Vehicle maintenance keeps Balad on the move

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Alice Moore
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  With a turn of a screwdriver or a crank of a wrench, a 60-K loader can quickly resume loading cargo onto an aircraft because of the vehicle maintenance flight's efforts here. 

The 332nd Expeditionary Logistics Support Squadron's vehicle maintainers are responsible for the base's Air Force vehicle fleet of cargo loaders, forklifts, sweepers, tow vehicles, fire trucks, ambulances, airfield sweepers and other special purpose and general vehicles. 

The cargo loaders and forklifts are critical to Balad's role as the main airlift cargo hub for Iraq, said Lt. Col. Zev York, 332rd ELRS commander. 

"The handling equipment is critical to our ability to load and unload aircraft. This keeps Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines off the road," he said. 

The vehicle maintenance flight's customer service, general purpose and special purpose sections meet the needs of more than 800 different vehicles that are a part of Balad Air Base's mission. This number will increase as the wing transistions from leased, general-purpose vehicles to government-owned. 

"We make sure scheduled maintenance is done on all special-purpose vehicles here on a rotation," said Tech. Sgt. Darryll Daum, special purpose NCO in charge. "We perform a lot of minor maintenance on a daily basis. This can include replacing wipers and bulbs and working on any minor electrical problems." 

"We work any scheduled and unscheduled maintenance with all of the general purpose vehicles here," said Tech. Sgt. Calvin Romero, general purpose NCO in charge. "Some of the everyday typical work include repair work, replacing tires and conducting accident estimates." 

Being in a combat zone presents some challenges vehicle maintainers don't face at home, Sergeant Daum said.

"Parts are hard to procure over here. We have to go through base supply and an online vendor, which also results in a waiting period. Back home, we're able to go downtown and procure our parts locally," he said. 

The flight is able to overcome this challenge through cannibalization (taking parts from another vehicle legally) and salvaging parts, Sergeant Daum said. 

"We find alternative ways to fix a vehicle until parts become available to keep the fleet rolling," said Tech. Sgt. Robert Peterman, customer service NCO in charge. 

Because of the dynamic mission of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, the operations tempo for vehicle maintenance is more than what they're used to seeing back home. However, it doesn't prevent the Airmen assigned to the shop from taking pride in what they do. 

"I like being a mechanic. I've always liked working on cars," said Staff Sgt. Matthew Muir, vehicle maintenance journeyman. "There are a lot of jobs out there where you can't directly see the results of your efforts. I get to see everyone else driving around in their vehicles on base and I know that I had a part in that." 

Sergeant Romero said the efforts of vehicle maintenance has clear results. 

"We keep the wing moving," he said. "Without vehicle maintenance you are not going anywhere."