PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. (Sept. 30, 2015) -- Although lethality is often associated with Picatinny Arsenal, the term is too limiting to convey that full scope of activities and goals at the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center or ARDEC.
That was one of the major themes during a town hall Sept. 22 at the Lindner Conference Center, hosted by ARDEC Director John F. Hedderich.
"Lethality narrows us," Hedderich said, adding that in the past, visitors to Picatinny would routinely receive briefings that emphasized lethality.
However, such a limiting description, Hedderich said, would cause outsiders to say things like, "You're lethality, why are you doing software? You're lethality, why are you doing sights for guns?"
"Armaments, that's what we do here," Hedderich said. "Armament systems."
"There is no Army without armaments, and without ARDEC there are no armaments," the director said in describing the center, the largest tenant at Picatinny Arsenal.
As the director spoke, a slide in the background contained information including:
• Lethality isn't an isolated component but part of the continuum that makes up an overall "armament system" - detect, recognize, identify, aim, fire, and assess the effect on the target.
• ARDEC has the armament-centric workforce and experience to integrate all the complex components to deliver a holistic armament system.
• ARDEC is a complete product lifecycle engineering house … from idea to ultimate disposal.
The director's other major theme was to encourage employees to participate in Master Resiliency Training, a program designed to help people bounce back from stress and adversity in its various forms.
Goals of the training, which can be up to two hours a month, include:
• Develop coping skills
• Develop preventive measures and productive behaviors
• Develop the necessary skills to overcome setbacks
• More effective team work
• Increased productivity
Hedderich said these can be stressful times, as employees think about potential budgets cuts and other matters that may cause distress.
"I always tell everybody, we only have each other to get through this stuff," Hedderich said.
"If you're not looking out for your buddy, if you're not taking care of yourselves … if you're not looking out for each other, nobody else is going to do it."
The town hall included ARDEC locations via teleconference outside New Jersey: Aberdeeen Proving Ground, Maryland; Watervliet Arsenal, New York, and Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois.
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The U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center is part of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, which has the mission to ensure decisive overmatch for unified land operations to empower the Army, the joint warfighter and our nation. RDECOM is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Materiel Command.
Related Links:
U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center
U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command
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