FORT STEWART, Ga. — Army Materiel Command Deputy Commanding General and Acting Commander Lt. Gen. Chris Mohan visited Fort Stewart Oct. 31, 2024, to meet the Depot Fly Away team and thank them for supporting the 3rd Infantry Division through maintenance efforts prior to the Marne Division’s upcoming deployment.
The Depot Fly Away team consists of 10 mechanics from Anniston Army Depot, Alabama, and three from Red River Army Depot, Texas. The team from Alabama works on a wide range of military vehicles, including the M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank, M88 Hercules Recovery Vehicle, M109A7 Howitzer and the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle. The Texas-based team specializes in the M2A4 Bradley Fighting Vehicle.
“Since late September, the fly away team alongside 3ID Soldiers has improved the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team’s overall operational readiness rate by 4.5% while increasing the critical fleet and operational readiness rate by 15.3%, positively impacting the readiness of 49 vehicles across the unit’s footprint,” said Maj. Daniel Amato, battalion support operations officer for Army Field Support Battalion-Stewart.
Amato added the team completed four depot-level repairs here saving an estimated $208,000 in transportation costs alone.
Mohan thanked the team members for volunteering for this effort and recognized them with coins.
During his visit, Mohan also stopped by the Marne Innovation Center which focuses on identifying capability gaps, developing prototypes and implementing solutions within the 3ID. Their ability to reverse engineer and print parts shaves time off repairs and saves the Army money.
“This allows us to make what we need, and we have to get people thinking like that,” Mohan said.
Recent developments include modifying mounting brackets in a tank to ease the setup of camo nets, which are used to conceal the vehicle during operations. Additionally, they are working on a mold conditions awareness tool that detects humidity levels in barracks to prevent mold. If successful, this tool along with all their innovations could be used across the Army.
“What we want to be able to do is reinforce when you guys do stuff like this then be able to send us the work, so we can share it across the Army,” Mohan said. “That is the key, to be all networked together.”
He also stopped by the Support Supply Activity and the Rail Marshalling Area to conduct walk throughs of those operations.
Mohan later conducted a Leader Professional Development session for leaders from across the installation. He left them with some advice to take forward in their careers.
“Always be a lifelong learner, challenge the system and manage risk,” Mohan said.
The fly away team is set to help 3ID until Nov. 15, 2024, after they will return to their depots to continue modernization efforts.
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