Research and engineering center director for Army armaments retires

By Mr. Edward Lopez (Picatinny)May 15, 2014

Research and engineering center director for Army armaments retires
Gerardo J. Melendez looks down at his retirement certificate during his retirement ceremony May 15 at Picatinny Arsenal while Dale Ormond, director of the U.S. Army Research Development and Engineering Command looks on. Melendez served as director of... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. --Gerardo Melendez formally retired today as the director of the Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, one of the U.S. Army's premier research and engineering facilities.

The research center, also known as ARDEC, is the largest organization at Picatinny Arsenal, which is a major employer in northern New Jersey. The center has acquired a reputation for quality improvement and plays a vital role in developing superior armament technology for the U.S. Army and other branches of the nation's military.

Dale A. Ormond, director of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command at Aberdeen, Md., praised Melendez for fostering a climate of closer coordination among all the scientists and engineers across the command. ARDEC is a subordinate unit within Ormond's organization.

"I can't thank him enough for his leadership," Ormand said of Melendez, who retired after 31 years of service.

During his speech, Melendez joked that while there were some things that he would not miss--such as the nitty-gritty of budgeting--he would greatly miss the ARDEC workforce.

"For those of you here, you were just amazing," Melendez said. "Your passion for innovation and to do what is right for the soldier was an inspiration to me every single day. You worked through all the obstacles with resolve and not once did you say 'no' to the call of duty."

A resident of Princeton, Melendez came to Picatinny in June 2010 from the U.S. Army Communications Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center at Fort Monmouth, N.J., which has since closed.

Three top executives at the research and development center, often referred to ARDEC, will each serve for four months as acting directors until a permanent replacement is found for Melendez.

During his tenure at ARDEC, the organization won the Shingo Bronze Medallion for Operational Excellence in May 2012.

In another measure of quality, the Armament Software Engineering Center at ARDEC is the only U.S. government organization appraised at CMMI Maturity Level 5. The software engineering center provides software engineering and software acquisition support services for weapon systems, training devices, and combat support systems throughout the entire system life cycle. CMMI stands for Capability Maturity Model Integration and is a process improvement program.

In his final interview with the Picatinny Arsenal newspaper, Melendez said he tried to forge a strong sense of vision and mission among employees.

"Within ARDEC, when I think of an enterprise, ultimately it's a group of people who have a common goal with enough interdependencies that you have a sense of shared destiny," Melendez explained.

Melendez began his civilian Army career in 1983 when he joined the U.S. Army Communications and Electronics Command as an electronics engineer where he conducted research in the area of digital signal processing for target identification and data fusion.

Prior to serving as the ARDEC director, Melendez served as the Director of the Command and Control Directorate within the Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center.

ARDEC is one of the largest employers in northern New Jersey, employing 3,378 people on site here, with an additional 377 at other locations. More than 2,481 ARDEC employees are scientists or engineers.

By designation of the Secretary of Defense and an act of Congress, Picatinny Arsenal is the Department of Defense's Joint Center of Excellence for Armaments and Munitions. A 6,500-acre military installation located in Morris County, the Arsenal contributes more than $1.3 billion to New Jersey's economy.

Related Links:

ARDEC Website

ARTICLE: Retiring director sees ARDEC well positioned for the future

Army Research Development and Engineering Command

ARDEC on Facebook