TOBYHANNA ARMY DEPOT, Pa.--Depot technicians here and overseas now repair computers under manufacturers' warranties.

Tobyhanna has repaired computers for the military for 12 years in the Command, Control and Computers Directorate and at Forward Repair Activities worldwide. Computer Service and Repair Division technicians were the first to repair computers for contractors like Dell and Itronix and still offer these repairs to customers in the United States.

Now, with the War on Terrorism, manufacturers like Dell and Itronix are partnering with Tobyhanna to keep up with the demand for warranty repairs.

"This started in 2002," said Alex Radkiewicz, logistics management specialist, Business Management Directorate. "The initial reason warranty repair partnering was developed was a desire by our FRA customers for 'one-stop-shopping' to repair STAMIS (Standard Army Management Information Systems). STAMIS is constantly replacing fielded hardware so that at any given time there is a mix of warranty and out of warranty equipment out there. Soldiers can bring their computers to our FRAs for repair whether it's in or out of warranty."

Since the war started, companies have been approaching Tobyhanna. Because Tobyhanna has FRAs in Southwest Asia, technicians can provide warranty repair on their behalf.

"They provide the parts and pay the labor fees," Radkiewicz said.

Warranty Service Agreements were signed with Dell, Itronix (which provides ruggedized laptops), Hewlett-Packard and MPC, formerly MicronPC.

"With this kind of service, we make it easier on our customers. Soldiers don't have to use different processes for different companies or determine if their computers are in or out of warranty," Radkiewicz said. "They can just bring them to a Tobyhanna FRA."

Tobyhanna can repair computers under warranty for any organization in the federal government, including all Defense Department organizations, civilian and military. Special arrangements are unnecessary because the work is done through the company.

"Tobyhanna was the first depot to put this program in place, and it was initially for units at Fort Bragg," said Charles Marsala, FRA supervisor at Fort Bragg. "We're repairing about 400 per year at Bragg, mostly for Womack Army Medical Center."

Marsala noted that the 3rd Infantry Division bought thousands of Itronix computers and that Tobyhanna is the authorized warranty repair center.