Mission Ready Mechanics

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait -- Mechanics with the 369th Sustainment Brigade maintain over 100 pieces of equipment. Some are generators, trailers, heaters, decontamination systems, water buffalos and last but not least, vehicles.?

When Soldiers from the 369th SB conducted Preventive Maintenance Checks and Services, or PMCS, on Monday Nov. 21, 2021, ‘Motorpool Monday,’ the mechanic subject matter experts were nearby to provide assistance.

Soldiers receive a worksheet that instructs them on the PMCS process they conduct on their vehicles when they arrive at the motorpool, said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Harringson Castrillon, a tactical power generator specialist with the 369th Special Troops Battalion, who is also in charge of the brigade’s repair shop at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. Additionally, the mechanics answer questions about the vehicles, their condition, PMCS and in some cases, they even perform portions of the process to demonstrate the standard for services and repair.?

Staff Sgt. Han Jinkyu, an infrastructure support sergeant with the 369th SB, said that his team identified a tire leak on their High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or HMMWV, during their PMCS and the mechanic assisting them explained the potential cause of the leak and the steps Jinkyu needed to take to resolve the issue.?

PMCS is a necessary component of the Army maintenance program, which is intended to preserve the investment of equipment to enable mission success, according to the Army.?

But PMCS is only the beginning of the mechanic’s maintenance process, which has been modernized for highly complex communications and logistics support.

Not only are Army mechanics technically skilled equipment diagnosticians, servicers and repairers but they are skilled in other ways that help ensure mission readiness.?

Once the Soldiers performing PMCS complete their paperwork and depart for their section duties, the inspector verifies the faults that were found, said Spc. Stephen Modica, equipment inspector and senior wheeled vehicle mechanic with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 369th SB.

?“After verifying found faults, I utilize a Maintenance Support Device, a tactical computer, with a software application called Electronic Maintenance System – Next Generation (EMS – NG), and in conjunction with FED LOG, which provides me the parts data I need to rectify the faults I can then pass that information along to material management,” Modica said. From there, the parts will be ordered, and after they are delivered to the shop, the repairs are made and I inspect the vehicle again to ensure that the repairs have been successful.”

The electronic process helps ensure mission readiness in many ways. EMS – NG enables interactive troubleshooting for repairs, which helps support a wide range of vehicle platforms. FED LOG provides essential information about items of supply with ranked searching.?

Equipment that works and is ready to use is also a matter of safety.

Spc. Georgiana Solisbonilla, a religious affairs specialist with the 369th Special Troops Battalion Unit Ministry Team, said that she drives the chaplain everywhere so she needs to know that her vehicle is working properly because she’s not just looking out for her safety but the safety of someone else.

When she went to the motorpool to conduct PMCS on her vehicle she found that it would not start. Her vehicle required repair and she was unable to complete PMCS on that vehicle. Having never completed that process before, she asked a mechanic to show her what to do on another vehicle.?

“I appreciated that someone was there and had the patience to go step by step—every single step of the way—with me to make sure that I knew what I need to look for with my vehicle,” said Solisbonilla.?

Army mechanics are instructors when Soldiers from varying sections come to PMCS at the motorpool. And their expertise can prevent both catastrophe and ensure mission completion.?

Sgt. Erik Moralesrivera, a wheeled vehicle mechanic with the 369th Special Troops Battalion, who repaired a few broken mirror frames and tightened loose engine belts, among other tasks performed during ‘Motorpool Monday,’ said that he thinks it makes Soldiers more comfortable and more secure about their vehicles when they have a mechanic available to help when they conduct PMCS.?

Mechanics with the 369th SB, are subject matter experts for the maintenance of over 100 pieces of equipment, many of which are vehicles, and they work on and repair them as needed. They use modern approaches for logistics support, provide education to Soldiers by assisting in their PMCS process, and they multiply the force because Soldiers who were unfamiliar with identifying problems know what to look out for now.

“Mechanics are not your typical Soldier,” Modica said. “We fix more than just vehicles and we do more than just fixing. Our job doesn’t simply end at the motorpool.”

Story by Spc. Ryan Scribner first published on DVIDS. For the original story and more photos please visit the link below.?