By Sgt. Aaron LeBlanc
165th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 1st Sustainment Brigade
CAMP TAJI, Iraq - If it rolls, the mechanics of the 536th Maintenance Company can probably fix it. The unit, from Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, is playing an important role within the 165th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 1st Sustainment Brigade, and is vital to the overall mission of the Soldiers stationed at Camp Taji.
"I have a good team of professionals here," said East St. Louis native Sgt. 1st Class Phillip Foster, the non-commissioned officer in charge of the 536th's Automotive Base, a maintenance bay which represents a good chunk of the heavy-lift capacity of the Company.
Foster's maintenance bay has completed 204 major jobs thus far, all of which have been labeled as 'high priority.' "We handle mainly big-ticket items here, like engine replacement, and complete overhauls," explained Foster.
His shop isn't limited to repairing vehicles however; it's also home to Sgt. Jamie Cadman, a native of Gallup, New Mexico, and an armorer with the 536th. "We can repair any small arms in the Army's arsenal. And we even repair some weapons for the Iraqi army on the other side of the base, such as their .50 caliber machine guns," she explained.
The 536th as a whole has completed literally thousands of jobs since they arrived in country last year. "The maintenance shops have averaged about 635 jobs a month since their arrival in December 2007," said Sgt. 1st Class Dennis Calvert, the non-commissioned officer in charge of the 536th's Shop Office. "That's over 4,400 jobs, at least in the last 7 months. Some jobs are definitely more time consuming than others, but in the end, every job has to be completed with the least downtime possible," he said.
Calvert went on to explain that the shops of the 536th "provide direct support, as well as, organizational support to fourteen units within the 1st Sustainment Brigade and the 165th CSSB, and thirty-three external units, from various MiTT Teams to Special Forces. We also provide 24-hour support to the Convoy Support Center for any unit needing maintenance repairs passing through the greater Baghdad area."
In addition to being the most robust maintenance operation on the base, the 536th is also responsible for the operation of the largest SSA warehouse complex in the country, capable of handling all classes of supply. The 536th has recently fielded a gun truck platoon, capable of conducting convoy security for the numerous combat logistics patrols organic to the 165th. Further, they also provide tactical tow trucks to every convoy organic to the 165th, making them the only unit within the Battalion to be represented in such a fashion.
"My Soldiers understand that the armor that they upgrade, the trucks that they repair, and the electronic warfare kits that they install save lives, and they take pride in that," said Sgt. 1st Class Foster, of his crew at the Automotive Base. "I can't tell you how many Soldiers have come back to us from off the road and told us about how something we did helped them to come home safe."