FORT CAMPBELL, KY -- April 9, 2009 --When the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) turned over its weapons and combat equipment for RESET maintenance, the shop came to them.
Trucks from Fort Campbell's Directorate of Logistics picked up more than 4,000 individual and crew served weapons, and more than 3,000 optics and aiming devices as well as heavy weapons components.
Fifteen months in the Iraqi desert had taken its toll. The armaments were carted off to DOL's Weapons Shop near the Old Clarksville Base for badly needed repairs.
Rapid turnaround of large equipment as well as weapons is part of the high level service that earned Fort Campbell equipment RESET a reputation for being among the very best in the Army.
Jim Haley, director of logistics, said the Army Materiel Command has recognized both ground force and aviation maintenance operations at Fort Campbell as benchmark programs.
"When you're the benchmark for the Army, you're the best there is," Haley said.
RESET, which is part of the Army Force Generation cycle, is designed to return Soldiers and equipment to combat readiness on an efficient timetable.
The undertaking requires enormous coordination and attention to detail, said Maintenance Division Chief Mark Bean.
When a truck returns from theater, it gets a bumper-to-bumper inspection. Wheels, brakes and suspension systems all come off. Each part is then disassembled and cleaned. Any damaged parts are replaced or refurbished back into proper shape.
"We do what is called the highest level of service," Bean said.
Bean oversees 250 contract mechanics and numerous warehouse-sized shops. Some shops specialize in trucks. Some in Humvees or heavy construction equipment. Others are dedicated to weaponry and optics.
The biggest enemy to equipment is sand and dirt, Haley said. The gritty landscapes in both Iraq and Afghanistan erode moving parts at a faster-than normal rate. Fine sand grains work their way into bearings and turn grease into an abrasive mixture.
On vehicles, the most common casualties are suspension parts.
RESET guidelines call for redeployed vehicles to be combat ready within 180 days of hitting the ground, Bean said. But units frequently require their hardware sooner to train for the next deployment.
In addition, Bean's shops must stay on schedule with maintaining equipment that deployed units leave behind. Thousands of pieces from generators to vehicles to communications equipment have routine maintenance that is critical to operations.
Juggling such a workload requires a smooth, responsive operation, Bean said. He praised the specialized skills and productivity of his workers, who are employed with major defense contractor DynCorp International.
Haley said the demands of deployment strain have required maintenance operations to more than quadruple their workforce. The Global War on Terror does strain facilities, he said. But so far, DOL has been equal to the task.
"We're doing it well, we're doing it fast and we're meeting our mission requirements," Haley said.
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