TOBYHANNA ARMY DEPOT, Pa. - The presence of an up-armored truck on-post helps Tobyhanna engineers fabricate and modify brackets for a counter improvised explosive device system.

In 2007, engineers here began designing and fabricating brackets for mounting Counter Radio Controlled Improvised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare (CREW) and CREW Vehicle Receiver/Jammer (CVRJ) electronics equipment.

CREW and CVRJ systems are designed to jam communication signals between the remote control and receiver used to detonate improvised explosive devices.

The equipment is mounted on heavy tactical vehicles (HTV), which include the M915 truck, Heavy Equipment Transporter, Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck and the Palletized Load System.

For two years, engineers and technicians traveled to Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., and Blue Grass Army Depot, Ky., to measure, design and fit brackets for HTVs.

In July, an M915 vehicle was shipped from Aberdeen Proving Ground to Tobyhanna, to be used during the development and installation of the CREW A-kits.

The brackets are part of the supplies that are included in the A-kits, which are sent to Soldiers in Southwest Asia. Other materials include a technical manual, drawing package, and common hardware and tools.

The M915 is used as a prototype for designing, developing and facilitating the installation of depot-engineered CREW equipment brackets, which are part of the kits. The M915 is an up-armored truck used to transport fuel and supplies throughout Southwest Asia.

"The vehicle makes it easier for us to modify and install a kit, without the expense of going on temporary duty," explains Jason Klimczak, mechanical engineer in the Production Engineering Directorate's Design and Development Branch. Engineers are using the vehicle to measure and design the brackets, as well as ensuring that they fit properly.

Charles Reed, engineering technician in the Design and Development Branch, notes that prior to the bracket implementation, equipment was mounted in and on the vehicles with whatever Soldiers had on hand.

Project Manager (PM) CREW contacted Tobyhanna, requesting depot personnel to work on the brackets.

"The kits are made here and shipped overseas to Soldiers," Reed says, explaining that since Soldiers and vehicles are rotated in and out, equipment was being mounted differently on each vehicle. "Now it's standardized and no matter who is there, the equipment will always be mounted the same way."

Engineers have already designed and fit brackets for the V2 primary unit, and are currently working on the brackets and kits for the V3, which is a V2 upgrade.

"Having the vehicle here helps us because the engineers can look at alternate mounting locations," Joseph Rychwalski says, noting that there is a limited amount of space in the cab of the M915. He is an electronics mechanic in the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Directorate's Electronics Warfare Systems Branch.

Engineers constructed an armored box that would store various equipment outside the cab. Not only does the box create more space in the cab, but it also allows for equipment that radiates heat to be housed outside of the cab, and away from Soldiers, Rychwalski explains.

Engineers were also able to request changes and alterations for the brackets, which Klimczak notes helped with quick turnaround time.

"The cables for the gear shift section were too short, so we needed to alter the bracket. We took the bracket to the [Systems Integration and Support Directorate's] Machining Branch, modified it, had it painted and installed it within a few days." Technicians were also able to modify 75 additional M915 brackets here.

Klimczak explains that Tobyhanna's engineers rely on feedback from deployed Soldiers and civilians about additional brackets or different types of hardware, and other equipment.

The kit fabrication has also opened the door to bringing other workload here, such as the fabrication of A-kits for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected, Medium Tactical and Armored Security vehicles, said David Marcus, logistics management specialist in the Production Management Directorate's Manufacturing System and Support Branch.

PM CREW also requested that depot employees inspect the vehicle while it's here and provide any necessary repairs.

Tobyhanna Army Depot is the Defense Department's largest center for the repair, overhaul and fabrication of a wide variety of electronics systems and components, from tactical field radios to the ground terminals for the defense satellite communications network. Tobyhanna's missions support all branches of the Armed Forces.

About 5,600 personnel are employed at Tobyhanna, which is located in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania.

Tobyhanna Army Depot is part of the U.S. Army CECOM Life Cycle Management Command. Headquartered at Fort Monmouth, N.J., the command's mission is to research, develop, acquire, field and sustain communications, command, control computer, intelligence, electronic warfare and sensors capabilities for the Armed Forces.