Teamwork ensures success

By Mrs. Jennifer Bacchus (AMC)February 9, 2017

Teamwork ensures success
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Two teams of Anniston Army Depot employees recently deployed on short notice in support of active duty units in South Korea.

Employees deployed on the first mission, to replace a leaking fuel cell in a M1 Abrams tank and attempt to make the vehicle operational, within 14 days of the mission's approval.

The second deployment took only 10 days between approval and having the employees in country.

"It was a total team effort to make sure this was pulled off," said Michael Griggs, branch chief for the Fielding Operations Division. "Several members of the Directorate of Production worked a lot of long hours to enable this mission."

According to Lavon Stephens, value stream manager for Fielding Operations, ANAD assists active duty units with repair and maintenance of vehicles as well as maintenance training.

However, the fuel cell repair was a unique deployment.

"No one has ever done something like this in country," said Stephens, explaining the fuel cell extraction and replacement is usually handled at a maintenance depot.

The fuel cell had to be cut into pieces and removed from the hull of the vehicle then the new part put in place.

Differences between the equipment in Korea and at the depot necessitated creative solutions, such as repairs to welding equipment which could accommodate the size spools of welding wire needed for the mission.

"The unit didn't have the expertise to go as deep into repairs as they needed to go," said Griggs. "So, they needed Anniston's expertise to get the vehicle up and running."

"The team from ANAD has been very focused and adaptive in their effort to perform this depot-level repair forward in a field-level maintenance facility," said Brock a TACOM logistics assistance representative in Korea. "The way this mission is being completed in spite of any obstacle that comes up speaks volumes of the employees at ANAD and their commitment to our soldiers stationed forward in the Republic of Korea."

The second mission ANAD was tasked with by Army Materiel Command was the Korean Enduring Equipment Set. Depot employees were teamed with fellow Army civilians from Red River Army Depot to assess and potentially repair a wide variety of tracked and wheeled vehicles.

During the assessment, employees will determine which of the vehicles are in need of repair and, of those, which vehicles have the parts available and the facilities needed for repair.

Items in need of repair for which maintenance cannot be performed overseas will be flagged for depot-level maintenance.

ANAD personnel who were in the area for training assisted with one mission. A depot maintenance supervisor was already in Korea assisting in maintenance training for combat vehicles when the request for fuel cell replacement came through.

"Having someone nearby who knew the equipment and what would be needed gave us an idea of what to expect once our team arrived," said Stephens.

The quick response to both missions by ANAD personnel showcased to the units as well as Army leadership that Anniston is always willing to deploy in support of the warfighters.