They were named after the great General, Omar Bradley. Bradley Fighting vehicles have been used extensively in recent wars and conflicts, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Naturally, whenever you have Army equipment, you must have personnel who are trained to maintain and repair that equipment.
In today’s post, I am going to tell you about the Army 91M MOS: Bradley Fighting Vehicle System Maintainer. I will provide a basic job description. I will also tell you this individual’s duties and responsibilities. You will understand what the prerequisites are to become a 91M, and I will also explain the training provided.
But first, we will learn more about Bradley Fighting Vehicles.
A Brief History Of The Bradley Fighting Vehicle
The Department of Defense noticed back in the late 1950’s that they needed a vehicle that could travel at a somewhat fast speed, in which soldiers could fight from inside the vehicle and would protect them from nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
They also wanted these vehicles to have the ability to destroy tanks while protecting the soldiers inside of it.
The Army began testing many versions of a vehicle that would do what they desired in carrying soldiers and having the speed and ability to destroy enemy tanks. There were many prototypes that were tested and it seemed no one could agree on a design that suited all needs.
Finally in 1979, the XM 2/3 passed Army final reviews. The Secretary of Defense approved production of what would soon be the Bradley Fighting Vehicle System in 1980.
The Various Types Of Bradley Fighting Vehicles
There have been various designs of Bradley Fighting Vehicles. The Army 91M will know the ins and outs of all of these:
The M2: There have been multiple versions of the M2 Bradley, but essentially, they will transport a squad of 6 to points that are critical and could be taking a lot of enemy fire. They are armored to protect from enemy fire, and have firing ports so soldiers can fire from the safety of the vehicle. The M2 is usually equipped with TOW or Stinger missiles.
The M3: Very similar to the M2, the M3 is designed as a scout vehicle. It holds 2 scouts and an area to carry additional ammunition.
The M4: There are very few of these, but they were designed to be a command vehicle. It was designed as an operations control center.
The Warhammer: This Bradley vehicle is a tank destroyer. It has an integrated sight unit and a dual tube Javelin missile system.
The M6 Linebacker: It is a modified M2 with a quad tube Stinger missile system.
The M7: This is the Bradley Fire Support Vehicle. It has target location equipment that is integrated with the ISU system.
The Bradley Engineer Squad Vehicle: Developed for combat engineers, it carries the tools and hardware engineers need to complete their missions.
I must mention that there are always modified versions of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle being developed.
Army 91M Bradley Fighting Vehicle System Maintainer Basic Job Description
The individual with this MOS maintains all of the Bradley Fighting Vehicles. They perform all maintenance and repair duties for these Army vehicles.
Army 91M Bradley Fighting Vehicle System Maintainer Responsibilities and Duties
The responsibilities of the Army 91M consist of:
Perform maintenance on the fire extinguisher and suppression systems on the Bradleys
Perform maintenance on the operational systems
Perform maintenance on the mounted vehicle armaments
Diagnose malfunctions
Perform maintenance on the vehicle suspension
Perform maintenance on the steering systems
Trains newer members on correct maintenance procedures
And more
Whatever the problem is with any of the Bradley systems, the 91M will have direct involvement.
Requirements to Become an Army 91M MOS
Requirements to attain this Army job are really quite minimal. The primary requirement is that on the ASVAB, you have a score of 99 on the Mechanical Maintenance (MM), or a score of 88 on MM and a score of 92 on General Technical (GT).
Other than that, the other requirements are:
PULHES of 222222
Normal color vision
That is about it. The physical demands of this position are very heavy.
Training For The 91M Bradley Fighting Vehicle System Maintainer
The first training you will receive is what makes soldiers warriors. You will attend 10 weeks of Basic Combat Training where you will learn how to handle yourself in war time operations. After all, soldier first and Bradley vehicle mechanic second. After BCT, you will go to Fort Knox, Kentucky for Advanced Individual Training. You will learn about the Bradley Fighting Vehicles both in a classroom setting, and in the field.
Just because you attended AIT, you will not be a Bradley Fighting Vehicle expert. You will learn on the job from soldiers who have been working on these pieces of Army machinery for a long time.
Final Thoughts
From the looks of things, the Bradley Fighting Vehicles will be around the Army for a long time. This is an Army job that can help you gain civilian mechanic jobs when your Army service is completed.
We would love to hear your comments and opinions about this Army MOS. Also, any of you who are now, or have served as a 91M Bradley Fighting Vehicle System Maintainer, we would love to hear about the job you do or did. Thank you for your service.
Below are some reference links so you can see more about this Army job.
Chuck Holmes
Former Army Major (resigned)
Publisher, Part-Time-Commander.com
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
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