Photo By Kimberly Hackbarth | Spc. Michael Gault, a driver with Company B, 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment,...... read more read more
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JOINT SECURITY STATION NASIR WA SALAM, Iraq – With grease on their coveralls, wrenches at their sides and a row of Strykers lined up in front of them, the mechanics of 1st Combat Repair Team are ready to get down and dirty.
From the moment a Stryker operator drives a vehicle into the motor pool, the CRT mechanics, part of Company B, 702nd Brigade Support Battalion, work alongside the Soldiers of 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment "Manchus" to fix the damaged vehicle as quickly as possible so the infantrymen can get back to their missions.
Spc. Nathaniel Smith, a native of Coffman Cove, Alaska, who has worked as a mechanic with 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, since he joined the military almost five years ago, said it's easy for CRT Soldiers to work with the Manchus, because the CRT has supported the battalion with vehicle maintenance since the brigade rotation at the Joint Readiness Training Center on Fort Polk, La., last June.
"In order to support an actual line unit, you've got to know your guys and know how they take care of their stuff," said Smith.
He added that the 4th Bn., 9th Inf. Regt. Soldiers are constantly out on missions, and once they return to the JSS, they come straight to the motor pool to have their vehicles fixed.
The mechanics, like Sgt. Larry Bruce from Benton, Ill., said they're appreciative of the opportunity to do their jobs, even though it means something comes into their shop broken.
"They're letting us do our job, because we're not going to be proficient unless something breaks, or they tell us something breaks," said Bruce.
As a way to assist the Manchus in better maintenance of their Strykers, Bruce and his Soldiers also teach classes on common issues with vehicles and how to resolve them. The infantrymen respond well, said Bruce.
"They ask questions because they want to know more about their vehicles," he said. "It helps out a lot of those guys, and it teaches them to be better operators and how to take care of their equipment."
Of course, no one can do the job quite like an actual trained mechanic, a fact in which Pfc. Jeff Basile from Kings Mountain, N.C., takes pride.
"I love turning wrenches!" exclaimed Basile. "It's very satisfying knowing the battalion would not run if wasn't for the mechanics."
In his nine years as a mechanic in the Army, he said 4th Bn., 9th Inf. Regt., is one of the best battalions he has ever worked for.
"[The battalion commander and command sergeant major] do everything they can for us to help us out and accept us as family … like we are Manchu warriors," he said.
Bruce said he has grown accustomed to the "small-town" life at Nasir Wa Salam and prefers it over "big city living" on places like Victory Base Complex, which houses the rest of his battalion.
"Here, we're a really close-bonded family because all [we've] got each other," said Bruce.
Once the wrenches are stored and the pumice soap washes away the grease of another long day, the Manchu mechanics of 1st CRT rest easy knowing that tomorrow they'll be needed again to get down and dirty.
| Date Taken: | 05.20.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 06.07.2010 17:00 |
| Story ID: | 51030 |
| Location: | JOINT SECURITY STATION NASIR WA SALAM, IQ |
| Web Views: | 601 |
| Downloads: | 418 |
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