An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : Articles
Have a Soldier/Warfighter who takes pride and ownership of their assigned equipment? Then nominate them for PS Magazine's "I Own This" recognition program. Click HERE to learn more.
 
PS Magazine poster image which links to the posters page at https://www.psmagazine.army.mil/Resources/Posters/
Click on image above to view and
download 
this and other posters
Would you stake your life, right now, on the condition of your equipment?
Articles
NEWS | Jan. 29, 2020

Patriot Missile System: Pinpoint PM

Listen up to these tips from Ft Bliss on how to help your Patriot pinpoint the target every time!

Dear Editor,

We recommend these tips to keep Patriots firing with pinpoint accuracy:

  • Make sure to hit all the grease points and keep track of lubrication. The launcher especially has grease points that are often overlooked and then the outriggers or bullring end up with expensive damage. Each outrigger alone has seven (7) grease points, so it’s easy to miss a few on the entire launcher.

    ​To make lubing easier, there’s a diagram on the launcher showing all the lube points and a space to write in the date of the last lubing. Lube at least monthly. Any time you hear an outrigger squeaking, get out the grease gun.

Diagram helps catch all launcher lube points and provides  place for date of last lubrication
Diagram helps catch all launcher lube points and provides place for date of last lubrication.

  • During every PMCS, check every outrigger’s sight glass. If the sight glass is clear, it needs fluid. If you let the outrigger go without fluid too long, the actuator will be damaged.

Finger pointing at a site glass.
Check all outrigger sight glasses.

  • Pull the two drain plugs for the launcher electronics module (LEM) at least monthly and let all the moisture drain out. Especially in humid areas, moisture can accumulate to the point it reaches the LEM electronics. Then you’ve got real problems.

Pull two LEM drain plugs monthly and let all water drain out
Pull two LEM drain plugs monthly and let all water drain out.

CW2 Christopher Shackelford
CW2 John Black
Ft Bliss, TX


Editor’s note: You have indeed pinpointed some excellent tips. Thanks.
 

Want to get better search results faster? 
Click the link below to access our "how to" guide
.
After entering a keyword, you must hit or click the Search bar/box below for the function to work.
Simply hitting Return won't yield results.
LOGSA Links/URLs
Note about links to archive articles

If you come across a link to a pre-2014 PS Magazine issue or article that uses LOGSA in the web address (URL), use this link instead:
 
For issues/articles from 2014 and after, click on the Archive/Index tab in the top menu of this website.

BE ADVISED: With the migration to Army365, emails in older articles may still reflect an @mail.mil address. To update, change the domain to @army.mil