Sergeant maintains vehicle operations on provincial reconstruction team

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Cammie Quinn
  • Provincial Recontruction Team Paktya Public Affairs
PAKTYA PROVINCE, Afghanistan (AFNS) --  (Editor's note: This story is part of "Through Airmen's Eyes". These stories and commentaries focus on a single Airman, highlighting their Air Force story.)

Staff Sgt. Corrie Walden, a vehicle maintainer from Bothell, Wash., spent eight months of her first two years in the Air Force assigned to Shaw Air Force Base, S.C.

The other 16 months, Walden trained to deploy, deployed, or returned from a deployment in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

Currently, Walden is assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Paktya, where she works as a vehicle maintainer. She is one of a two-person shop, supporting more than 70 service members and several mine-resistant ambush-protected armored vehicles and equipment.

The maintenance shop is responsible for fixing most systems on the up-armored vehicles, Walden said.

"Any broken part on MRAPs, not related to communication, falls within vehicle maintenance's line of work," Walden said. "This includes everything from electrical systems to brakes and chassis."

Although she has been in the Air Force for more than eight years, Walden said her deployment in Paktya province is unique to her previous military experiences.

"I find myself doing much more than turning wrenches here," Walden said. "I use Army systems to send maintenance reports and work orders, attend daily meetings, all the while focusing on the primary task; repairing anything that comes up broken.

"All the different fields typically found in a vehicle maintenance shop back at home station are rolled up into one here," she said.

Adding to her challenge, Walden traditionally specializes in fire engine repair, whereas with the PRT, she works on armored vehicles.

"There are definite differences when working on MRAPs as compared to fire engines," she said. "Though the diesel engines and chassis are similar, subsystems unique to the MRAP as well as the physical limitations the armor presents are a challenge."

Not one to turn from difficulty, Walden said she relies on the thorough training she received prior to the deployment.

"We had several months of hands-on training with the Army, allowing us to not only familiarize ourselves with the vehicles, but Army systems as well."

Walden also provides immediate support as PRT members conduct outside-the-wire missions.

"I am also a qualified vehicle operator for the PRT," she said. "If something happens to a vehicle in the convoy, I'm there, on-scene to repair it. It's less time on the ground in one place, ensuring the team is safer from an attack."

Convoys are a joint mission for the PRT, with drivers and security predominantly provided by the team's security forces team.

"Providing security would be impossible without support from the vehicle maintenance shop," said Army Staff Sgt. Salvatore Demarco, the Paktya PRT Security Forces platoon leader. "They keep us safe and our vehicles in good, running condition while we conduct our missions."

With all the differences in the deployment, Walden said she'll return home with a better understanding of her job, how the Army works and of a different culture.

"I have worked with Iraqis before and have seen poverty, but it's on a completely different level here," she said. "It's tough to see, but it helps you appreciate what you have and what we all work for."