February 13, 2003
MCLB Albany- The Marine Base makes sure our nation's military has what it needs, when it needs it, and that it's in good working condition.
A lot of man-hours go into repairing and testing equipment here on base. An example of that is the Light Armored Vehicle.
The Light Armored Vehicle it's the workhorse of the fleet. It does everything from haul troops and supplies, to fend off enemy tanks. And MCLB Albany is responsible for making sure they're in top shape.
From breaking them down and scouring them for flaws in the chop shop-- "When these go out they're just like out of the factory, maybe even better 'cause our guys are so good," says Blase Goodman, LAV Project Leader, to reassembling them, to checking the undercarriage and transmission on a one of a kind dynamometer, "We make certain about horse power at a certain speed," The LAV's undergo more than 100 days of repair.
Finally, it's time to hit the test tracks. After a few laps around the one mile oval track, it's time to swim the LAV. "What they're gonna check are the hatch seals and bilge pump system."
If everything checks out, the LAV's are painted, decaled, and green tagged and sent into the military fleet, where they'll remain for five to seven years before returning here to MCLB Albany to do it all over again.
AAV's, Amphibious Assault Vehicles, are also refurbished here at the base. And all these vehicles look and perform like new vehicles when they leave here.
posted at 4:00Pm by dave.miller@walb.com
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