Picture the scene: You’re driving in a convoy when the enemy kicks off a complex ambush. An improvised explosive device sends pieces of the vehicle in front of you flying 100 yards in every direction. Small arms fire splatters against the armored body and windows of your vehicle. Dirt and smoke instantly fill the air, and your ears are ringing.
You crank the steering wheel as far as it will go to avoid running into the destroyed vehicle, but -- surprise -- the wheels won’t turn back the other way; the steering wheel is locked. You’re a sitting duck with nothing left to do but wonder if the armor plating around you will hold out long enough for the rest of the convoy to beat back the assault.
For many Marines, this situation is a real possibility. But thanks to one sharp noncommissioned officer at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, it won’t happen. His name is Cpl. Gage Barbieri, and he just received the Meritorious Service Medal for his efforts.
We got in touch with Barbieri to get the scoop straight from the Marine himself.
The Entire JLTV Program Threw a Check Engine Light
This scenario is realistic because there is a hidden flaw in the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle maintenance program -- or at least there used to be. Barbieri discovered the problem while receiving training on the JLTV at Oshkosh Defense, which designs, produces and sustains military vehicles.
As an automotive maintenance technician, Barbieri represented his unit at Oshkosh, the JLTV’s manufacturer, studying each work package to learn everything there is to know about the vehicle inside and out. At one point, he discovered an omission that everyone before him had missed.
“There was a work package on the steering column, and it didn’t involve any follow-ons for checking for binding,” Barbieri told Military.com. “If you weren’t to put it on a specific way, when you would turn -- I think it was full-turn left -- it would bind up and you wouldn’t be able to get out of that turn.”
It’s a simple enough concept -- you’d function-check your weapon when you put it back together after cleaning it -- but nobody realized it was even possible to assemble the steering column the wrong way.
Good News: There’s a Simple Fix (If You Know Where to Look)
Once Barbieri raised his concern about the steering column issue, Oshkosh updated the JLTV’s documentation to show how the installation should look once it’s properly reassembled.
“They added images for how everything should look when you put it together, no matter the direction you had it previously.” Barbieri explained. “That way, once you replaced that component, you wouldn’t be able to put it back on wrong.”
This proactive measure cost almost nothing; it’s essentially an updated service bulletin. But it could have been disastrous if it went unchecked.
“He identified flaws in the training manual drawings and came up with new illustrations that would prevent catastrophic failure,” Oshkosh JLTV program officer Jason Wolfe told the MCB Camp Lejeune communication strategy and operations office. “This was one hell of a catch by this young Marine. His work on this work package could possibly prevent loss of life.”
According to Marine Corps math, Barbieri’s diligence will save the Marine Corps more than 900,000 man-hours of maintenance and more than $140 million over the lifespan of the JLTV platform.
Once Again, We Have Proof that the Military Runs on NCOs
The JLTV program has had setbacks before. This one showed that sometimes you don’t need a Pentagon boardroom full of senior officials; you just need an NCO who knows what they’re talking about.
Barbieri undersells his mechanical background, but it’s clear that he’s always been gifted in the garage.
“I’ve just always liked taking things apart, breaking them down and putting them back together in different forms,” he said. “When I got the opportunity to do more of that, that was really it.”
Oh, and he raced in the NHRA Junior Dragster series at age 14. That probably gave him a leg up on the average recruit, even if he spent more time behind the wheel than under the hood.
That kind of experience, intuition and attention to detail pays off when lives are on the line and even the smallest mistake can cripple a cutting-edge military vehicle.
“The seven-ton’s definitely the easiest [to work on],” Barbieri said. “There’s not a whole lot of electrical components to get you tripped up. But working on JLTVs is definitely a lot more rewarding, just by fixing stuff that typically doesn’t want to get fixed. … Everything ties into each other. If you forget one sensor, now three systems are down.”
These days, Barbieri is out of the maintenance shop and working as the professional military education (PME) instructor for Headquarters Battalion. He’s also developing his leadership skills in Corporals Course. After life in the Marine Corps, he plans to get a degree in mechanical engineering and work as a technical writer. He’s certainly going to have one hell of a resume.
About the Meritorious Service Medal
According to SECNAV M-1650.1, the Meritorious Service Medal may be “awarded to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States, or any member of the armed forces of a friendly foreign nation, who distinguishes himself or herself by outstanding meritorious achievement or service.”
It’s one of the highest awards a Marine can earn without exposure to enemy fire. The next highest award is the Legion of Merit, and the next lowest is the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal.
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