One duty that plagues nearly every junior enlisted soldier is to conduct preventive maintenance checks and services, or in the Army’s acronym soup, PMCS. Soldiers follow a checklist for each vehicle or piece of equipment and note any deficiencies, such as leaks, dents, or broken components. PMCS is so ubiquitous in the Army that it becomes a run-out-the-clock situation. PMCS may be allotted two hours, and soldiers will inspect their trucks, however halfheartedly, for the full two hours regardless of how long the procedure actually takes.

Army Sgt. Chris Peters recently shared an experience that offered him a fresh perspective on maintenance. Peters enlisted in active duty as a wheeled vehicle mechanic straight out of high school. His first duty station was in Alaska. Peters described flying in on a tiny plane to Ketchikan on Revillagigedo Island. “Water water water, rocks, runway, down.” A boat took them to Annette Island, where he and his fellow soldiers would help maintain construction equipment for National Guard troops who were building a road. On Annette Island, Peters and his fellow soldiers traveled seven miles each day to their work shed, riding in an old Army ambulance, mounted on a pickup body, a driver and passenger in the cab with Peters and three fellow mechanics in the big metal box in the back.