M915A4 Glider Kit program expands to three sites

The M915A4 Glider Kit program is a U.S. Army Reserve Command (USARC)-directed conversion of M915 line-haul trucks to a more modern version of the equipment. Army reservists in the maintenance field prepare, rebuild and/or transfer usable equipment, such as rebuilt engines and rear axles, to a new chassis through the Operation Platinum Wrench (OPW) program. The line-haul trucks have up-to-date steering, suspension and braking systems.

Ed Lukasek, IMMA Production and Control supervisor, said four Glider Kits will be sent to Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif., and four to Fort Dix, N.J., as part of a USARC-initiated pilot program to test the feasibility of accomplishing Glider Kit conversion work at those locations. Hunter Liggett is a direct-reporting installation to Fort McCoy, and Dix and McCoy have a partnership agreement.

"It's a train-the-trainer program," Lukasek said. "We help them set up the tools they'll need and (show them) how to set up their facilities. They'll take the information back and train others on the installation and the soldiers who come there to train."

To date, the units going through Platinum Wrench training at Fort McCoy have assembled 70 M915A4 Glider Kit conversions.

Lukasek said most of the vehicles have been road tested and are going through final preparation work before being delivered to their new units. Most of the vehicles will be issued to Army Reserve organizations or units; 17 will go to active-Army organizations or units.

The time required to complete each conversion depends on the expertise of the soldiers working on the equipment and the number of soldiers working on each vehicle, according to Lukasek. The soldiers must remove and rebuild engines and rear axles, as necessary, from the old M915 line-haul trucks and install them on the upgraded Glider Kits. Lukasek said 190 Glider Kit conversions are scheduled for this year.

Carl Peters and Harry Grant, civilian employees from the Fort Hunter Liggett Directorate of Logistics Maintenance Branch, said their OPW program began last year and is much smaller than the Fort McCoy OPW. They spent 10 days at Fort McCoy (Jan. 18 to 28) learning about the Glider Kit program.

The Fort Hunter Liggett maintenance shop is much smaller than Fort McCoy's operation, and it has fewer maintenance personnel, Peters said.

"We had a chance to put the engine in the M915A4 Glider Kit, get it running and ready for inspection," Peters said. "Reservists will help us put our Glider Kits together during the summer."

Grant said he hopes his maintenance shop can perfect the process as well as Fort McCoy has done. The upgrade to the vehicles' oil and electrical systems was a good step.

"I love working with the IMMA guys," Grant said. "We have some good mountainous terrain to test the vehicles on. I'm looking forward to getting back and getting the program going."

Lukasek said Fort McCoy will send personnel to both Hunter Liggett and Dix to assist them with the program setup and ensure the procedures run smoothly.

The expansion of the program should increase hands-on training opportunities for Army Reserve maintenance personnel in those areas, Lukasek said. "Reservists in those areas can schedule weekend training at those locations and drive there, rather than having to make an airline flight to Fort McCoy and spending two weeks here."