Post by Stretch on Jun 3, 2005 17:23:38 GMT -5
MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, Calif. (May 19, 2005) -- Maintenance Center Barstow began assembling armor kits for the P-19 fire truck April 29. These are the first kits to be prototyped at the maintenance center since it was established, according to Rick Gilmore, armor project program manager.
"We have assembled armor kits for other vehicles in the past, but those kits were all prototyped in Albany and the plans were sent to us," said Gilmore.
There have been 15 kits created so far at the maintenance center, and to date, no more orders have been placed.
Numerous areas of the maintenance center were utilized to create the templates, and assemble the kits, said Gilmore.
"The key shops involved in the process were Cost Work Center 741, machine shop, CWC 742 sheet metal, CWC 743, welding, CWC 748, paint, and CWC 746, steam and blast," said Gilmore. "Those are the shops that had to process the armor plates when they were received."
Templates for the kits were created in early March, after the project was funded, and sent to a third party organization so the armor plates could be cut.
"(The maintenance center) doesn't have the machine capacity to cut the metal in the timeframe that is given for the requirement to be met," said Gilmore. "The company that we sent the templates to can process many sheets of metal at the same time. There were close to 400 armor plates that needed to be cut."
So many sheets of metal would put a lot of strain on a vehicle, but the workers here were very surprised when the vehicle was tested.
Though the kits weigh in excess of one ton, there are essentially no effects on the vehicle's abilities to handle, drive or operate properly, said Gilmore.
"Part of the task for the prototype was to take it on a test drive," said Gilmore. "We did over 100 miles on our test track over the bumps and hills with the vehicle full of water. The test drivers couldn't tell any difference in performance with the kit installed."
There is no set plan yet as to how the kits will be installed on the vehicles, said Gilmore.
"There are several scenarios being examined right now," he said. "One scenario is to bring Marines from Miramar to the maintenance center and teach them how to install the kits, then they will take the kits with them to deploy and install them there."
Other scenarios include workers from MCB traveling to Miramar to teach Marines how to install the kits, or deploying civilian workers from the Maintenance Center to install the kits overseas. Though the P-19 armor kit was the first kit to be prototyped by MCB, it probably won't be the last, said Gilmore.
"There could be other prototype efforts coming along," he said. "There has been talk about ambulances and other projects, which need protection."
Due to the protective nature of this project, it has been a high priority since it began in February.
"The workers here recognize that armor plating is a high priority overseas," said Gilmore. "They're very excited to be able to support the Marines."