their Military Occupational Specialty, fixing and maintaining the MEU's equipment during its 7-month deployment.

"I have about 15 different military occupational specialties spread throughout the platoon," said Chief Warrant Officer Dawn M. Conklin, the Maintenance Officer for CLB-22 and a native of Missoula, Mont. "They can do everything all the way down to a complete rebuild of some items."

Conklin added that most of the third-echelon maintenance technicians come from maintenance battalion, which does all the vehicle repairs for II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Oil and grease smeared their clothes as they spent several hours elbow-deep in their extensive task of removing the 3,600-pound engine and transmission combo that once drove the downed truck.

"We do a lot of the Battalion Landing Team's 3rd-echelon work," said Cpl. Micheal S. Banther, a truck mechanic with CLB-22 and a native of Fort Payne, Ala. "Like replacing engines, transmissions and transfer cases in humvees."

Banther, who has been a mechanic most of his life, added that just pulling the cab off the 7-ton truck took a day and a half.

Family tradition fuels the fire for some members of the platoon as they spend their nights with driveshafts and oil pans.

"My entire family, we're all mechanics," said Cpl. Ryan P. Roush, a truck mechanic with CLB 22, avid NASCAR fan and native of Webberville, Mich. "That's what we do."

On a previous exercise in a Middle Eastern country, the maintenance team spent 17 hours on a beach replacing two humvee engines, a tank engine, and an Amphibious Assault Vehicle transmission, starter and alternator.

"We've done a lot of work keeping the MEU operational," said Conklin. "The Marines in the platoon have done an outstanding job and have been very responsive to any needs of the MEU."

So, if it's broken and it needs to be fixed, whether it's in the sand of the Kuwaiti desert or under the burning sun on a far-off foreign shore, you will find them always on the job, the CLB-22 Maintenance Marines.

• Date Taken: 08.28.2009
• Date Posted: 08.28.2009 15:11
• Story ID: 38090
• Location: CAMP BUEHRING, KW