Mechanics

Photo By Spc. Michael Pfaff | Spc. Daniel Robinson, a metal worker with E Co., builds a piece of armor plating for the bottom of a humvee to deflect stray bullets.  

HAWIJA, IRAQ

05.15.2006

Story by Spc. Michael Pfaff 

133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Hawija, Iraq (May 3, 2006) " Mechanics with the 426th Brigade Support Battalion are tasked with the difficult job of keeping all of the vehicles here and functioning despite a harsh desert environment.

But they are not only maintaining these vehicles. In many cases they are tasked with rebuilding them from the ground up, putting damaged vehicles back into the hands of the Soldiers who need them most on the dangerous roads.

"It's really important, the job that we do, putting the vehicle back in the fight," said Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Breite, a senior mechanic with E Company, 426th BSB, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, and Springfield, Mo., native. "We put in some late days and late nights to get those guys back on the road."

Late days and nights are a necessity due to the large workload tasked to E Company. Rebuilding a vehicle can take anywhere from one or two days to weeks, depending on the amount of damage the vehicle has sustained and how long it takes for parts to arrive.

"Even though we do have rebuilds, we still have scheduled and unscheduled maintenance to deal with. So, on top of all that, we still have to rebuild all of these vehicles," Breite said.

On most days, E Co. is down a few Soldiers because of leave and lending out Soldiers for details, just like any other unit.

"All of us work every day," said Spc. Kenison L. Vrabcak, a wheel mechanic and Nashville, Tenn. native. "We also lose about six people every day to details, but we're all hard workers and have learned a lot. I know we're building humvees left and right."

Long days and late nights is not the only challenge E Co. faces when trying to rebuild damaged vehicles. A lot of the tools needed for the rebuilds aren't readily available. That doesn't stop them from getting the job done though.

"Our facility is not really made to do this kind of job," Vrabcak noted, "But, we still do it and we use what we have. We don't have cranes, so we use wreckers for material handling. We also have our welders make tools for us. We fabricate a lot of things to help us get the job done."

The welders are essential to rebuilds because they help make tools from scrap metal resources.

"Pretty much anything they can think about we can put together," said Spc. Daniel Robinson, a metal worker with E Co. and a Charleston, S.C. native.

The metal workers also fabricate additional armor pieces for the rebuilt humvees to make them safer than they initially were.

"The latest things we're working on are the turrets with the glass plating so the gunner can see out of it," Robinson said.

With the tools and equipment the metal workers build, the mechanics can rebuild a damaged vehicle in a matter of days. When a vehicle is repaired, it can be put back out on the roads to keep the infantry Soldiers at full strength.

"Infantry does their job out there, so we do our job in here," Vrabcak said. "We want to keep our percentage of effective vehicles at the maximum."

Though the mechanics from E Co. 426th BSB work short staffed and less some equipment that might make their job easier, they do the job under a motto many Soldiers come to live by during their careers; adapt and overcome. They not only adapt and overcome, but they do it in one of the most dangerous areas in the 1st BCT's area of operation.

"Here at FOB McHenry it's one of the most hostile areas in the Bastogne area of operation," Breite said. "We've received 12 incidents of mortar fire on the motor pool alone, and the guys work through that. They stay tough through it mentally and physically and get the job done."

• Date Taken: 05.15.2006
• Date Posted: 05.15.2006 11:23
• Story ID: 6377
• Location: HAWIJA, IQ