ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT, Ala. -- The last battle-damaged assessment and repair Stryker vehicle rolled off the assembly line at Anniston Army Depot March 4.
Infantry Carrier Vehicle 450, the designation given to the vehicle by ANAD, is the last piece of a program which stretched for 10 years, involving more than 100 employees from the depot and its partner, General Dynamics Land Systems.
Each vehicle received a static test; road test, during which the vehicle was driven more than 20 miles; and functions testing.
Once all repairs were complete and the vehicle upgraded to specifications, team leads performed joint quality inspections.
"Each team's quality goal was to present their vehicle to the Defense Contract Management Agency with zero defects," said David Funderburg, chief of the depot's Stryker Division. "The ANAD BDAR team's ultimate goal was to support the war fighter and provide the best quality Stryker vehicle."
Welding was an important part of the repairs, according to Gary Geier, maintenance management specialist for the Stryker program, and the welding team members kept up with the technical and structural engineering changes as repairs switched from the flat bottom chassis to the double-v chassis.
"There was a time, early in the program, when new vehicles and repaired vehicles were being handed off to the same unit at the same time, said Johnny Oblinger, the project team lead for GDLS. "The Soldiers remarked there were little to no differences between them. That speaks well to the work we did on the vehicles."
The BDAR program, from the beginning, covered more than battle-damaged vehicles. Strykers damaged in accidents, during testing and combat-damaged vehicles were also included.
Since 2006, when the program began, there have been 26 accident-damage repair vehicles, 216 combat-damage, 121 flat bottom hull battle-damage, 107 Main Gun System reset, and 34 double-v-hull battle-damage vehicles.
Throughout it all, GDLS provided parts for the vehicles and technical support where needed.
"Our technical support is far ranging and broad," said Oblinger. "It ranged from determining part numbers to quality issues."
With the program's end, GDLS has reduced its number of employees by 25, drawing down to ensure the workforce on site matches the workload.
But, there is hope in the future. A program to mount a 30-millimeter gun to Stryker vehicles is planned.
Geier said the 30-mm program, which is in the early stages of contracting, will be performed similar to the M1 Abrams Integrated Management program, which refurbishes and upgrades vehicles.
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