Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Britney Hiatt | Shawn Wyzlic, a robot technician for the Joint Robotics Repair Detachment and native...... read more read more
BAGHDAD - When a robot is damaged after taking on an improvised explosive device or needs to be transferred to another location to continue the fight, the joint robotics detachment rolls into action.
The Joint Robotics Repair Detachment-Iraq, based at Camp Victory, Iraq, is the only organization in theater that can fix the robots and get them where they are needed most.
When an explosives ordinance disposal unit prepares to leave Iraq, and is not going to be replaced, the JRRD-I takes the unit's robots, accounts for the equipment, makes any repairs, and sends them to OEF where they're critically needed, said Maj. Roger Deon, commander of the JRRD-I.
According to Deon, JRRD-I has repaired or upgraded more than 1,800 robots since April 2009 and approximately 500 of those have been sent to Afghanistan.
"Our primary goal is to maintain the robots we have here [in Iraq]; our secondary goal is to assist Afghanistan in the transferring of the robot systems from here to over there," said Shawn Wyzlic, a robot technician from Wixom, Mich.
Repairs can range from normal wear and tear, such as the track wear, damaged cameras, or motors, to battle damage from an IED blast that may have damaged the robots arm or destroy the circuit board, said Wyzlic.
In the past, departing units have always taken robots and transferred them to the unit replacing them, he said. As units leave theater now, the JRRD-I takes the robots and ships them to Afghanistan to aid in the fight there.
The JRRD-I plays an important role in both transferring robots to Afghanistan and preparing them for the different terrain, said Deon. The requirements for the systems can range from software updates to body upgrades for the terrain in Afghanistan, and he ensures his team has them ready for the mission the robots will face.
"They are in one hundred percent operating condition before we send them out," said Sgt. Benjamin Wagner, a JRRD-I robot technician from Buffalo, N.Y. "If the robot is fixed and in great operating condition then there will be less casualties when investigating an explosive."
Wagner said they know their repair work on the robots help save Soldiers' lives.
Roadside bombs are always a threat, he said. They are still one of the primary weapons of terrorists. Anything can be an IED and the robots play an important part in indentifying what is harmless and what is not, Wagner said.
"If the unit actually runs across something that looks like a roadside bomb, they can utilize the robot to check it out and see if that is what it is. This is by far a better option than [sending out Soldiers]."
| Date Taken: | 03.02.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 04.14.2010 12:27 |
| Story ID: | 48140 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 313 |
| Downloads: | 143 |
This work, Joint Robotics Repair Detachment keeps robots mission ready, by SFC Britney Hiatt, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
