American servicemembers mentor Afghan maintainers

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Mike Andriacco
  • 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
FORWARD OPERATING BASE HERO, Afghanistan (AFPN) --  American servicemembers are mentoring the Afghan national army's 205th Maintenance Corps to keeping its fleet of more than 1,300 vehicles operational at Forward Operating Base Hero in Afghanistan. 

Capt. Eric McGreevy and Army Staff Sgt. Mark Reynolds of the U.S. maintenance mentoring team here train the ANA's maintenance corps to perform high-level vehicle maintenance.

When the team first arrived in early November, the capabilities of the ANA mechanics were limited to what you would normally expect from a local oil change shop, said Sergeant Reynolds, the 1st Brigade maintenance mentor. Since then, the mechanics have upgraded their skills significantly. 

The progress of the ANA came in spite of several challenges, Sergeant Reynolds said. In addition to a lack of fully-trained mechanics and insufficient storage area, there were supply problems, including no stock of maintenance parts on hand. 

Unit members completed and installed shelves for a new storage area and established a bench-stock process to keep parts available for ready use and quick replacement. 

"The bench stock program will shorten the wait time from up to two weeks for a repair to a matter of hours or days," Sergeant Reynolds said. 

For anything the ANA is unable to repair, contractors are available here and at nearby Kandahar Air Base, said Captain McGreevy, the unit's maintenance officer mentor. The contractors can complete engine rebuilds, transmission maintenance and other, similar work. 

The Airmen and Soldiers here also have another critical mission: Keeping coalition vehicles in good running shape, Captain McGreevy said. 

"We have 252 Humvees that we maintain and have now fully armored them," the captain said. "There are 10 mechanics here plus another six stationed at other (forward operating bases)." 

Recently, two radio and communication maintainers were also added to Captain McGreevy's team, creating a one-stop shop for Humvee vehicle maintenance and resulting in a 96 percent mission capable rate for their vehicles. 

Through a close partnership and the development of a culture of trust and common standards, Airmen and Soldiers are doing their part to help the ANA secure Afghanistan's future, Captain McGreevy said. 

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