TOBYHANNA ARMY DEPOT, Pa. -- Word on the street is that U.S. Air Force customers around the world have plenty to say about the Mobile Depot Maintenance Program (MDM) here.
The Air Force budgets millions of dollars annually so sheet metal workers and painters can protect critical ground communications-electronics systems from the forces of nature. Tobyhanna collaborates with active duty, Guard and Reserve officials to identify stationary assets that require corrosion control prevention or maintenance.
Written feedback from Italy, Spain, Honduras and Japan is a testament to the professionalism and level of excellence attained by the Depot Field Team members.
"They did an outstanding job on our sites," Benjamin Park said of work performed for one of the Pacific Rim countries. "They were flexible and accommodating with our crazy schedule."
In Honduras, depot employees arrived prepared and ready to work, according to Master Sgt. Tyrone Cannady. "I personally enjoyed working with every member of the team."
The MDM program ensures operational readiness by significantly reducing structural or corrosion problems that could lead to a premature system failure, according to Elizabeth Delvecchio, logistics management specialist in the Production Management Directorate's Systems Integration and Support Operations Division.
Tobyhanna planners and schedulers work closely with the Tactical Shelters, Radomes and Towers (TSRT) Program office to review estimates, arrange MDM schedules, track funding and review performance. The TSRT Program office, at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the focal point for technology development, maintenance and corrosion control of assets Air Force wide, according to Eugene Echeverria, Towers Program manager.
Echeverria explained that his organization consults on the latest, most durable and economic equipment to protect Air Force systems and directs the MDM teams to accomplish refurbishments, modifications and cyclical corrosion control of a number of systems.
"Our program is also set up to get MDM teams to a site on an urgent or emergency basis quickly with the tools, resources and expertise needed to correct the issue," said Echeverria. "Emergency incidents are to be expected due to some rugged geography, intensive military activities and especially the weather. From time to time something such as a typhoon may damage parts of a shelter, leaving the system exposed to the elements."
Painters and sheet metal workers are required to travel over 50 percent of the time in support of the mobile depot maintenance mission. Field teams usually consist of four specialists selected from a list of volunteers.
"The success of this program is due to the hard work that Tobyhanna's branch chiefs put into scheduling and providing a work force to staff trips each year," said Michael Romanczuk, C4ISR Finishing Division chief. Romanczuk explained that five branches support the MDM mission. "For fiscal year 2015 we're scheduled to do 69 MDM missions."
Painter Worker Thomas Benson started volunteering on MDM trips in 2000. He likes the challenge and satisfaction of working outside Tobyhanna's gates.
"I'm proud to be a member of an MDM team," he said. "I've learned a lot over the years and feel I'm doing the right work for the joint warfighters."
Field team members boast a long list of skills and abilities. For instance, painters must be skilled at painting a variety of surfaces, such as interior and exterior of buildings, mobile and stationary equipment, fittings, furnishings, machinery, and other surfaces where appearance as well as surface protection is important. They also mix paints, and apply prime, intermediate and finish coats with brush, roller or spray gun. Sheet metal workers need to know how to fabricate, repair, modify and install a variety of sheet metal parts, items and assemblies within established standards.
Helping to protect the vital equipment military members need to keep everyone safe is reward enough for one sheet metal worker. In her first year, Debbie Hapersberger realized that overcoming obstacles adds to the success of the program.
Armed with a little inspiration and a lot of hard work, team members demonstrate an innate ability to come up with solutions or work around processes to complete each job on time or ahead of schedule. Hapersberger remembers having to deal with a foreign material on the inside of a shelter, which made it difficult to get the paint to adhere to the wall. And, how she confronted challenges such as bad weather or delayed material shipments.
Ten year veteran Randy Sprecher said dense fog once kept his team from going to work until 2 a.m. while working on systems located on the western tip of Alaska's Aleutian Islands. The general equipment mechanic and MDM team chief looks forward to facing the unknown every time he goes to work. "I learn something new on every mission," he said.
MDM work performed by Tobyhanna extends the service life of fielded shelters and towers that are used with communications systems, explained Brian Zwerdling, logistics management specialist and business development team lead for the TRST Program. Field teams can be dispatched to any of the 500-plus locations managed by the program office. "So far this year, Tobyhanna employees have visited more than 150 units," he said.
In the Midwest, MDM technicians working at an Air National Guard base were described as efficient, knowledgeable, responsive and an excellent resource. And in Oregon, a team was recognized for providing quality work ahead of schedule. Long days and first-rate coordination between Tobyhanna and the customer contributed to finishing a job early at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia.
Staff Sgt. Dylan Zimmerman from Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, said he'd recommend the MDM team for any future work. "They are very professional and perform above and beyond their line of work."
Team Tobyhanna deftly juggles the massive MDM workload, scheduling material shipments, making travel and lodging arrangements and coordinating with the units prior to the team's arrival on site. This is a large mission and it's growing, according to Dave Bainbridge, Structural Repair Branch chief. Bainbridge, who oversees the depot's MDM program, remarked that this type of work is challenging, nevertheless team members agree it's worth all the sacrifices to support the warfighter.
"I see a strong future with the Air Force," Romanczuk said. "Tobyhanna just started doing some MDM-type work with the Navy and there's talk about the Army joining in."
Tobyhanna Army Depot is a recognized leader in providing world-class logistics support for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) Systems across the Department of Defense. Tobyhanna's Corporate Philosophy, dedicated work force and electronics expertise ensure the depot is the Joint C4ISR provider of choice for all branches of the Armed Forces and industry partners.
Tobyhanna's unparalleled capabilities include full-spectrum support for sustainment, overhaul and repair, fabrication and manufacturing, engineering design and development, systems integration, technology insertion, modification, and global field support to warfighters.
About 3,100 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 Communications-Electronics Command. Headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., 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.
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