Local professionals visit APG

By Jennifer Carroll (U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center)May 7, 2010

Local professionals visit APG
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. -- The U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center hosted more than 30 mid- to upper-level management personnel graduating from the Harford Leadership Academy and took them behind the scenes April 28. The HLA is a community development program designed to promote the development of existing and emerging leaders and to create a committed, involved and diverse network of leaders for Harford County.

Addressing some of the most qualified professionals of Aberdeen Proving Ground's community, Garrison Commander Col. Orlando Ortiz gave them an overview of APG accentuating its strategic and economic significance today and in the future.

"With government and military organizations moving to APG and its surrounding area, the Army's Base Realignment and Closure transition will create many new and exciting career opportunities," Ortiz said. "In the process, employers like ECBC will benefit from the knowledge and expertise that folks like you bring to the table."

To convey a full understanding of ECBC's mission and capabilities, the Center supported this year's HLA graduating class with an exceptional visit of its facilities. This ECBC tour not only included the Advanced Design and Manufacturing Facility; the Sample Receipt Facility; and the Protection Factor Test Facility, but also a visit to the "M" field.

After exploring the Center's state-of-the-art ADM facilities and meeting with team leaders that showed the type of engineering performed in each of the labs, Associate Technical Director James Baker, Ph.D. escorted the HLA graduates to the 400-acre developmental outdoor testing range, called the "M" field. En route to the strictly controlled and secured area, Baker provided illustrations of ECBC as a critical national asset in the chemical biological defense community and his personal insight into the Center as a workplace.

"You can immediately tell how much our ADM-team members love their work and how good they are at it," he said. "They do an excellent job at rapidly responding to short-notice requests with complex concept-to-product solutions concurrently using design, analysis and prototyping."

When the HLA group arrived at the testing range, ECBC Chief of the Pyrotechnics and Explosives Branch Joe Domanico demonstrated the use of chemical and explosive materials in a real-life display of multi-colored smoke grenades and other non-lethal products. While showing the "M" Field's capability for testing smoke, flame, and explosives Aca,!aEURc in addition to ECBC's core capabilities of chemical and biological protection, detection and monitoring Aca,!aEURc Domanico emphasized his team's commitment and dedication to the Center's mission.

"It's in our blood to work with smoke and fire," he said. "But, here at ECBC, we are involved in one thing and one thing only Aca,!aEURc protecting the warfighter and saving soldier's lives."

To make the HLA group's ECBC experience unforgettable, Domanico and his team brought the testing range alive by putting on an individualized pyrotechnics show, integrating colorful smoke effects and blasting the rock music song Ladies and Gentlemen by Saliva in concord with the fireworks. The demonstration only included items that could not be used for combat purposes.

Harford County's future leaders were in awe before continuing their ECBC tour to the SRF and Protection Test Factor Facility.

"Everything we've seen so far has been absolutely amazing," said HLA graduate Angelo Romano. "After looking behind the scenes, I can frankly say that I had no idea how fascinating ECBC's work actually is."

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Related Links:

Aberdeen Proving Ground

Research, Development and Engineering Command

Edgewood Chemical Biological Center