In normal times, the civil service employees at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard repair aircraft carriers, submarines and other ships. But these are not normal times.
Navy welders, electricians, boilermakers and steelworkers from the shipyard are "up-armoring" Army trucks at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait -- wrapping soldiers in heavy metal to protect them as they drive ammunition and supplies through Iraq.
In answering the call to serve in Kuwait, the Navy civilians from Portsmouth, Va., also serve as a dramatic reminder of how federal employees can cast aside bureaucratic red tape and adapt their skills to save lives.
"From a personal standpoint -- I have 28 years of government service -- I've never done anything that I felt was so personally rewarding," said Fredric Madeira , who served as a project superintendent in Kuwait.
Jim Shoemaker , a production manager at the shipyard, called the transition from ships to trucks "kind of a natural fit for us. . . . We had a lot of people with relatives over there and were in the mode: 'What can we do to help?' "
The shipyard's first foray into Kuwait began in January, with the deployment of 13 employees. After they received training and help set up operations, a second wave of 37 mechanics went over in February. Since then, employees have rotated in and out. Current Army plans call for keeping Navy hands in Kuwait through Sept. 28.
All are volunteers. At the start, the shipyard had 200 employees volunteer for overseas duty but stopped taking names when it became clear that the Kuwait repair station needed only 50 or so workers in its opening phase, Shoemaker said.
The employees first got word that they might be called for overseas duty late last year. Unrelenting insurgent attacks in Iraq were taking a toll on U.S. troops. Enemy forces were exploding their homemade bombs under Humvees and trucks, killing and maiming soldiers and Marines. Troops were scrambling to outfit their vehicles with what they called "hillbilly armor," and Pentagon officials were accused of inept war planning.
In testimony Thursday, military leaders told the House Armed Services Committee that they have stepped up production of armor for U.S. troops. Manufacturers are producing a steady stream of trucks with factory-installed armor, and most of the trucks in the field are being retrofitted with add-on armor, the military leaders said.
In Kuwait, the Norfolk Naval Shipyard employees have been installing "cab kits" that provide extra armor on old, and some new, trucks headed for Iraq.
Madeira said the first Navy volunteers landed in Kuwait two weeks after the Army decided to set up an add-on armor operation. "None of us really had a very good knowledge of the country, except that several of us looked at the Internet and got as smart as we could," he said.
Once in country, the volunteers quickly assessed what they needed for their metalwork. They ordered equipment, such as small cranes, forklifts with long blades and specialized tools to improve efficiency.
