FOB WARRIOR, Iraq – E Co, 10th BSB (2-22 IN FSC) has conducted a total of one hundred and six vehicle recovery missions since it took over operations in early October.
Eagle Company´s Maintenance Platoon has two recovery experts, SGT Jeffrey Dilcher (Tiskilwa, Il) and SGT Carl Brown (Casper, WY) who are on standby 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
SGT Dilcher and SPC Joshua Zwierlein (Rochester, NY) make up one recovery team while SGT Brown and SPC Hailey Hoard (Burley, ID) make up the other.
These recovery teams have adapted well to the ever-changing environment they face.
There is no telling which type of recovery mission will suddenly occur, so the soldiers must be knowledgeable on all types of equipment used by the brigade.
New equipment, like mine rollers and MRAP's requires different techniques and procedures in vehicle recovery.
SGT Brown acquired better chains and a special purpose tool kit for his M1074 PLS and SGT Dilcher modified his M984 HEMTT Wrecker to carry more items like spare tires, special tools and parts. Also the recovery team added more lights to better assist in spotting IED's.
The company welder, SGT Desuza, has fabricated ramps and a winch mount for the PLS pallet to cut down on the time it takes to upload a vehicle, and more recently a winch provided by Mile Marker was installed to assist in pulling a downed vehicle on to the PLS pallet.
With the help of Off Road Adventures magazine and Mile Marker Winches, the recovery team was able to cut down on the time it took to recover any down Humvee.
Another improvement the teams have made in the past 11 months is reaction time.
“We have our reaction time down to four minutes”, said SGT Dilcher, which is a great improvement from their first mission.
This means that in four minutes the team will be waiting for their escort in their truck with full body armor and weapon.
The escort, whether that is a Quick Reaction Force or the CSE (convoy security element) platoon, has never had to wait on the recovery team.
This is important because when a vehicle is disabled out in sector, a quick reaction time may be the difference between life and death.
The Eagle Maintenance Recovery Teams have undoubtedly provided an invaluable service to the Soldiers operating on FOB Warrior and within the 2nd Battalion 22nd Infantry´s area of operation.
These soldiers are professionals and are serious about their jobs.
When asked to describe his work, SGT Brown commented, “It´s like being a medic.
We love our job, but never want to do it because it means something bad happened.”
SGT Dilcher and SGT Brown both attribute their success to their soldiers who work unceasingly to ensure their equipment is always ready.
Both the leaders and soldiers are constantly thinking of ways to improve on the systems they already have in place.
They are also searching for new equipment to make their work more efficient.
One of the additions in equipment is the M88, a tracked recovery vehicle that is capable of recovering and lifting an MRAP (which weights around 40,000 lbs) on to a flat bed trailer.
There is no doubt that these soldiers will continue to improve and find more ways to support the 1st Brigade Combat Team.
CPL. Joseph S.Rodriguez
TF 106/ Alpha Company 3-144 Infantry
CPL Rodriguez:
Thanks for this. Sounds like you guys are doing a great job. I will be including it in the "In Touch With Our Troops" feature in Off-Road Adventures magazine. When the time comes, please let your replacements know about our Operation Light Sabre program so we can continue to send off-roading lights to them if they need them, and ORA magazines if they like. If they don't need more lights, then I can redirect shipments to other units. Likewise, if you know of other units that could use lights, let me know.
Stay Safe!
Denis Snow,
Editor/Publisher
Off-Road Adventures Magazine