Soldiers living in the barracks at Fort Drum now have a fast and easy way to request maintenance help through the U.S. Army Maintenance Application (ArMA) mobile web app. Barracks residents can use ArMA on their smartphones to submit and track maintenance work orders to the Directorate of Public Works. ArMA can be accessed through the Digital Garrison app. (U.S. Army photo)
Army Maintenance App offers Soldiers ease of use when submitting barracks work order
Mike Strasser
Fort Drum Garrison Public Affairs
Fort Drum was one of several Army installations selected to test the U.S. Army Maintenance Application (ArMA), which leverages technology familiar and accessible to Soldiers in the form of a mobile web app (armymaintenance.com).
Barracks residents can use ArMA on their smartphones to submit and track maintenance work orders to the Directorate of Public Works. Soldiers can include photos and provide a description of an issue or access a maintenance catalog for a complete list of service requests.
“This is a one-stop shop to get your issues fixed, and there will no longer be redundant ways of doing business,” he said. “You simply submit an order through the app, and PW can converse back. Customers receive notifications on their phones much like they would with other apps.”
Since the app’s soft launch last month, Rinard said that Soldiers haven’t expressed any difficulty using it and they seem to prefer this method.
“I would also say that the PW technicians who input service orders picked up on it immediately,” he said. “The system is designed much like most other interfaces we use in our daily lives. This really has fast-forwarded us to 2021 in how we can leverage technology to complete work.”
Matthew Kopchinski, operations manager for Single Soldiers Housing Branch, noted that Emergency Demand Maintenance Orders (DMOs) require more immediate action and should be phoned in to (315) 772-DPW1 rather than submitted via ArMA. For extreme cases such as gas leaks, residents also should call 911.
“As always, if you require emergency maintenance services related to life, health and safety, please call DPW immediately,” he said.
During the one-time registration process, Soldiers will need the following:
*Phone number
*Personal email address
*Unit of assignment
*Building number where he or she lives
ArMA registration also requires the .mil email address of the Soldier’s sponsor, and it must be validated in seven days. Work orders also should contain the Soldier’s first sergeant, platoon sergeant or section leader contact information.
“This gives direct visibility to the Soldier’s chain of command for barracks-related concerns,” Kopchinski said.
The ArMA app is only for government-owned housing and barracks, so it would not apply to residents of privatized housing such as Fort Drum Mountain Community Homes. ArMA is currently accessible by typing armymaintenance.com into your smartphone’s web browser, and it will be made available through the Digital Garrison app.
Richard Nuijens, Fort Drum RCI / Housing Division chief, said that the app is going to allow the DPW team to enhance communication with residents in the barracks. Soldiers will have the ability to provide input during the process and feedback after the work order is completed.
“The Army's top priority is putting people first, and ArMA is going to strengthen our ability to support Soldiers and provide them some peace of mind when they have maintenance issues in the barracks,” Nuijens said.