Photo By Maj. Khoran Lee | Recently promoted Chief Warrant officer 4 William Bruck, an electrical technician,...... read more read more
One Army Reserve electrical technician gets his spark from keeping Soldiers safe – and he travels far and wide to do it.
Chief Warrant officer 4 William Bruck is deployed with the 457th Forward Engineer Support Advance (FEST-A), ultimately using his expertise to ensure the safety of military forces in Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR).
Bruck is an electrician with the FEST-A and his specialty is going on to bases to perform grid assessments, looking at power structures and generation sources. “Looking at those and determining how to consolidate or make more reliable the current system. So I’ve been traveling the most because the biggest need is electrical throughout the Joint Operations Area.”
Since the team stepped foot in Kuwait of May 2020, Bruck has traveled non-stop zigzagging across Kuwait, Iraq and Syria, looking to improve safety hazards.
“Two week later I went up to Erbil, Iraq. Then from there I went to the northeast corner of Iraq in Sulaymaniyah to work for special operations forces to conduct an assessment of their electrical systems,” said Bruck. “Then I went back to Erbil and then Kuwait in November. Then a week later got to Syria.”
In his civilian career, Bruck is a journeyman lineman who builds and maintains electrical power systems in Monroe, Michigan.
With 28 years in the Army, Bruck has seen his fair share of deployments. Four to be exact. First to Iraq in 2003 for the initial invasion, back again in 2009, then Afghanistan in 2013 on top of this tour. “I have seen a lot of the third world wiring.”
He said many of these places make him feel as if he’s going back in time.
Now, when visiting military bases, Bruck breaks down his focus on safety, reliability and maintain-ability. “Here in Syria, for instance, a lot of ungrounded metal shower latrine units (SLU) and bathroom facilities that were set up, very common in the Middle East, don’t use ground bolts so there were a lot of shower units shocking people.”
When health, life or safety issues are found, such as ungrounded equipment, Bruck repairs it immediately.
“Looking at the systems of reliability, a lot of the generators are under-loaded, overloaded, not balanced, not breaker or sized correctly, as far as wiring.”
While at a base in Conoco, Syria, doing an assessment, word spread of Bruck’s presence from a unit located in the regiion.
“They were getting shocked in the shower, so they heard I was down in Conoco and did a special convoy to get me to fix their showers. I like to think I have a very unique skill set with my background and that gives me the ability to show these guys that grounding is very important.”
The 5th Special Forces Group did an hour and half in a special convoy in a Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle to transport Bruck. “They had to get a whole group of guys to come together and get me. And then I looked at all the shower units and none of them were grounded so I spent the whole day; I repaired four different SLU’s to ensure the safety of our Soldiers.”
The Soldiers stationed there did not realize the danger they were in each time they took a shower.
“These are the most satisfying things I could do - to ensure the safety of someone else’s child or someone else’s spouse that is here in a lonely, dangerous place.”
Though he finds comfort in protecting warfighters, he does have an eye toward the end of his tour and returning back home.
“I do miss my family. I have nine children back home and this is my fourth deployment. My oldest is 21 and my youngest is a year an half.”
Although Bruck knows his deployment will come to an end within the next few weeks, he’s proud of the work being done. “I feel very blessed and I enjoy using my skill sets to make an impact to keep Soldiers safe and keep people in the fight. When I’m here, I have a lot I’m missing back home, but I want to make a positive impact. I love my country, comrades, and the team.”
Until then, the thought of keeping his battle buddies safe is what keeps him charged.
| Date Taken: | 01.25.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 01.29.2021 09:30 |
| Story ID: | 387907 |
| Location: | KW |
| Hometown: | MONROE, MI, US |
| Web Views: | 156 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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