JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq - It is safe to say Chief Warrant Officer 2 John Bales keeps eastern Oregon’s Army National Guard unit on the road.
The former Wallowa County, Ore. resident is the maintenance officer for the 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary).
“I ensure the equipment is repaired to standard, and ensure parts are requisitioned,” he said.
Bales really carries the responsibility for a large inventory of trucks and weapons that must always be ready. If it rolls in the 3rd Battalion, Bales knows about it and how to fix it.
“I manage all the maintenance,” Bales said. “It keeps me busy.”
Bales, who grew up in Joseph, Ore., said he directs more than 20 other mechanics scattered across central Iraq at different forward operating bases.
“I have daily communication with those FOB’s to ensure their daily maintenance,” he said.
Bales’ job is a crucial one. Because the Army is a mechanized force, maintenance is as critical as ammunition or food.
While his unit has only been at Joint Base Balad for a little over a month, Bales said his mechanics hit the ground running.
“We were here fixing equipment right off,” he said. “It was a run trying to get back to a walk.”
Before deployment Bales said his job focused on tank and Bradley Fighting Vehicle repair.
When the 3rd Battalion deployed to Iraq though, it left its tanks and Bradleys behind. Now, the job centers on repairing the new Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles that the 3rd Battalion Guardsmen utilize to protect convoys.
Bales said there is a big difference between working on tanks and MRAPS.
“They (MRAPs) are not as challenging as the tanks and Bradley’s,” he said. “Those systems are a lot more complex.”
Bales said the MRAP is a solid truck.
“They are more electrically complex, but for the type of vehicle thrown into the war, they are pretty good,” he said.
Every 3rd Battalion truck or MRAP that arrives on Joint Base Balad must go through maintenance before it goes anywhere else. Each vehicle is different, Bales said, as is each mechanical problem.
“Leaks, the air conditioning doesn’t work, the weapon system doesn’t work,” he said. “Sometimes the tires are flat, or they have bent axles or blown engines.”
The pace of trucks coming into Bales’ maintenance bay on Joint Base Balad is steady, he said.
“We probably see 30 trucks a day and bring in probably ten out of them for some kind of maintenance,” he said.
Bales is familiar with Iraq. He served with the 3rd Battalion when the unit deployed to Iraq in 2004. Back then, he conceded, the atmosphere was different.
Bales is no stranger to the military either. He left Joseph, Ore. for the U.S. Army when he was 17, a decision he said he does not regret.
“I don’t think I’d be where I am today if it wasn’t for the military and for my family,” he said.