Army’s excellent safety record in Bosnia is result of long hours of hard work
By Sandra Jontz,
Bosnia bureau
Ivana Avramovic / Stars and Stripes
Mike McSharry, center, a DynCorp contractor working at Camp Comanche, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, tightens screws inside a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter that was rebuilt as part
of regular maintenance as two other workers watch. |
CAMP COMANCHE, Bosnia and Herzegovina — Two words: Hard work.
That is why the U.S. Army soldiers stationed in Bosnia and Herzegovina have an
unprecedented high number of mishap-free military flight hours, said military and civilian
aviation experts Friday.
“Hard work. We really care about what we do,” said Ron Mawson, a technical
inspector for DynCorp, the civilian firm contracted by the Army to aid in the maintenance
of aircraft stationed in Bosnia and Kosovo.
DynCorp had personnel working until Friday in Macedonia, but pulled out employees
following the U.S. State Department call for removal of all nonessential personnel.
The Army has logged close to 9,000 safe flying hours during its ninth-rotation in
Bosnia, which started in April, said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Steven Campbell, production
control officer for Task Force 2-3 Aviation.
“We’ll break 10,000 before the end of the rotation,” a confident
Campbell said of the latest deployment, scheduled to end the first week of October.
“This is the highest number of safe flying hours we’ve ever had.”
In Bosnia, DynCorp provides the Army with a 45-member crew of experts to maintain the
21 UH-60 Black Hawks and 16 OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopters that support flight operations
for Eagle Base, Camp Comanche and Sarajevo.
Ivana Avramovic / Stars and Stripes
From left, Jesse Summers, a DynCorp contractor, and Army Spc. Nathan Slade, of Company K,
148th Logistics Task Force, work together to put a rebuilt Black Hawk engine back
into place. |
After every 500 hours of flight, the military and civilian crews completely strip the
aircraft, checking every bolt, panel and seat belt. Engines are removed and crews clean
every nook and cranny, sharpen blades, change filters, clean compressors repair any damage
caused by sand or twigs, said 25-year-old Army Sgt. Kurt Gochenauer.
Unlike most servicemembers, DynCorp contractors don’t return home following a
six-month tour of duty. Some have been in Bosnia for a few months, while others for three
years.
Jesse Summers, 30, brought his wife and two toddlers to Bosnia. Since first arriving in
November, the family has lived in the country town of Dubrave, less than a mile from Eagle
Base. They slowly adjusted to Bosnia customs, food and language, Summers said as he
hunched over a Black Hawk engine housed in a stifling hangar.
The contractors and soldiers work six, 10-hour days to complete the work, and have been
doing so in record time, said Chief Warrant Officer 4 James Pruitt, production control
officer for Company K, 148th Logistical Task Force.
The crews in Bosnia can strip a helicopter and put it back together in 28 to 30 days,
while when stationed stateside, the same job usually takes 60 to 120 days, Pruitt said.
“All the parts we need are here, we have a lot of expertise, and there are not so
many distractions as there is home, like life outside of the base,” Pruitt said.
Working 60 hours a week instead of 40 contributes to the increased productivity, and
soldiers are not permitted to leave their military installation. Many contractors live off
base.
The crews grow accustomed to the long hours, said contractor Al Gibson, 40, of Laurel,
Md., who has been in Bosnia for 18 months.
“It’s growing on me,” he said. “You get used to it.”
Despite his 26 years of aircraft maintenance experience, Ted Maness, 43, of Mannheim,
Germany, said he has learned “a thing or two” from the young soldiers he was
tasked to train.
The Army benefits greatly for the high-level of expertise of the crew members, said
Robert Sparkes, DynCorp’s Balkan regional manager.
For example, what might have taken weeks for an average employee to repair sheet-metal
damage to the nose of one Black Hawk took Benoni Abalos a mere two days, Sparkes said.
“He’s just so good at what he does,” Sparkes said of Abalos, who has 16
years’ experience.
A humbled Abalos brushed off the accolades, saying it’s all part of the job.
“I repaired it and tried to get it ready as soon as possible,” he said,
shrugging. “It’s all about hard work.”
Back to August stories
Page Two news roundup
Stories from July, 2001
Stories from June, 2001
Stories from May, 2001
Stories from April, 2001
Stories from March, 2001
Stories from February,2001
Stories from January, 2001
Stories from December, 2000
Stories from November, 2000
Stories from October, 2000
Stories from August and September, 2000
Stories from June and July, 2000
Home |
