Gen. Dennis Via, the U.S. Army Materiel Command's senior officer, paid his third visit to what he called "one of the crown jewels" of the Army.
Via toured several Tobyhanna Army Depot facilities, including electro-optics/night vision, Firefinder, Multiple Threat Emitter Systems and Marine Corps radars. He received briefing on these and several other missions from depot leadership.
The general awarded a Superior Civilian Service Award to Liaison Officer Travis Curtis during a ceremony at U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., earlier this month. Electronics Engineer Mark Sgobba received the Achievement Medal for Civilian Service during a ceremony here. Sgobba works in the Production Engineering Directorate.
Via also presented Commander's Coins and AMC lapel pins to military and civilian employees during his visit.
After a driving tour of facilities such as family housing, retirement services and the Child Development Center, Via spoke with reporters in the lobby of the Administration Building.
"I'm greatly impressed, as I always have been when I come to Tobyhanna," he said. "I'm impressed with the work done here for the armed forces deployed around the world."
He said Tobyhanna is a center of excellence and that the armed forces would not be able to accomplish the missions performed today "if not for the great work by the people here at this facility."
Via then invited questions from the media, who asked about sequestration and the tightened budget.
Via noted that Tobyhanna supports the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps and that the systems Tobyhanna supports are used by the armed forces all over the world.
"The work Tobyhanna does today is still very very important and will continue to be in the future," he said. "While their workload has declined, and as our budget has declined, this is still an enduring facility. The work they provide here is done nowhere else in the Department of Defense. Nowhere else. Tobyhanna has a bright future."
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