STARBASE Wisconsin Educators joined Technology Education Teachers from the Wisconsin Technology Education Association (WTEA) to tour Oshkosh Corporation’s Oshkosh Defense and Pierce Manufacturing plants. WTEA in cooperation with Fox Valley Technical College organized factory tours where they build military vehicles and civilian fire trucks using the latest technology and scientific research and design capabilities. STARBASE Wisconsin staff rode Oshkosh Defense® Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) on a test course. The JLTV performs hairpin turns on a rock-covered roadway, parks on a sixty-degree vertical slope, and climbs a twenty-inch tall barrier. Each wheel has its own independent suspension that creates a smooth ride despite the terrain it encounters.
Oshkosh Corporation also operates Pierce Manufacturing, a custom fire apparatus and truck building company. They design and engineer pumpers, aerials (ladders), tankers and rescue units that have no equal. STARBASE WI teachers climbed on top of the fire truck to operate the truck’s ladder and sat in the cab to operate the foam nozzle attached to the truck’s front.
During the factory tour, STARBASE personnel spoke with company leaders about the use of current and evolving technology and employment opportunities for Wisconsin youth to design, build, and operate these specialty trucks.
Local Employers Use the Oshkosh Corporation Vehicles to Protect and Serve Milwaukee Residents
STARBASE Wisconsin is surrounded with professions that use these trucks in Milwaukee. For example, as career speakers, Milwaukee Fire Department (MFD) Engine 8 Personnel frequently bring a Pierce fire truck to STARBASE. Engine 8 Personnel discuss the engineering of the fire truck pump system and show STARBASE students how to operate the vehicle’s ladder, nozzles, and pump. Learn more about the MFD and STARBASE WI partnership. A tactical vehicle maintenance center is located at Milwaukee’s U.S. Army Reserve Training Center. The urban Reserve Base is home to STARBASE Wisconsin. Students often see Light Medium Tactical Vehicles (LMTV) test driven on the base and city streets. The Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles is the U.S. Army’s primary set of strategically deployable vehicles that perform general resupply, ammunition resupply, maintenance and recovery, and engineer support missions. Local mechanics maintain and repair LMTV made by Oshkosh Defense.
STARBASE Informs and Prepares Youth for Wisconsin Manufacturing Jobs
The Oshkosh Corporation is located about 95 miles North of Milwaukee. Oshkosh Defense is a DoD civilian contractor with a large civilian workforce building military-grade vehicles. At the academy, students practice building mission-ready vehicles for air, ground, and water rescue in a Three-Dimensional Environment on Computer Aided Design software.
