Rebuilding a Maintenance Program After Deployment

Abstract

After returning from a 15-month deployment to Afghanistan, the 62d Engineer Battalion struggled to reestablish a battalion maintenance program. Junior leaders were not engaged in the motor pools, money was being spent to maintain excess equipment, and low productivity in the maintenance bays resulted in overtasked mechanics who were unable to complete maintenance. To increase readiness, the battalion worked to develop a maintenance program that used the experience of its maintenance warrant officers to assist companies at the grassroots level. At the same time, the battalion followed a strategy based on sharing knowledge, reducing costs, and increasing productivity. The strategy increased readiness by reducing inefficiencies, sharing knowledge, and creating synergies between organizations. Reestablishing a maintenance program after deployment is an arduous, but necessary, task that sets the foundations for future success as units enter the train/ready force pool of the Army force generation process. The 62d Engineer Battalion met this challenge by pushing its maintenance warrant officers to the ground level, where they focused on sharing knowledge, reducing costs, and increasing productivity. This strategy allowed them to leverage junior leaders and synchronize resources to improve readiness.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 2011
Accession Number
ADA572786

Entities

People

  • Andrew N. Liffring
  • John R. Cheek
  • Tyler M. Holloway

Organizations

  • Fort Worth District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Communication Systems
  • Cost Reductions
  • Deployment
  • Engineers
  • Executives
  • Knowledge Management
  • Lead Time
  • Logistics
  • Maintenance
  • Maintenance Requirements
  • Management Personnel
  • Personnel Management
  • Productivity
  • Professional Development
  • Technicians
  • Training
  • Warrant Officers

Readers

  • Logistics and Supply Chain Management.
  • Military Leadership and Professional Education.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.