"You down there, Fancy Pants, yes you! Could you cut the chit chat and drop me off at the war."
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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Iraqi Armor Refurbished |
| 2005-08-19 |
| Before and after photos at link. EFL. CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Aug. 16, 2005 â To get a starter for a Russian-made T-55AM2 tank, one would just need to ... well .... The 1st Mechanized Brigade is outfitted with 1960s-era T-55 tanks and armored infantry fighting vehicles known as MTLBs and BMPs. To add a vehicle to their fleet, or keep current vehicles on the go, they must either scrounge for parts from Camp Tajiâs vehicle graveyard or gather parts from the campâs abandoned warehouse district. Vehicles the Iraqis restore may have been sitting for years, rusted and covered with graffiti. Itâs not a deterrent for the Iraqi soldiers though, because they will paint and refurbish the interior and make sure the tank or personnel carrier is up and running with mission-capable weapons systems, Esmahan said. âTheyâll fix up the inside, the outside, paint it, redo the interior - everything in order to have the vehicle looking good and mission-capable,â Esmahan said. âThese vehicles arenât ones our mechanics are even familiar with or know how to work on,â Esmahan said. The Iraqis donât need help from their American mechanic counterparts because âthey know exactly what they are doing,â Esmahan said. âThey know what all the parts look like, they know how to put the pieces together to make everything work,â Esmahan said. âYou will never see them with a manual.â âThese soldiers have been trained in schools of engineering and mechanics,â Esmahan said. âSome are officer graduates with prior service and some may have 20 years or more experience. They know exactly how to put together their maintenance program.â The Iraqis use their tanks and armored personnel carriers to conduct missions in the field day and night, sevens days a week. Therefore, having their vehicles in good working condition is essential explained Esmahan. âThey take a lot of pride in recovering these vehicles,â he said. âThey would feel mortified to see one of their vehicles break down outside the wire because they look at it as a reflection of themselves and their ability to accomplish their mission.â âConditions are pretty rough for these guys,â Esmahan said. "They donât have actual bays to work in, and with the combat arms mission taking precedence, we are still working out the logistics to get them everything they need. We still havenât purchased all the tools or everything they need to do their job, but it will get there.â One item not in short supply is paint, and Iraqi 1st Sgt. Bagiv Aâbood, a painter with the brigade, uses his skills with a paint gun to turn the rust and graffiti into a fine coat of desert brown. âIt feels good to be able to do this for my country,â Aâbood said through the use of an interpreter. âIt is good to know I had a hand in helping the soldiers that drive and use these vehicles.â Not only are the painters, mechanics and drivers of these vehicles proud to keep their army on the roll, Esmahan said he admires the Iraqi work and takes pride in playing just a little part in the Iraqi armyâs success. âThey do a very good job. Everybody thatâs seen their vehicles are pretty impressed,â Esmahan said. âItâs nice to have a hand in helping them. When they get one of their vehicles to come back to life, everybody gets big smiles on their faces, both the Americans and the Iraqis.â |
| Posted by:Bobby |
| #5 gottem big infro-red search light. these are in big demand around here during deer |
| Posted by: HalfEmpty 2005-08-19 17:12 |
| #4 Don't stand too close to the RPG target, it draws fire. |
| Posted by: Shomonter Threater9114 2005-08-19 12:45 |
| #3 "You down there, Fancy Pants, yes you! Could you cut the chit chat and drop me off at the war." |
| Posted by: Zpaz 2005-08-19 12:33 |
| #2 Fortunately, Soviet era equptment tends to be on the rugged side, and relatively simple to maintain. Given what I've seen over here, maintenance outside of the depot is non-extant. These guys just run it untill it breaks. Still, they will manage just fine anyway. Maybe even better than they did under sadam. I hope so. |
| Posted by: N guard 2005-08-19 10:47 |
| #1 Listen, whether its aged T-62s or BMPs, anything is better than those Toyota pick ups the Iraqi police and army drive around in right now. |
| Posted by: The Angry Fliegerabwehrkanonen 2005-08-19 08:42 |