PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. -- Picatinny Arsenal's reputation for expertise in lethality tends to eclipse its broad range of capabilities, which can be used to provide technical support for purposes of homeland security, a top executive at the arsenal said during a Jan. 19 town hall.
John F. Hedderich, Director of the Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center or ARDEC, said the workforce must put forth an effort to broaden the perception of the arsenal's capabilities so that the focus is not confined to lethality.
"That kind of narrows us when we are out there in the big world, because people say, 'Why do you do software, I thought you were lethality. Lethality is blowing things up,'?" Hedderich said of external perceptions.
"What we really do is armaments … armaments systems," the director added.
"I want ARDEC to be a national asset, nationally known and not just … available to the Army," Hedderich continued. "Taxpayers pay a lot of money for the capabilities that we have. We're going to make ourselves available to everyone, not just the services and DOD (Department of Defense) but also Homeland Security."
The director said the arsenal has a range of skills and facilities whose application doesn't have to limited to foreign battlefields.
"The war of terror is not just over there, it's here today, so we have to help out our local fire departments, and police departments," he added.
"So, we have to go beyond being an asset just to the Army, but also national."
The director's vision is that ARDEC, centered at Picatinny Arsenal, is a critical national asset that is vital to national security and is unfettered in its ability to deliver products and provide world class facilities and services.
As Hedderich spoke, the slide presentation in the background described ARDEC as "a complete product life-cycle engineering house … from idea to ultimate disposal" and having the ability to "rapidly deliver affordable quality solutions to the customer."
To advance the director's vision and intent, a team has been established to work toward six different "end states" that include advancing understanding of ARDEC's technical prowess and a culture that promotes creativity, mutual trust and teamwork.
Other "end states" include recognition of ARDEC as an indispensable national asset known for engineering, leadership and science excellence; that Picatinny is recognized and utilized as a regional hub to the nation in support of interagency operations; and that ARDEC has an enthusiastic and committed workforce.
Regarding an organizational culture, Hedderich said: "I'm not saying that we are not all there, but I want that feeling in the organization to have that sense of urgency, because people's lives do depend on us."
Another town hall speaker was Raymond Carr, Director of the ARDEC Fusion Cell, which focuses on bringing ARDEC capabilities to bear on near-term emerging threats to warfighters around the world.
But it also has a priority initiative to support interagency users in New Jersey and the New York City metropolitan area.
As he spoke, an accompanying chart explained how information on emerging threats, global situational awareness and operational needs was being "fused" with action plans, innovation and imagination, ARDEC competencies and response.
"The goal is that we are better prepared when a conflict escalates in any given part of the world, that we have a workforce that understands the environment and needs, and that we will have a better investment strategy for the long term," Carr said.
As an example of how ARDEC supports other agencies, Carr noted the Nov. 22, 2015 active shooter training exercise in a New York City subway station, the Bowery Street subway station in lower Manhattan. The full-scale exercise involved two active shooters and a suicide vest bomb.
ARDEC supported the exercise planning and provided technical analysis, such as capturing tactics, performance and lessons learned
It also provided evaluation of novel technology, an after-action report, as well as videos for enhanced future training.
"Our goal is to transition lessons learned and technology from DOD (Department of Defense) to civilian agencies and fulfill that mission of supporting the nation," Carr said.
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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.
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