Iraqi maintenance shop proves vital

Photo By Sgt. Marcus Gable | Staff Sgt. Brandon Alcorn, a light wheel vehicle mechanic with the 512th Maintenance Co., 15th Sustainment Brigade, inspects the body work of an Iraqi army vehicle by an Iraqi civilian in the repair shop in Camp Taji, Iraq. Alcorn refers to this worker as "Picasso," because of his ability to turn badly damaged vehicles into a work of art.  

TAJI, IRAQ

01.25.2002

Story by Pfc. Marcus Gable 

7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

By Pfc. Benjamin Gable
7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

CAMP TAJI, Iraq – The Iraqis working in the Iraqi Maintenance Contract Wheeled Vehicle Facility at here can't predict how many vehicles will come in for maintenance on any given day. What they do know, is no matter what size the vehicle may be, they are trained and ready to get the vehicles back into the fight.

"These Iraqis are skillful and smart and have the knowledge and experience to work on their own with little supervision and get the vehicles back to their units," said Staff Sgt. Brandon Alcorn, a wheeled vehicle mechanic and technical representative for the facility.

This wasn't always the case for this particular maintenance shop.

Alcorn, a member of the 512th Maintenance Company, 15th Sustainment Brigade, said when he arrived at the shop four months earlier, the five-acre maintenance area was total chaos. He said his fist mission was to establish a foundation for site organization, which stood up July 2005, to help the Iraqi civilian mechanics work more efficiently.

Alcorn said he volunteered for the job of technical representative for the shop because of his background in maintenance. He saw it as a new challenge. After making some adjustments in everyday operations, the shop made dramatic improvements.

"My job was to get them more organized, and set a pattern for them to be successful, and so far, so good," said Alcorn, who was born in Mannheim, Germany.

Before the Iraqis make it to the shop, they must first be trained.

The Iraqi civilians who work in the maintenance shop go through a rigorous three-month training program. The first two weeks, technical representatives provide classroom instruction for the would-be mechanics. There, Iraqis learn the basics of repairing body work and general upkeep of vehicles. The remainder of the training is hands-on in the shop. The course teaches the Iraqis how to quickly repair damaged vehicles and get them back into the field and ready for the fight.

Many of the Iraqis who finish the class make their way to an Iraqi unit to continue upkeep of the vehicles. After the Iraqis complete the course, they become certified mechanics.

"There are so many educated and talented Iraqis out there who come in and do a great job in the shop," said Tommy Sosebee, the site manager of the National Maintenance Wheeled Center and a former Army first sergeant. "Once they get some experience in here, they are able to sustain themselves in the field."
After graduation, the mechanics must be ready for any and all types of vehicles.

More than 200 Iraqis work in the shop on Camp Taji, repairing and maintaining vehicles used by the Iraqi police, the national police, the highway police and the Iraqi Army. Wheeled vehicles from motorcycles to up-armored humvees roll through their shop at a swift pace.

The mechanics perform oil changes, tire changes, general fluid services, glass repair and major body work, among other tasks. The shop also offers a one-for-one battery exchange, where Iraqi units bring in a bad battery in exchange for a new one.

"We are the busiest of the ten shops like this in Iraq," said Sosebee. "Since November, we have pushed more than 15,000 vehicles back into the fight."

Other shops in El Asad, Talil, Mahmudiyah, Baghdad International Airport and Rustamiyah work to ensure that all Iraqi units have access to repair facilities. According to Sosebee, organizational, intermediate and direct support level maintenance is the primary focus at the repair shops.

Behind every Iraqi security force vehicle rolling out of the gate is a maintenance support system. As the Iraqi security forces grow and prepare to take over operations in Iraq, they learn to adopt this system as their own.

"I look at this operation as Iraqis being better prepared to take over," Alcorn said, "and as one step closer to Americans leaving."

• Date Taken: 01.25.2002
• Date Posted: 01.25.2007 12:34
• Story ID: 8937
• Location: TAJI, IQ