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Joint Robotics Repair Detachment Keeps Robots Mission
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4/15/2010 CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE AND SEE
EXPANDED VIEWS (Source: US Department of
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Shawn Wyzlic, a robot technician for the Joint Robotics
Repair Detachment, discusses
the different robots they repair at the Joint Robotics
Repair Facility on Camp Victory, Baghdad, Iraq. |
Story
by Spc. Britney Bodner
BAGHDAD - When a robot is damaged after taking on an
improvised explosive device or needs to be transferred
to another location to continue the fight, the joint
robotics detachment rolls into action.
The Joint Robotics Repair Detachment-Iraq, based at Camp
Victory, Iraq, is the only organization in theater that
can fix the robots and get them where they are needed
most.
When an explosives ordinance disposal unit prepares to
leave Iraq, and is not going to be replaced, the JRRD-I
takes the unit's robots, accounts for the equipment,
makes any repairs, and sends them to OEF where they're
critically needed, said Maj. Roger Deon, commander of
the JRRD-I.
According to Deon, JRRD-I has repaired or upgraded more
than 1,800 robots since April 2009 and approximately 500
of those have been sent to Afghanistan.
"Our primary goal is to maintain the robots we have here
[in Iraq]; our secondary goal is to assist Afghanistan
in the transferring of the robot systems from here to
over there," said Shawn Wyzlic, a robot technician from
Wixom, Mich.
Repairs can range from normal wear and tear, such as the
track wear, damaged cameras, or motors, to battle damage
from an IED blast that may have damaged the robots arm
or destroy the circuit board, said Wyzlic.
In the past, departing units have always taken robots
and transferred them to the unit replacing them, he
said. As units leave theater now, the JRRD-I takes the
robots and ships them to Afghanistan to aid in the fight
there.
The JRRD-I plays an important role in both transferring
robots to Afghanistan and preparing them for the
different terrain, said Deon. The requirements for the
systems can range from software updates to body upgrades
for the terrain in Afghanistan, and he ensures his team
has them ready for the mission the robots will face.
"They are in one hundred percent operating condition
before we send them out," said Sgt. Benjamin Wagner, a
JRRD-I robot technician from Buffalo, N.Y. "If the robot
is fixed and in great operating condition then there
will be less casualties when investigating an
explosive."
Wagner said they know their repair work on the robots
help save Soldiers' lives.
Roadside bombs are always a threat, he said. They are
still one of the primary weapons of terrorists. Anything
can be an IED and the robots play an important part in
indentifying what is harmless and what is not, Wagner
said.
"If the unit actually runs across something that looks
like a roadside bomb, they can utilize the robot to
check it out and see if that is what it is. This is by
far a better option than [sending out Soldiers]." |
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Military Robot Repair Detachment
