October - Library - Central Queensland University

Completing Engine Changeout HMMWV
The quantity of armor and where it goes has been based on re p o rts from drivers
whose vehicles were hit with small arms fire, RPGs and IEDs. If we gave this
soldier’s unit all the armor it wanted, other units might not get any armor at all.
Also, the vehicles we armor have a maximum load limit. If we overload a vehicle
with too much armor plating, it will suffer pre m a t u re failure. I know, because
we see it all the time. So, don’t believe everything you hear.
Something I have found to be true about working in a war zone with a focus
mainly on vehicle maintenance is that ‘maintenance is maintenance,’ no matter
what maintenance field you’re in. Ty p i c a l l y, equipment isn’t maintained very well
in the absence of a strong management commitment to maintenance. More than
90% of the equipment we re p a i red had unnecessary failures that pro b a b l y
w o u l d n ’t have occurred if proper operation and maintenance pro c e d u res were
followed (even in a war zone).
I know all of you have heard things like ‘We don’t have time to do all of this maintenance’ or ‘We’ll get to maintenance after we
complete all of the problems we have.’ If you hear those statements, you’re not alone, but maybe you need to reexamine your
maintenance process. Military units that performed maintenance properly and on schedule didn’t have untimely breakdowns, such
as during an ambush or firefight. Yes, I know your situation is different, but believe me maintenance is maintenance.
If you learn one thing today, I hope it’s that in maintenance you aren’t alone, and many of us face the same issues you face on a
daily basis. On my best day, I only had 40% of my mechanics available to work on equipment. The rest of them were on forc e
protection or other additional duties. With a background in maintenance management, I understand the problem.
My U.S. Army Reserve unit re t u rned home re c e n t l y, and I’m looking
forward to getting back to the technical training company I own. My
unit appreciated support from all over the world during the past year’s
deployment. I met many of my maintenance buddies in Iraq and
Kuwait and, yes, maintenance is a small world.
Ricky Smith, CMRP, is president of Maxzor in Charleston, S.C.
You can contact him at ricky.smith@success-in-training.com.
“ M i l i t a ry units that perf o rmed maintenance properly and on schedule
didn’t have untimely breakdowns.”
Escort Security in Iraq
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