ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT, Ala. -- Stryker vehicles currently being repaired and reset at Anniston Army Depot will one day support the members of the Royal Thai Army.
Thirty Stryker vehicles are being brought back to mission-capable conditions and outfitted as Infantry Carrier Vehicles by depot employees and General Dynamics Land Systems.
"We have a greater return on investment with both ANAD and GDLS working together; with both parties sharing their expertise in the technical field of producing Stryker vehicles," said Jerry Fowles, a maintenance management specialist with the Directorate of Production Management. "High- quality standards are better obtained and maintained throughout the life of the Stryker programs."
This is the first foreign military sales production for Stryker vehicles at ANAD.
The first two vehicles being repaired at ANAD were inducted Dec. 3, but the first trial vehicles for the production run were repaired in 2019 by GDLS at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington, according to Mike Gray, division chief for the depot's Vehicle Non-Gun Division.
"There were little to no weld repairs needed on the first vehicles," said Gray, adding that all vehicles which needed more extensive repairs were designated to come to Anniston.
"Over 80 percent of the vehicles we are resetting need extensive weld repairs," said Gray.
As each Stryker vehicle is inducted, it receives a full technical inspection and structural assessment. The vehicle then goes through many of the standard processes of any Stryker reset at ANAD - disassembly, welding, component replacement and reassembly.
With this FMS program, however, a few processes have been added.
Interior painting and tire replacement are the most visibly obvious additions, but there are others.
According to Gray, this program is the first time ANAD has been used to repair the troop seats to a "like new" standard and the first time the depot has been chosen to inspect and repair engines for the vehicles.
"This FMS program brings a lot of additional work to the depot through welding as well as the repair and overhaul of components," said Gray. "That's big."
No matter what engine the vehicles arrive with - a Caterpillar C7 engine or a Caterpillar 3126 - they are leaving with a C7 which has been serviced, repaired and dynamometer tested by ANAD personnel.
Two of the vehicles being reset will be done on a pilot program. Unlike the other 28, which came into the reset program with much of their components intact, two vehicles were initially marked for demilitarization.
These "rolling chassis" vehicles, according to Gray, are structurally in good condition. He hopes the pilot program will prove the lifespan of these vehicles can be extended, under the right conditions.
ANAD and GDLS each have 15 vehicles to produce and each have unique roles to play in the repair of these Strykers.
GDLS is responsible for all new components for the vehicles as well as any new panels needed for the hulls.
All weld work, component repair, engine work and paint is being performed by ANAD employees.
The rest - inspections, assessments, disassembly and reassembly - are split in half as part of the public-private partnership.
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