FORT McCOY, Wis. –
The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle is gradually being added to the Army Reserve’s inventory of vehicles. To get ready, 88th Readiness Division mechanics are learning the intricacies of the JLTV’s suspension and electronics.
The JLTV Phase II course was given to about a dozen students May 9-12, 2022, one of many offered through the 88th RD’s Logistics Support Training program.
Mark Brornowski, an inspector with Area Maintenance Support Activity 100 in Denver, was one of the students. For him, the training is important because “we get to know the equipment. And then eventually when we start receiving the JLTVs, we’ll be more confident.”
Fellow student Bryan Petrella, a heavy mobile equipment repairer with Equipment Concentration Site 42 in Colorado Springs, Colo., also commented on the value of the training.
“Phase II is more hands on; it’s actual mechanical work rather than trouble shooting. It’s also more geared to the suspension. With the JLTVs having a different suspension than the rest of the vehicles in the military right now I feel we need to have more hands on rather than just trouble shooting,” Petrella said. “Trouble shooting can be taught at the job site. With something like this, you need the professionals to show you what to do.”
Brornowski found the training on the suspension the most interesting aspect of the course. “Understanding the ins and outs, the procedures you have to take prior to working on the suspension, and pressurizing and depressurizing the system,” he said.
The course was Petrella’s first exposure to the JLTV. “Everything about this has been new to me,” he said. “Learning the components has been interesting.”
The suspension was also the most challenging part of the course for Brornowski and Petrella “It’s something to get used to,” the AMSA inspector said.
Both noted how the training contributed to unit readiness.
When units go to combat, “they need to know how to work on this piece of equipment,” said Brornowski.
Petrella added that the Soldiers in the units receiving the JLTVs “are not going to classes. Someone needs to know how to work on them. The mechanics can come into the ECS and learn from us, what to do and what not to do as far as maintenance goes because they’re going to be the ones using it down range, so they need to know what to do.”
Brornowski recommends the JLTV Phase II course to others. The JLTV “is hitting the sites and you have to have a head start knowing how to work on this equipment,” he said.
Petrella also spoke favorably about the course. “Anytime someone can further their knowledge on the JLTV, and because it’s a new vehicle, they should attend a class like this,” he said. “There’s no other vehicle like it in the fleet right now, so if you can go to a class to learn about it, do it.”
One of the instructors, Gary Leamons, noted the learning curve that comes with the JLTV. The students have to “take the whole suspension system apart and put it back together and do the tasks correctly,” he said. “They have to recalibrate everything. That’s something they don’t have to do with other vehicles.”
If the comments of the students aren’t proof enough, Leamons noted that all future classes were full, and more are being planned. “Four more will be offered in the next two months,” he said. “And next year we’re going to offer the course once each quarter.”