FORT BRAGG, N.C. – To enhance unit-level readiness, U.S. Army Medical Logistics Command coordinated virtual training for more than a dozen medical maintenance technicians on a new portable ventilator system March 12.
The session brought together biomedical equipment specialists (68As) from the 51st Medical Logistics Company and 16th Hospital Center, both local units to Fort Bragg, where AMLC operates a Forward Repair Activity-Medical, or FRA-M, site.
Expert technicians from AMLC’s Medical Maintenance Operations Division at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, or MMOD-UT, administered the entry-level service training, also allowing an opportunity for its own technicians to train along with the group at Fort Bragg.
The FRA-M program is an initiative being rolled out under a wider Army transformation effort called Medical Logistics in Campaigning, which aims to integrate medical materiel and maintenance into the broader Army sustainment enterprise.
The event underscores the FRA-M's dual role in providing not just medical maintenance repair, but also vital training access for regional units.
“Being experts in our field is crucial to our success,” said Anthony Cruz, an Army Civilian at MMOD-UT currently detailed as interim site manager for the FRA-M at Fort Bragg. “Having a well-trained team benefits our operation.”
Portable ventilators serve as a vital lifeline to provide respiratory support for injured Soldiers on the battlefield. They are engineered to be compact and lightweight, easily carried by medics and used in transport during medical evacuation situations.
“This training is about more than just maintenance; it's about guaranteeing readiness at the tactical edge,” said Jose Vazquez, MMOD-UT director. “By empowering our medical maintainers with the skills to service these life-saving ventilators, we are directly enhancing our ability to provide critical care on the battlefield.”
The hourlong session covered preventative maintenance checks and proper procedures for service, featuring live demonstrations by the MMOD-UT instructors. While troubleshooting instruction left little time for hands-on work, attendees engaged directly with the instructors in a question-and-answer session.
Feedback was positive, Cruz said. Attendees appreciated that the virtual training brought valuable context to the preventative maintenance process. For those with prior experience, it served as a great refresher.
The session also highlighted the differences in how sustainment-level maintenance is performed on the system, as compared to the unit level in the field.
“I am so happy this training was provided to us because it helps complete our shop,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 James Butler, maintenance officer with the 51st MLC. “We were needing to train our technicians, and the FRA-M was able to provide it.”
Fort Bragg’s FRA-M site was the first location, coming online in October 2024. Additional locations have been established at AMLC’s three MMODs in California, Utah and Pennsylvania, with more on the way, including Fort Campbell, Kentucky, in the coming months.
AMLC, a major subordinate command to U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command, serves as the Army’s Class VIII medical materiel command, delivering integrated medical logistics that enables Army and joint force readiness from the strategic support area to the tactical edge.
| Date Taken: |
03.26.2026 |
| Date Posted: |
03.26.2026 09:51 |
| Story ID: |
561343 |
| Location: |
FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
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