Mechanics keep fleet rolling through dust, mud

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Will Ackerman
  • 447th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
SATHER AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  Working on vehicles in the desert presents challenges. Mechanics sometimes have to scrape off layers of dirt and mud just to get to the broken part. Then there’s the parts themselves -- it is not like they can simply call an automotive supply store in Baghdad to deliver a part.

“Back home, you could look in a book and order a part. Not here,” said Master Sgt. John Henderson, 447th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron vehicle maintenance flight fleet manager.

It might take a month to get a part through the military supply system, he said.

But you wouldn’t know the maintainers faced these challenges with their vehicle in-commission rate of 96 percent, which is the percentage of more than 300 fleet vehicles that are operational. The in-commission rate for critical vehicles, such as refuelers and fire trucks, was even better -- 98 percent. The Air Force standard is 90 percent.

With a team of mechanics whose ranks are staff sergeant and below, their average experience level is about six years, said Master Sgt. Thomas Lytle, the flight superintendent. Couple this with the fact more than 40 percent of the mechanics are on their first deployment, the team’s success boils down to one thing, he said.

“Enthusiasm and effort overcome expertise 99 percent of the time. The (mechanics) constantly ask questions.”

The fleet includes rental cars, aircraft K-loaders, armored Humvees, fire trucks and refueling vehicles. The Airmen have general mechanical experience.

“You can’t imagine the diversity of the fleet here,” Sergeant Lytle said. “(Most) of (the Airmen) are not experienced with such a diversified fleet.”

But they don’t let that stop them. If one mechanic has experience on a piece of equipment that others don’t, (he or she) teaches the others. However, one mechanic said they sometimes must rely on their basic experience, common sense and step-by-step technical orders.

“I know the concepts of how an engine works. If I know what (kind of vehicle) I’m working with, I can open the T.O. and fix it,” said Staff Sgt. Oscar Figueroa, who is deployed from Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England. “We will go and find a way to fix it.”

The deployed environment, with unpaved roads and thick, deep mud during the rainy winter, also takes its toll on vehicles. Besides sometimes having to scrape off inches of dried mud to reach the part of the vehicle they suspect is the problem, they also pull vehicles out of the mud.

“We own a farm tractor. We have to rescue vehicles every time it rains because the mud is like clay,” Sergeant Lytle said. “We pull out ol' Betsy.”

The summer can be equally challenging. When the temperature outside is 100-degrees Fahrenheit plus, the mechanics face temperatures of up to 200 degrees when they diagnose engine faults.

“A lot of times the engine has to be (running) if we are diagnosing the problem,” Sergeant Henderson said. “We have to watch the heat-rest cycle.”

Although the flight maintains a bench stock of basic items for preventative maintenance such as oil and filters, getting parts to fix major problems is not easy.

“We do not have ready access to base supply here,” said Larry Southworth, a Department of Defense civilian who is the flight’s materiel control specialist.

When engines or transmissions break, he has to order through the Air Force supply system. This can mean a wait of up to 30 days for a part. But Mr. Southworth uses his 15 years of prior Army service in vehicle maintenance to work with the Army here to obtain parts. This is especially critical when obtaining Humvee parts.

“Different units have different types of vehicles and parts," he said. "I know where to go look.”

Regardless of the unfamiliarity with some vehicles, reduced-parts access and the young workforce, Sergeant Henderson described his team’s work as "awesome!”