DOD maintenance depots prove their worth: the global war on terrorism has allowed the Department of Defense's in-house maintainers to demonstrate their vital role in supporting combat in Afghanistan and Iraq.

During Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Department of Defense (DOD) depot maintenance system demonstrated the critical role it plays in successfully supporting U.S. combat power. During the buildup and execution of those operations, more than 60,000 men and women who work in DOD's in-house maintenance depots met numerous challenges as they responded to the changing needs of American warfighters. In Afghanistan, our forces were ready for combat within only 28 days; in Iraq, we sustained our coalition forces under the most difficult circumstances.

DOD depots can repair everything from aircraft to combat vehicles to ships to sophisticated technological defense systems. All of these items reach the depots in need of repair and must leave in perfect working condition. Depot workers can take fighter jets down to their skeletons and build them back up again; they can dismantle multibillion-dollar aircraft carriers and rebuild them stronger and more capable than before. However, the expertise and capabilities of DOD's depots are not limited to working on such "heavy iron" items. Depot workers also are capable of fixing software, electronics, munitions, and test sets.

Long before coalition forces deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, silent but critical preparations began throughout the DOD depot maintenance community. Dedicated depot maintainers responded to a wide range of requirements--fixing fleet-wide problems, increasing inventories of repaired parts, and developing unique modifications to prepare weapon systems for the demands of the impending desert battlefield. Many of these maintainers then deployed to forward locations to help our warfighters keep equipment operational and to repair equipment damaged in battle.

Keeping Army Helicopter Fleets Ready

UH-60 Black Hawk and CH-47 Chinook helicopters are two of the mainstays of the Army's aviation capabilities. The Black Hawk is the Army's front-line utility helicopter and is used for air assault, air cavalry, and aeromedical evacuation (MEDEVAC) operations. The Chinook is often the only mode of transportation available to move large numbers of personnel, equipment, and supplies rapidly over the vast areas in which U.S. forces operate. Both aircraft experienced fleet-wide problems during 2002 that threatened to keep them grounded and could have significantly affected combat planning and execution of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. However, maintainers at Corpus Christi Army Depot, Texas, applied their considerable skills to the challenges, ensuring that UH-60s and CH-47s were available and ready to meet all requirements.

In mid-2002, while conducting routine aircraft inspections, Army maintainers found cracks in a critical UH-60 transmission component. Because of the severity of the problem, the entire fleet of 968 UH-60 helicopters was grounded. Depot maintainers from Corpus Christi were called on to address the problem with the suspect part by completely overhauling all transmissions in the fleet. Within 11 days, the depot had tripled its production and was able to provide transmissions for Black Hawks supporting MEDEVAC operations in Afghanistan. Corpus Christi maintainers continued to increase production to support this fleet-wide problem, quickly reaching a production rate five times greater than normal.

Late in 2002, a Chinook experienced the failure of a component known as a swashplate, a crucial flight control component. The Army immediately grounded the entire Chinook fleet of 463 aircraft pending inspection and development of a fix for the problem. Once again, Corpus Christi Army Depot responded by going into full-surge mode, increasing production from a routine 16 swashplates per month to 170 fully overhauled swashplates within 9 weeks. This surge enabled the Army to continue operating the Chinooks and to replenish the war reserve pool for the operational requirements that would soon surface in Iraq.

Preparing for and Sustaining Combat Operations

In late 2002, Anniston Army Depot, Alabama, began an effort to ensure that the right parts would be repaired and ready when needed. Depot personnel increased production of a wide variety of turbine engines, mechanical components, and electronics. In some cases, engine production was doubled. From circuit cards to servos to M16A2 rifles, Anniston responded successfully to every call for increased production to support possible combat operations. [A servo is a feedback system used in the automatic control of a machine.] The depot even repaired ribbon bridge sections throughout the 2002 Christmas season, delivering more than 100 badly needed sections by the end of the year.

At Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Georgia, maintainers responded quickly to a requirement to accelerate repairs on Special Operations C-130 aircraft and return them to operational forces. They completed repairs of AC-130 Gunships and MC-130 Combat Talon aircraft an average of 52 days ahead of schedule. Warner Robins maintainers also developed critical software changes that improved the operation of fighter data link capabilities, which provided Air Force combat aircraft with critical, real-time situational awareness.

In addition to maintaining their ongoing workloads, workers at Letterkenny Army Depot, Pennsylvania, assumed the challenge of quickly modifying dozens of high-mobility, multipurpose, wheeled vehicles (HMMWVs) for the Army Special Forces and Navy Seals. The modifications included AC (alternating current) power inverters, on-board compressors, special machinegun mounts, and missile and smoke grenade launcher systems. Letterkenny took these modifications from drawings through prototypes and into quick production all in a very short time to meet the warfighter's requirements.

As part of its planning for potential operations in Iraq, the Navy wanted 12 of the F/A-18C Hornet fighters that were in depots for repair returned to fleet organizations as soon as possible. Naval Air Depot North Island, California, responded quickly to this request, eventually returning 20 of the Navy's primary aircraft to the fleet in record time and before military action began.

Tobyhanna Army Depot, Pennsylvania, faced several challenges in responding to numerous requirements for electronic component support. Tobyhanna workers fabricated hundreds of Blue Force Tracking installation kits. These kits use satellite links to show friendly and enemy positions in various Army, Marine Corps, and allied units. Depot workers also created programs to meet requirements for items such as infrared jamming systems, radar warning receivers, communications systems, and laser range finders. All of these items were needed to operate effectively in the desert environment and give our troops the advantages they needed to prevail in combat operations and reduce the possibility of friendly fire incidents.

In support of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, Red River Army Depot, Texas, equipped more than 230 M2/3 Bradley fighting vehicles with Blue Force Tracking systems. Red River maintainers went on site with 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment troops and provided the necessary training so the soldiers could take full advantage of the capabilities of their new equipment. Red River also remanufactured an additional 63,000 track shoes and road wheels for Army combat vehicles, along with 450 engines and transmissions.

Making Something Out of Nothing

DOD depots have full manufacturing capabilities and, under certain circumstances, are authorized to manufacture critically needed items. Often they are the only source for parts needed to keep maintenance lines moving and to prevent backups throughout the supply chain. DOD depots can manufacture one part or a thousand--quickly and efficiently--depending on the requirement.

For example, the Marine Corps' AV-8B Harrier aircraft developed a problem with the loss of chaff dispensers during flight. [A chaff dispenser releases materials (chaff) designed to deceive a radar-guided missile fired at an aircraft.] Naval Air Depot Cherry Point, North Carolina, designed a new bracket to retain the dispenser and then produced the needed parts for installing that bracket. Working from newly drafted blueprints, the depot machine shop worked around the clock to produce 404 bracket kits that were immediately installed on Pacific and Atlantic Fleet aircraft. Responding quickly to these types of critical needs is a hallmark of the DOD depot structure.

Tactical satellite systems provide essential circuits for secure and nonsecure voice, data, and teletype communications. Tobyhanna Army Depot designed and fabricated filter kits for satellite communications terminals to ensure that they would operate reliably in the deserts of Kuwait and Iraq. The kits were very successful, giving deployed forces the terminal performance and reliability they required.

Naval Air Depot North Island added 930 production runs, representing 6,300 parts, in January 2003 alone. One of the critically needed parts it manufactured was a "doubler" for repair of an HH-1N Iroquois helicopter in Kuwait. The HH-1N was one of the few rescue helicopters available to the Navy, and this part was essential to returning the aircraft to service.

Deploying Forward

To carry out their missions effectively, depot maintainers go into the field, onto Navy ships, and into the theater of operations to support our warfighters. Depots variously use field service teams, voyage repair teams, battle damage repair teams, and forward repair activities to get their technicians and artisans into the combat zone and to the equipment that needs repair or support. The austere environment of these operations places unique demands on the maintainers.

Maintainers from Red River and Anniston Army Depots deployed to Kuwait to establish a forward repair activity to service items such as engines, transmissions, final drives, and generators; they also were capable of repairing combat vehicles. Maintainers on the Naval Air Depot North Island voyage repair team also contributed to the effort, making critical repairs aboard the aircraft carriers USS Nimitz and USS Abraham Lincoln in preparation for key combat operations. North Island field service teams also visited a number of aircraft carriers during their deployments, repairing Hornets and F/A-18E/F Super Hornets that otherwise would have been out of action.

Tobyhanna Army Depot sent a team of electronics experts to Kuwait to assist deployed Marine Corps units using the AN/TRC-170 communications system. The team ensured that the Marines could use the system successfully and that the system would perform at a peak level throughout combat operations.

Most combat equipment used in OEF and OIF was, at one time or another, rebuilt by one of DOD's maintenance depots. The depots proved again that they are always ready. They responded to virtually every maintenance, repair, and manufacturing requirement in support of U.S. forces and their combat equipment. Maintainers skilled in working on systems ranging from high technology materials to microclectronics were ready to take on any challenge, anywhere. They worked tirelessly behind the scenes with courage and commitment. The depots' highly skilled and motivated workforces deserve our thanks for a job well done and our appreciation of the formidable capabilities they offer in support of our combat forces.

THE HONORABLE DIANE K. MORALES IS THE DEPUTY UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR LOGISTICS AND MATERIEL READINESS. SECRETARY MORALES LEADS AN EFFORT CALLED THE FUTURE LOGISTICS ENTERPRISES (FLE), WHICH IS DOD'S NEAR-TERM LOGISTICS TRANSFORMATION STRATEGY. SHE IS A GRADUATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AND SERVED AS DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR LOGISTICS FROM 1990 TO 1993.