Maintenance control NCO keeps engineers operational in Afghanistan
Story by Sgt. 1st Class Jon Cupp, 82nd Sustainment Brigade
If a piece of essential
equipment goes down, who do
engineer units call to get parts
and maintenance support to
keep the mission going?
For soldiers of the 133rd
Engineer Battalion, attached
to the 82nd Sustainment
Brigade-U.S. Central
Command Materiel Recovery
Element, that call is answered
by Gardner, Maine, native
Sgt. Nicholas Poulin, a
computer logistics specialist
for the Forward Support
Company, who serves as the
charge of the maintenance
Poulin and his team spend
long days, usually anywhere
from 10 to 15 hours, locating
parts throughout Bagram
Air Field, scouring computer
systems, maintenance yards
and other locations for parts
like tires or starters for
graders and other pieces
of engineer equipment to
ensure his battalion’s mission
continues to run smoothly.
Some of his team’s time is
spent meeting with other
maintenance units on the base
Along with chasing down
the parts that keep the
machinery running, Poulin
maintains the maintenance
computer systems, keeps
track of all licensing for the
133rd engineers, such as
graders and haulers, and
schedules work for the
mechanics in the maintenance
bay.
“It can be challenging, but it’s
extremely rewarding work,”
said the 31-year-old Poulin.
“Being in the National Guard is
great because you work with
and meet people from all over
the country and learn different
ways of doing things.”
“This job is also a great
way to build good working
relationships with people in
other maintenance sections,”
he added.
No stranger to deployments,
having previously served
in Mosul, Iraq, Poulin said
some of his best “on the job”
experience has been gained
through time in the combat
theater.
we were limited with what we
knew prior to getting to Iraq.
I had little experience dealing
parts,” said Poulin, who has
14 years of military service.
“After that deployment, the
experience I gained was
invaluable and it actually
helped me to get a federal
technician job in the civilian
world.”
“This time around in
Afghanistan, I’m coaching
my soldiers and helping
them to catch on by using
my previous experience to
teach them how to deal with
maintenance issues during
this deployment,” said Poulin.
“Many of them are going
through the same challenges
deployment with warehouses
A husband and father of three,
Poulin