Spc. Ricardo Branch
1st Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs
CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq – A vehicle's upkeep is a long, arduous task. Often people repairing trucks have to put in early morning and late night hours just to keep the wheels rolling in Iraq.
"If you don't have us, nothing would roll," said Spc. Andrew Skipper, a mechanic from Company F, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry. "These trucks go through a lot of abuse in combat operations; we see it everyday during their maintenance."
Skipper is just one of 22 personnel who work to keep the military vehicles combat ready at Camp Korean Village.
"You work a lot of odd hours out here," he said. "Sometimes, you have to be up early in case work needs to be done on vehicles that have to roll out of the camp."
Skipper never figured years ago that he'd be working in the desert when he remembers his simple upbringing in Monroe, Ga.
Skipper, 22, grew up in a small football community, where Friday night games were a huge event for the city. He loved sports but decided toward the end of high school that he would join the military, and enlisted in the Army after his 18th birthday in 2004 as a mechanic.
Skipper always knew he was coming into the military but if you ask him, he never figured he'd be in the Army.
"I always thought I'd join the Air Force because Top Gun was my favorite movie," he said. "The Army's a good thing though, I'm enjoying it."
He picked his job because it was one that he knew would get him dirty, and he'd enjoy.
"I like working with my hands," he said. "When I was younger, I loved working on cars, so I knew working on Army vehicles was for me."
Skipper joined the Army because he enjoys seeing the effort of his hard work.
"It's good because you can see the fruits of your labor," he said. "Knowing someone's vehicle is running good is my reward."
Skipper helps lighten moods and bring smiles with his humor and upbeat attitude to the motor pool.
"It's definitely a different day when Skipper is not here," said Sgt. George Green, senior mechanic Co. F, 2-7 Inf. "He's always cracking a joke and bringing a smile to someone's face. The morale is a lot different when he's not there. Everyone still works hard but the mood changes when he's not here."
Skipper's family supports him and is proud of his decision and what he's done in the military.
"My parents were very happy for me," he said. "The first thing my Dad said to me was you don't want to join the Army, they tell you how to write."
His father made a $100 bet with him that he wouldn't be able to complete basic training. It was a fun bet meant to inspire Skipper to succeed.
"That's what got me through," he said. "I wanted to get that 100 bucks from my Dad."
Skipper said that because of his small size, there are many things in life he wasn't able to do. People supported his decision to join the Army but might have been a little unsure if he could succeed.
Now that he's on his second deployment, Skipper has re-enlisted to remain with the Army and do the job he loves.
"It's a lot of work, but its fun," he said. "We fix most of the vehicle on the camp and that's over 100 vehicles. Some days you have ten vehicles to work on, other days you may have only two."
The work load can be the biggest challenge of the job, but Skipper has a saying to motivate him through the long days.
He said, "Every vehicle you fix helps take away some time here, and each truck we fix is one day closer to us going home."
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