Maintainers from 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, train on taking the power pack out of a Stryker with a lift system at Anniston Army Depot, Ala., April 20, 2016. (Photo by Capt. Kevin Campbell)
By Capt. Kevin Campbell
4th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division
ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT, Ala. — Twelve “Raider” Brigade Soldiers participated in a two-week Stryker Maintenance Program here April 18-28, 2016.
Stryker system maintainers were introduced to the Army in 2012, and have an evolving curriculum. All Stryker system maintainers complete a 17-week Advanced Individual Training prior to arriving to their units.
“(This is) an excellent program that successfully bridges several learning gaps for Stryker system maintainers by teaching mid-level maintenance leaders skills that are not taught during Advanced Individual Training, the Advanced Leader Course or the Senior Leader Course,” said Warrant Officer 1 Dustin Jansky, maintenance warrant officer, 2nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.
The initiative to send Soldiers to Anniston Army Depot was driven by Chief Warrant Officer 4 Jose Vargas, senior maintenance technician warrant, 1st SBCT, 4th Inf. Div., with the intent of increasing the operational readiness of the brigade’s Stryker fleet. He expected the class will allow 1st SBCT to have less reliance on contracted help, instead utilizing internal resources.
Vargas, along with the rest of the maintenance technicians in the brigade, compiled a list of reoccurring issues frequently causing Strykers to be deemed non-mission capable. Combined with the news of maintenance contractors being reduced across the board for Stryker maintenance made it essential for a group of Soldiers to attend the training and bring knowledge back to the ranks at Fort Carson.
“Sending Soldiers to Anniston Army Depot training greatly enhances the Raider Brigade’s organic capability to diagnose and identify faults on our combat systems. The train-the-trainer method used to instruct the course is the right approach to ensure these critical skills permeate throughout our Stryker system maintainer population,” said Jansky.
The training program focused on splitting the full up power pack into individual components, hub disassembly and seal replacement, differential service and testing, height management system troubleshooting and the remote weapons station. A major takeaway from the training aside from increasing operational readiness and faster turnaround on service, is the reduced maintenance cost to the brigade, he said.
“A complete power pack is $240,000 when ordered for a Stryker. It involves three individual components including the engine, transmission and a cooling module. However, it is more cost effective to order a piece of the pack — say the C7 engine that costs $31,359 — if the other two components are fully mission capable,” said Jansky.
The knowledge the Soldiers gained at the course will significantly help with improving the brigade’s operational readiness. The next step forward will be mirroring the train-the-trainer method used in the classroom and conducting the training at Fort Carson for the rest of the Stryker system maintainers in the brigade, he noted.