LRC-Honshu goes beyond the call of duty

By Kenneth Morris, LRC-HonshuFebruary 26, 2016

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CAMP ZAMA, Japan - Logistics Readiness Center-Honshu's Maintenance Division went above and beyond the call of duty, recently. What started out as a minor task turned out to be a major accomplishment.

After U.S. Army Garrison-Japan's Military Police received seven new patrol cars, they quickly realized the new vehicles were smaller than those in the U.S., and U.S.-made "off-the-shelf" patrol vehicle equipment was not configured for Japanese-made vehicles.

After considering outside contractors to mount the equipment, Logistics Readiness Center-Honshu's Maintenance Division asked the MPs to give the Communication and Electronic Branch a chance to modify the vehicles. The CE Branch had worked with the MPs previously, but never on a project of that scale. The MPs collaborated with CE and designed a configuration concept for the new patrol vehicles that would allow the U.S. specification lights, sirens and radio equipment to be installed into the smaller Japanese vehicles.

LRC-Honshu aligns under the 403rd Army Field Support Brigade, U.S. Army Sustainment Command, headquartered at Camp Henry, Daegu, Republic of Korea.

"We took extra care with all the electrical connections, the routing of cables and the mounting of components knowing that police vehicles would be subjected to more stress than a normal vehicle. It has been an honor to work on such a significant task," said Masahiro Aizawa, ground electronics maintenance mechanic, LRC-Honshu.

The detailed graphics installed on the patrol vehicles blended perfectly with the paint scheme which made the MP patrol vehicles stand out and rapidly identifiable to the Camp Zama community.

"This project required a lot of cooperation between our shop and the customer to ensure the best design of the graphics and for positioning equipment in just the right locations. The project was more in-depth than expected because getting the equipment properly mounted required removing most of the interior such as the seats, headliner, carpet and dashboard. Completing this project with my coworker has given us a great feeling of accomplishment and strengthened our working relationship," said Hiroyuki Takahashi, ground electronics maintenance mechanic, LRC-Honshu.

Aizawa and Takahashi were recognized with a "Coin for Excellence" by U.S. Army Garrison-Japan.