ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT, Ala. - It all starts with an old power pack. Removed from a vehicle by workers in the combat vehicle facility, a mated engine and transmission comes to the shop floor of the Power Pack Mating and Ground Hop Branch to be handled by the experts there.
Workers like Janice McMath remove the hoses and wiring then separate the engine from the transmission so that each can be cleaned and overhauled.
"Every day I come to work, I think about the troops," said McMath. "I try to do the best I can to ensure quality equipment gets to the troops."
It can take up to two shifts to fully dismantle a power pack. Throughout the process, the parts are tagged and placed in containers for their trip through the cleaning, repairing and painting processes. After the entire power pack is disassembled, the workers in Bldg. 378 have a sense of accomplishment as they send it down the line to the next set of shops.
They know they'll see those parts again.
As the elements that make up one power pack leave, the engine and transmission of another return cleaned, painted and ready for reassembly.
The shop handles power packs for the Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge, the Paladin, the M88 recovery vehicle, the Field Artillery Ammunition Supply Vehicle and the M9 Armored Combat Earthmover.
"Basically, we get every reciprocating engine for Bldg. 400," said Clarence Hafley, acting supervisor in power pack mating. "Our mission is to support Bldg. 400."
The support takes coordination. The mechanics in power pack mating talk frequently with employees in the combat vehicle facility to synchronize their work schedules.
Another part of that support is ground hopping each power pack. Every engine is started and run to ensure there are no leaks and that every measurement - of pressure, of power, among other things - is within specifications.
"You're going to have a leak every time you crank one up," said George Ellis, who has worked in the Ground Hop Branch for the last four years.
Those leaks can vary from major - a cracked oil pan that has to be replaced - to minor, which may only require tightening a hose clamp.
Ellis has been around engines his whole life, since several members of his family are in the trucking business, so the sound of an engine roaring to life is music to his ears.
"Our ultimate goal is to get a pack completely ready to be placed in a vehicle," said Hafley, adding that issues found with the engine, transmission and radiator able to be repaired without dismantling the power pack are done in Bldg. 378, potentially saving the depot days in repair time.
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