Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Motor pool keeps PRT running


GHAZNI PROVINCE, Afghanistan – U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Brandon Gordon, motor pool leading petty officer from Merrillville, Ind., assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Ghazni, Task Force White Eagle, inspects the exterior of a tactical vehicle during an inspection in the motor pool shop July 2, at Forward Operating Base Ghazni, Afghanistan. This inspecting ensures there is no damage to the vehicles and it past every area of the inspection checklist prior to going out on missions. (Photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Darnell T. Cannady, Ghazni Provincial Reconstruction Team Public Affairs)

GHAZNI PROVINCE, Afghanistan – U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Brandon Gordon, motor pool leading petty officer from Merrillville, Ind., assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Ghazni, Task Force White Eagle, inspects the wheels of a tactical vehicle during an inspection in the motor pool shop July 2, at Forward Operating Base Ghazni, Afghanistan. This inspecting ensures there is no damage to the vehicles and it past every area of the inspection checklist prior to going out on missions. (Photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Darnell T. Cannady, Ghazni Provincial Reconstruction Team Public Affairs)

GHAZNI PROVINCE, Afghanistan – U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Tommy McGehee, mechanic from Mountainburg, Ark., assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Ghazni, Task Force White Eagle, replaces the brake system of a civilian vehicle in the motor pool shop July 2, at Forward Operating Base Ghazni, Afghanistan.  The motor pool shop is responsible for inspecting all vehicles to ensure they operate properly and fix any problems they find. (Photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Darnell T. Cannady, Ghazni Provincial Reconstruction Team Public Affairs)

GHAZNI PROVINCE, Afghanistan – U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Tommy McGehee, mechanic from Mountainburg, Ark., assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Ghazni, Task Force White Eagle, plasma cuts a bracket for mounting an infrared light onto a tactical vehicle using a torch in the motor pool shop July 4, at Forward Operating Base Ghazni, Afghanistan. The motor pool shop also makes modifications to equipment to enhance vehicle operations. (Photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Darnell T. Cannady, Ghazni Provincial Reconstruction Team Public Affairs)

GHAZNI PROVINCE, Afghanistan – U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class James Hagen, mechanic from South Shore, S.D., assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Ghazni, Task Force White Eagle, conducts inventory and reorganize the tools in the motor pool shop July 4, at Forward Operating Base Ghazni, Afghanistan.  The motor pool shop loan out tools and ensure the right tools are returned in their proper areas for easily accessibility. (Photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Darnell T. Cannady, Ghazni Provincial Reconstruction Team Public Affairs)

GHAZNI PROVINCE, Afghanistan – U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin Morgan, vehicle mechanic from Colorado Springs, Colo., assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Ghazni, Task Force White Eagle, connects the stinger for towing a damaged vehicle July 4, at Forward Operating Base Ghazni, Afghanistan. Towing vehicles and repairing the damages is some of the motor pool shop’s main responsibility.  (Photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Darnell T. Cannady, Ghazni Provincial Reconstruction Team Public Affairs)

GHAZNI PROVINCE, Afghanistan – U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Robert Wolford, mechanic from Hagerstown, Md., assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Ghazni, Task Force White Eagle, drills a relief hole as part of a modification to a tactical vehicle in the motor pool shop July 6, at Forward Operating Base Ghazni, Afghanistan. The motor pool shop performs modifications to tactical vehicles to enhance its operations and fix reoccurring problems. Water condensations builds inside of the tactical vehicle and will start to crack the doorframe, this modification gives a place for the water to escape the vehicle. (Photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Darnell T. Cannady, Ghazni Provincial Reconstruction Team Public Affairs)

GHAZNI PROVINCE, Afghanistan – U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin Morgan, vehicle mechanic from Colorado Springs, Colo., assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Ghazni, Task Force White Eagle, uses a torque wrench to tighten the lug nuts of a tactical vehicle July 11, at Forward Operating Base Ghazni, Afghanistan. Replacing tires of a tactical vehicle is one of the maintenance responsibilities of the motor pool shop. (Photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Darnell T. Cannady, Ghazni Provincial Reconstruction Team Public Affairs)

By U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Darnell T. Cannady
Ghazni Provincial Reconstruction Team Public Affairs
GHAZNI PROVINCE, Afghanistan – After six long hours replacing a damaged part they tighten the final bolt of the tactical vehicle, conduct a final inspection to ensure everything is working properly, it is then signed off as completed, and the keys are handed back over to the truck commander. As soon as it pulls out another vehicle is being backed into the shop, signed in, they speak to the truck commander about the problem, and the process begins all over again. 
 “Our main mission is to provide maintenance to all tactical vehicles” said U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Gregory Cooke, maintenance chief from Richland Center, Wis., assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Ghazni, attached to Task Force White Eagle. “Motor pool gets a wide variety of problems so you never know what tomorrow will bring, from broken wreckers to pick-ups, we assess the situation and do our best to get it operational”
The motor pool, a six-person team, is responsible for the maintenance of approximately $50 million of equipment and auto repair parts on Forward Operating Base Ghazni Afghanistan. They provide maintenance on more than 40 pieces of PRT equipment and also assist with the Polish PRT vehicles
“A busy but rewarding job,” said Chief Cooke. “Our people rise to the challenge everyday and are not afraid to get their hands dirty”.
They get their hands dirty with replacing different parts of vehicles, changing oil, and recovering vehicles Additionally, the team goes. out with the PRT and tow tactical vehicles that become inoperable during missions.
“We assist the PRT with the recovering vehicles that gets blown-up, breaks down, or get stuck during missions,” said U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin Morgan, vehicle mechanic from Colorado Springs, Colo., assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Ghazni, Task Force White Eagle. “We tow the damaged vehicle back to the base and begin fixing it. If it cannot be fixed we salvage parts from it and attach them to another vehicle that needs it”.
With all the vehicles they are responsible for a normal day is full of work. Finding out exactly what the problem is and prioritizing the vehicles is vital to maintaining all these vehicles.
“We get here early, inspect vehicles, talk with truck drivers to determine the problems, check for discrepancies, and fix the problems.” said U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Brandon Gordon, motor pool leading petty officer from Merrillville, Ind., assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Ghazni, Task Force White Eagle. “We put out the workload, prioritize each vehicle, and maintain the primary and secondary vehicles to ensure they are available for any mission”
Having vehicles ready to travel throughout Ghazni is vital to the PRT mission.
 “We know 100 percent that our vehicles will be ready for the mission because of the work they put into it” said 1st Lt. Casey Janke, civil affairs team leader from Green Bay, Wis., assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Ghazni, Task Force White Eagle. “Our truck crew deals with them often after missions. We come to them with problems and their team does a great job solving the problem and getting the vehicle operational again.”
The motor pool shop provides the PRT with the security of knowing that every time their vehicle has been worked on and every time they operate their vehicle that the best maintenance available was provided on their vehicles.
“The last thing that needs to be in their minds is the truck’s operability,” said Petty Officer Gordon, “We allow them to stay focused on their mission outside the wire without having any mechanical issues on their minds.”

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