By Staff Sgt. Mark Nussbaumer
105th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
The Kansas National Guards Advanced Turbine Engine Army Maintenance facility at Marshall Army Air Field, Fort Riley, played host to two groups of VIPS in recent months.
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Sgt. Maj. Mark Haselhorst, a surface maintenance mechanic supervisor, and Master Sgt. Alberto Allamby, surface maintenance mechanic inspector supervisor, explain a problem to Master Sgt. Eric Jaeger, National Guard Bureau Maintenance Branch Noncommissioned Officer. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Mark Nussbaumer, 105th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)
Representatives from the National Guard Bureau, the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, Honeywell and the Kansas Army National Guard paid a site visit Feb. 14. The visit was part of a team that looked at the facility and the operations.
The ATEAM is a TACOM-certified Total InteGrated Engine Revitalization repair site specializing in the rebuild of M1 Abrams AGT1500 turbine engines, X1100-3B cross-drive transmissions, and Full-Up Power Packs consisting of a mated engine and transmission in the form of an engine package. The ATEAM is one of two facilities in the world that can produce a TIGER engine and support its lifecycle objectives.
The visit concluded with a tour of the facility with special attention paid to the AGT 1500 dynamometer, which test the engines durability by putting it through the same extremes a tank could potentially face in combat.
The ATEAM also hosted a May 25 visit by Col. Daniel Townsend, National Guard Bureau director of logistics, and Sgt. Maj. Ray Toups III. They were accompanied on the tour by Brig. Gen. Anthony Mohatt, assistant adjutant general Army and commander of the Kansas Army National Guard; Col. Robert Wood, KSARNG director of logistics; Lt. Col. Molly Gillock, KSARNG environmental officer; and Maj. Dallas McMullen, Surface Maintenance Office.
Townsend said he had been trying to make the trip to Kansas to visit the ATEAM for more than two years and was impressed with the operation.
The ATEAM is part of the Kansas National Guard federal technician system and employs more than 60 people. Many of the products produced are part of the Foreign Military Sales program that allows U.S. allies to trade certain products with the United States.
The ATEAM also provides onsite annual training support for all states. This support allows the states to keep training even during a catastrophic failure. Support includes sending an inspector and possibly a mechanic to their location to replace or repair almost any part of the engine that can cause a tank to be shut down or allowing the units to come the ATEAM facility to use their equipment. This allows the units to maintain an extremely high level of productivity and to minimize downtime.