One of the US Army's mascots - a Cold War-era M48 Patton tank - got fixed up just in time for the holidays
"The effects of the sun and weather are pretty harsh to a vehicle sitting out in the elements every day for a decade," said Clauss. "The paint was faded, but more telling, we were starting to see the rust and other signs that it was time for this restoration project."
The tank has served as the mascot for Patton Hall since Third Army was re-activated in 1983 at Fort McPherson in Atlanta, Georgia. It was then moved in front of the current Patton Hall (USARCENT's headquarters) where it has remained since the building's dedication in 2011.
Clauss also said that people who work in Patton Hall are fond of their iconic mascot and were eager to know more about its restoration.
"Through this process, I was surprised at the level of interest in the tank. Once the tank left for Fort Knox, I was stopped in the halls daily and asked about the status of the tank and when was it coming back. A lot of people at USARCENT wanted their tank back in front of Patton Hall."
Since the tank is considered a museum piece and needed to be treated as such, USARCENT needed to find a location that had those capabilities. Shaw Air Force Base didn't have the facilities so they had to find a base that did. US Army Central reached out to 1st TSC to select the best location.
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Rod Pickett, Logistics Maintenance Officer, 1st TSC, conducted the research, creating cost estimates for four potential locations, Fort Jackson, Fort Benning, Fort Bragg and Anniston Army Depot.
He determined Fort Knox was the best location because it had a Logistics Readiness Center (LRC) with the facilities and personnel needed to complete the job within the specifications.
"The reason it came to Fort Knox is Fort Knox used to be the home of the Armor and Cavalry, and as an armored piece of equipment, they still have the capabilities here via the Logistic Readiness Center (LRC) on Fort Knox," Pickett said.
"We did a comparative analysis of cost and time to repair it, and across the board Fort Knox won out," Pickett added.
Over the last two-and-a-half months, contractors at LRC have stripped the paint, removed rust and added sealant to make it watertight before adding a coat of historically accurate paint and stenciling.
Mathenia said the LRC has completed similar jobs on historic tanks for the Patton Museum on Fort Knox. He added that when working on vintage equipment you have to be very careful.
"There are very few of these that are out there; most of them are museum pieces, so if you break a part or it comes apart, then you're in trouble because then you're going to have fix it and its going to cost a lot of time and money," Mathenia said.
"That's why we are very careful when we're towing it around," he added.
Sgt. 1st Class Casey Steiner, Logistics Maintenance Management noncommissioned officer (NCO), coordinated the transportation of the tank from Shaw Air Force Base to Fort Knox and back. He also oversaw all stages of the preservation project to ensure it went smoothly.
"I hope they enjoy it," Steiner said, of the tank. "I hope it's everything they expected it to be, if not more, and hopefully it does them proud by being a nice monument for Patton Hall."
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