TOBYHANNA ARMY DEPOT, Pa. -- The decision to establish a short-term third shift helped Team Tobyhanna eliminate a sizable backlog caused by the late arrival of parts for thousands of battery kits used to power Army Identify Friend or Foe (IFF) devices.
Members of Tobyhanna Army Depot's Airborne Identification and Countermeasures Section and a handful of newly trained technicians from other depot shops joined forces to tackle the job of assembling the 4,800 kits waiting in the wings. For years, employees here have consistently met the customer's monthly quota of 800 to 900 battery kits. The program is scheduled to be back on track this month.
IFF is an identification system designed for command and control. It enables military systems to identify aircraft, vehicles or forces as friendly and determine their bearing and range.
"The employees have been knocking the kits out in record time," said Harding resident Sam Capizzi, section chief. "They really stepped up to meet the customer's requirements." According to Capizzi, the customer is happy thanks to the hard work of everyone who supports this program. Volunteers were sought and trained to augment the section's regular team of experts.
Electronics Mechanic J.C. Leek and Electronics Worker Shawn Bryan are part of the small cadre of personnel who volunteered to expand their comfort zone to support the warfighter. It was a no-brainer for both men to jump at the chance to learn something new and help set things on course. Leek and Bryan normally work on the Mixed Model Moving Line in the Tactical End Item Repair Facility.
This is not the first time Leek has answered the depot's call to help. "Any employee who truly cares about our men and women in the armed forces would gladly work a new program," he said. "I've worked on shelters for most of my time here, but I believe it's important to know a little about a lot. You never know when the knowledge may come in handy." This time, working at the system level, Leek had the opportunity to see how everything works from assembly to testing.
Bryan served in the Army prior to earning a college degree, and then was hired by Tobyhanna.
"I'm happy to support the warfighter in any way I can," he said, adding that he's never really been a morning person and thought working third shift would be a nice change. "I like learning new things and took advantage of this occasion to help bring the project back inline."
Personnel who work on the battery kits every day have voiced similar sentiments about the work they perform. Electronics Mechanic Russ Arnold and Electronics Worker Bruce Brocious prove that experience pays dividends -- they can assemble a kit in 30 minutes or less.
"There are nine separate parts that are added to two cells [placed end to end] before being encased in shrink wrap," said Arnold. "The finished product is also inspected and tested before it is packaged."
According to Brocious, everyone on the team understands the importance of getting the asset to the customer on time and within budget.
Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) officials for this particular program praised Team Tobyhanna's efforts and are satisfied with the outcome.
"We have a solid working relationship with Tobyhanna," said Amy Sley, a supply team lead with the Program Manager -- Aviation Mission Equipment Field Office. "The employees always go the extra mile to provide a quality product." The office is located at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.
She commended Team Tobyhanna for keeping CECOM informed as well as working with their counterparts to resolve the situation.
Tobyhanna Army Depot is a recognized leader in providing world-class logistics support for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) Systems across the Department of Defense. Tobyhanna's Corporate Philosophy, dedicated work force and electronics expertise ensure the depot is the Joint C4ISR provider of choice for all branches of the Armed Forces and industry partners.
Tobyhanna's unparalleled capabilities include full-spectrum support for sustainment, overhaul and repair, fabrication and manufacturing, engineering design and development, systems integration, technology insertion, modification, and global field support to warfighters.
About 3,100 personnel are employed at Tobyhanna, which is located in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania. Tobyhanna Army Depot is part of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command. Headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., the command's mission is to research, develop, acquire, field and sustain communications, command, control computer, intelligence, electronic warfare and sensors capabilities for the Armed Forces.
Social Sharing