Heavy Metal: Welders reinforce Central Issue Facility

By Mr. Robert Timmons (IMCOM)February 9, 2017

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1 / 7 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Spc. Brett Alkire, a machinist/welder with Bravo Company, 703rd Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, welds steel beams together to make braces to bridge trenches in the new Central Issue Facility on post. The ste... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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2 / 7 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Spc. Roger Rivera, a machinist/welder with Bravo Company, 703rd Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, cuts a 1/4 inch sheet of steel Feb. 6 that will be fashioned into materials to bridge trenches in the new Centr... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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3 / 7 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Spc. Brett Alkire hands Spc. Nicholas Scott, both machinist/welders from Bravo Company, 703rd Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division out of Fort Stewart, braces used to reinforce steel plates allowing Fort Jackson Central Issue... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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4 / 7 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Spc. Brett Alkire, a machinist/welder with Bravo Company, 703rd Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, prepares to weld steel beams together to make braces to bridge trenches in the new Central Issue Facility on po... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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5 / 7 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Spc. Brett Alkire, a machinist/welder with Bravo Company, 703rd Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, welds steel beams together to make braces to bridge trenches in the new Central Issue Facility on post. The ste... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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6 / 7 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Spc. Nicholas Scott, a Sierra Vista, Ariz. native, and Spc. Roger Rivera, Houston native, and both welder/machinists with Bravo Company, 703rd Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, carry steel plates into Fort Jac... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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7 / 7 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Spc. Brett Alkire, a welder with the 3rd Infantry Division steadies a steel saddle, or support, that will reinforce steel plates that span trenches in the Fort Jackson Central Issue Facility.(U.S. Army photo by Robert Timmons, Fort Jackson Public Aff... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

When Fort Jackson's Central Issue Facility moved into Bldg. 2450 during Victory Block Leave it began operations in a structure built to teach Soldiers to become mechanics -- while a large open area, it was unsuited to disperse equipment.

The old maintenance bay was tall and wide enough to store the goods Soldiers need, but was crisscrossed with trenches that made forklift usage difficult at best. One part of the bay couldn't be reached with equipment and was unused.

One solution to the problem was using steel plates to bridge the gap, but they buckled under the forklifts weight. Something had to be done. The call went out and Soldiers from Fort Stewart, Georgia answered.

"We don't care where they are, if they can get things done we want them here," said Mr. Dennis Williams, Director of the Logistics Readiness Center on Fort Jackson. "At the end of the day we still have to provide the service that is required for the initial entry Soldiers that come here."

Welders from the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division's Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 703rd Brigade Support Battalion, have been at Fort Jackson since late January creating and laying 145 square feet of 1/4 inch steel reinforced with saddles across the gaps to allow forklifts to cross.

Making the building safe for employees to use was the utmost priority, said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Jeremy Deck, Chief of Logistics Support Team -- Jackson.

"It was a phased approach to making safety and process improvements using the skills of the Soldiers," he said.

Soldiers doing the welding and machine work found the idea of getting away from Fort Stewart satisfying because they were able to get more experience in their trade.

"It's a great way to expand your knowledge on things done in the civilian world," said Spc. Roger Rivera, a machinist/welder and Houston native, moments after he finished cutting a sheet of steel with a plasma cutter. Back in Stewart the Soldiers work was "mostly all repair and bolt extractions."

Spc. Brett Alkire was even more enthusiastic because helping build something is deeply satisfying.

"I like building things from the ground up. It's really satisfying to see a hunk of metal turned into anything you want. You can cut it, make a bolt out of it or" anything you'd like.

For machinist/welder Spc. Nicholas Scott coming to Fort Jackson wasn't anything new, but it was an eye opener on how the Army recycles. The Sierra Vista, Arizona native did his basic training on the installation.

"It's crazy to see how the Army still uses everything," he remarked about transforming an old Advanced Individual Training building into something new. "They don't get rid of anything I guess. The just recycle the buildings into something different."