'Everybody knows who Sgt. Parker is'

By Staff Sgt. Jerry SaslavJuly 24, 2013

'Everybody knows who Sgt. Parker is'
1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Sgt. Richard Parker, a plumber and carpenter, 859th Engineer Company (Vertical), Mississippi Army National Guard, works on a 5 kilowatt air conditioning unit at Forward Operating Base Fenty, July 18, 2013. The 859th, while responsible for m... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
'Everybody knows who Sgt. Parker is'
2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Sgt. Christopher Bruton, electrician, 859th Engineer Company (Vertical), Mississippi Army National Guard, changes the hose on a 5 kilowatt air conditioning unit at Forward Operating Base Fenty, July 18, 2013. The 859th, while responsible fo... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
'Everybody knows who Sgt. Parker is'
3 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Sgt. Richard Parker, a plumber and carpenter, 859th Engineer Company (Vertical), Mississippi Army National Guard, works on a 5 kilowatt air conditioning unit at Forward Operating Base Fenty, July 18, 2013. The 859th, while responsible for m... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

NANGARHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan - "Some of the people here ... quite honestly just know where he lives," said 1st Lt. David Senn, commander, 859th Engineer Company (Vertical), Mississippi Army National Guard, "and will come up there at night and [say] 'Hey, if you don't mind, tomorrow, come stop by.'"

In any organization there are people with unique skills - this is true in both the civilian and military worlds.

"My primary [military occupational specialty] is a 12K ... plumber," said Sgt. Richard Parker, assistant squad leader, 859th Engineer Company. "My secondary is a 12W ... carpenter."

The 859th has many plumbers and carpenters, and the unit's mission is to maintain the infrastructure on Forward Operating Base Fenty that is not contracted to a civilian company.

"A lot of civilians who are here and a lot of the contractors who are here have dealt with him before, and they talk amongst themselves," said Senn, a native of Jackson, Miss., "and he gets the call."

Parker is a prime example of the old saying: When Guardsmen or Reservists are called to active duty, they bring their civilian skills with them.

"Everybody knows who Sgt. Parker is," said Senn. "Sgt. Parker keeps the AC up on the FOB."

That is where you can find Parker on most days: his hands buried inside a broken air conditioning unit.

"Well, I am a licensed HVAC technician," said Parker, a native of Pascagoula, Miss. "I've got all my certifications."

Before deploying Parker was on orders and working at Camp Shelby, Miss. - fixing the HVAC units at the base is part of his job.

"We got over here ... couldn't get nothing fixed," said Parker, "We turned work orders in for two months and we couldn't get anyone to come out. My company commander said, 'Start fixing them.'"

The reason Parker and the other soldiers had trouble getting the air conditioners fixed is actually a sign of progress.

As the coalition forces continue to hand over their duties to the increasingly capable Afghan National Security Forces, the number of CF personnel and the size of the bases continue to shrink. This affects the base maintenance contracts being held by civilian contractors.

"As the drawdown is happening, the contracts are getting smaller," said Senn. "As the contracts get smaller, parts of the FOBs come off of contract."

The parts of the FOB that are no longer covered by a maintenance contract now become the responsibility of Army units like the 859th. Unfortunately, there are no HVAC positions in the 859th, and it gets hot in Afghanistan during the summer.

"Yes sir, it does. I took an infrared thermometer and I measured the [heat coming off of the] rocks earlier," said Parker. "It was 139 degrees."

This was at 1:30 in the afternoon.

For some people, air conditioning might seem like a luxury. After all, people have been living in Afghanistan for thousands of years, most of that time without air conditioning.

"Soldiers need it [air conditioning] when they are coming off of [a] mission," said Parker. "If you don't [have] any cool air, you won't be sleeping well, you won't get enough rest for your next mission."

For Parker, doing everything he can to make sure his fellow soldiers get enough rest is important.

"You may not be alert enough on your next mission," said Parker, "and it may cost somebody their life."

And so Parker started to fix the air conditioners on the FOB by himself. After a few weeks, he trained an electrician to help him.

On April 14, the 859th started keeping records on how many AC units Parker worked on. In the first month, Parker and his assistant worked on 70 different systems, from small room units to large 5- and 20-kilowatt units, for a grand total of 294 man hours. This does not account for the units Parker worked on before the unit started keeping records.

"He is one of the hardest workers that we have in the company," said Senn. "He is one of the hardest workers I've ever met. He takes a tremendous amount of pride in his work. He wants to do it right [and] do it right the first time. He expects the people that he is training to have his same work ethic and to have his same work ethic as far as getting stuff done right the first time."

As of July 20, Parker and his crew had completed 238 work orders, totaling 936 man-hours. Parker and his crew will be here for more months.

Some of those man-hours involve obtaining the necessary parts need to keep the machines running.

"He'll [Parker] take broken air conditioners that we've removed [and] at night break them down and combine them make a unit," said Senn. "He will do whatever he can."

If parts were an issue, finding the proper tools was tougher.

"Tools here, for this ... for what we do ... are hard to come by," said Parker. "I've had a lot of my personal tools sent to me from the states. I had to have something to work with. It's a small price to pay for someone else being comfortable."

Helping his fellow soldiers means a lot to Parker.

"I extended my contract to be able to come over here with these young'uns," said Parker. "I want to make sure they succeed. As long as these guys, my guys, my unit are succeeding ... then I've done my job."

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