Stryker Brigade News

“This is unique to our deployment. We didn’t do any of these modifications in garrison. They aren’t needed in garrison,” said Chief Warrant Officer Three Jeff Meier, the Allied Trade Shop technician for the 536th Maint. Co.

“It’s a change of pace definitely. It’s a lot more fast-paced and non-stop,” said Spc. Carl Weeks, a machinist with the 536th Maint. Co, as he described how his days went.

For the Stryker, the Soldiers of the 536th Maint. Co. install ballistic glass around the gunner’s hatch for protection against snipers and fragments from IEDs. The Soldiers also install framing for sniper screens and sometimes have to make Rhinos from scratch.

The Rhino, which protrudes like a giant horn, is an electrical device mounted on the front of the vehicle and is designed to detonate roadside bombs along a route before the convoy reaches them.

“The MRAP was being fielded when we arrived, so the modifications are new,” Meier stated. “The (Army Material Command) brings the MRAPs to us for modifications before they are issued out to the warfighters.”

The factory-made Rhinos on the MRAPs were mounted directly in front of the wench so if a vehicle needed to be recovered, the Rhino would have to be removed.

The Soldiers of the 536th Maint. Co. had to make new mounts so the Rhino would sit to the side of the wench instead of in front.

The Soldiers have also had to make covers to conceal the fire suppression system bottle and exposed wires inside of the MRAP.

“All these jobs are very time consuming,” said Meier. It takes about seven hours for three to four people to install the ballistic glass on the Stryker. It takes about five hours to make a Rhino from scratch and another hour for the Soldiers to mount it onto the MRAP.

Since the 536th Maint. Co. began modifications to the Strykers and MRAPs, they have repositioned more than 100 Rhino mounts, made between 300 and 400 cover plates for exposed wires, installed more than 100 pieces of ballistic glass onto Strykers on the installation and made about 40 steps to cover the fire suppression system bottle, said Meier.

“This shop is all about the Soldiers on the floor doing the work everyday … The work that they do, we believe and we know, helps protect the lives of some of the warfighters who go out the gate everyday,” said Meier. “They work hard, they don’t complain and we’re proud of them. We wouldn’t be successful without them.”

The posted hours for the Allied Trade Shop are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., but the Soldiers rarely ever leave at 5 p.m. They have worked as late as 9 p.m. to get modifications, as well as their other tasks, completed.

“I actually feel like we are doing something (important),” added Weeks. “We do our best and we’re proud of what we do.”