Photo By Sgt. Rafael BrambilaPelayo | U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Leonardo Alves, a machinist with 2nd Maintenance Battalion, 2nd...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. –When a shortage of critical single-use consumable suspension washers resulted in multiple Amphibious Combat Vehicles being dead-lined, a state where equipment is taken out of service for mechanical or safety reasons, U.S. Marines with the Fabrication Platoon, 2nd Maintenance Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, stepped in, turning a potentially year-long delay into a one-hour fix, showcasing the immense value of advanced manufacturing at the fleet level.
The problem was identified at 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, where ACVs were being dead-lined due to the lack of a specific suspension locking washer. The part, a mandatory replacement item for the vehicle's suspension system, was unavailable through the standard supply system due to a backlog, hindering unit readiness.
The solution started when Chief Warrant Officer 2 Anthony Juedes, a ground ordnance vehicle maintenance officer with 2nd AA Battalion, approached the II Marine Expeditionary Force Innovation Campus with the problem. Each suspension lock washer has square teeth that bend when torqued into place and when suspension components are taken apart or put back together. Due to this, the lock washers cannot be reused and become damaged once removed from an ACV’s suspension system. Juedes presented a damaged lock washer to Chief Warrant Officer 3 Matthew Pine, the campus’s officer in charge, who tasked his team with finding a solution. The 2nd Maintenance Battalion team immediately went to work. Using aluminum sheets and a water jet, they reverse-engineered the part and produced a working prototype.
“It took less than 30 minutes to create it, and in less than an hour, we had a working prototype,” said Phillips. “The part itself took less than a minute and a half to cut.”
With a potential solution in hand, the next step was validation. Contractors, hired by Booz Allen were utilized to strengthen the reverse engineering process, help lower risk, ensure quality control and create a more thorough part-review for the fabrication process. After a successful test, Lt. Col. Matthew Ludlow, the battalion commander of 2nd AA Bn., decided to formally assume the risk of using the non-standard part to get his vehicles back in the fight. By signing an official assumption-of-risk letter, he authorized the use of the 2nd Maintenance Battalion-fabricated washers, a move to restore his unit's operational capability.
Once approved, 10 ACVs were brought back that same morning, showcasing how this capability can be utilized not only in garrison, but also forward deployed assets in a less-than-ideal environment.
The impact was immediately noticed. As of December 2025, 2nd Maintenance Battalion has produced over 80 washers, bringing 15 non-operational ACVs back into service. For a part that costs less than two dollars to make, the effort bypassed a supply shortage that could have sidelined the fleet indefinitely, saving the Marine Corps countless days of lost training and readiness.
This success, however, highlights a different issue: the lack of access to technical data for parts. According to Phillips, without the manufacture’s original blueprints, his Marines must reverse-engineer components, a process that involves determining exact dimensions, material composition, and strength requirements from scratch. This process can become especially problematic for load-bearing components.
“The problem is, what does it need to be heat-treated to? What is the base material supposed to be? All of the engineered parameters that this thing went through testing… we don’t have access to that,” Phillips explained. To mitigate this, 2nd Maintenance Battalion now creates its own Technical Data Packages (TDPs) from its reverse-engineered parts, a process validated by civilian engineers and machinists to ensure quality.
By demonstrating their capability to produce reliable parts under controlled processes, 2nd Maintenance Battalion proves that even with contested supply lines, Marine ingenuity can provide a mission-focused solution. 2nd Maintenance Battalion’s work builds a robust case for the organic capabilities that Marine innovation can bring to our units, both in garrison and overseas.
| Date Taken: | 02.13.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 02.14.2026 13:29 |
| Story ID: | 558125 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 12 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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