Redstone Arsenal has set the stage for success.
And the Army Materiel Command and other Army tenants are now positioned to take advantage of the synergies that the Arsenal has to offer.
That's all part of a business plan that consolidates Army capabilities and builds efficiencies, said the Army's chief of staff during an interview with the Redstone Rocket following the Aug. 7 change of command ceremony at AMC that marked the shift in command leadership from Gen. Ann Dunwoody, who will retire on Aug. 15, to Gen. Dennis Via.
"It's a credible facility," Gen. Raymond Odierno said of the Arsenal, "with a significant amount of commands that we have now been able to unite here."
Running through a list of those organizations -- the Aviation and Missile Command, Army Contracting Command and Security Assistance Command headquartered here along with representation from other Army commands -- Odierno went on to say "we now have some synergy that has been developed with the Army Materiel Command. It's still a huge command spread out across the United States. But, in my mind, it's where it needs to be. I think this is a great spot and we're all very pleased that it's gone so smoothly, and AMC has stood up so quickly and continued to do their missions."
AMC moved to Redstone in the summer of 2011, following six years of planning and construction that began with the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission's recommendation to bring the organization to Redstone. Its headquarters, on Martin Road, is now home to about 900 AMC civilian employees.
"They're here doing really important work and they're here reaching out to our Soldiers every day around the world. … To me, it's benefitted AMC and it's benefitted our Army to have them here at Redstone where they are able to focus on what's important to the Soldiers deployed forward," Odierno said.
AMC is the Army's premier provider of materiel readiness, including technology, acquisition support, materiel development, logistics power projection and sustainment, ranging from weapon systems to maintenance and distribution of spare parts. It supplies Soldiers with everything from bullets to beans, from helicopters to helmets, from missiles to munitions.
Although future Army growth at Redstone is not on the agenda in these austere budget times, the chief of staff did say "we will continue to look at how we can best consolidate and gain efficiencies."
In that type of environment, Redstone stands out as a sentinel for the best civilian work force in the Army. And Odierno wanted to particularly thank those Department of the Army civilians during his visit.
"Their expertise helps us sustain ourselves with the improvement of vehicles, supporting Soldiers and coming up with new technologies for us to use in the future. They do it all and it's a key component for us," he said. "Especially as we transition out of two wars and we begin to move the Army forward, we are going to need the Army Materiel Command to move with us. They will play an important role in that."
Of AMC's civilian work force, Odierno went on to say their "breadth and depth of expertise, their technical competence and their leadership means so much to our Army in the future."
Odierno's Aug. 7 visit to Redstone wasn't his first time at the installation. Since AMC has been a tenant, he has visited occasionally for briefings and other command activities. He has also had the opportunity to visit other AMC locations in places like Detroit, Mich., and Anniston.
"I've seen firsthand the great work they are doing," he said.
Odierno said AMC and its employees benefit from a supportive community.
"I know the local community here in North Alabama truly appreciates what the
Army Materiel Command does, and the leadership of Ann Dunwoody and the incoming Dennis Via," he said. "They understand completely the importance of this job.
"If AMC was a Fortune 500 company, it would be 53rd on the list. It's a huge enterprise that does a complexity of tasks that supports an Army that's in 160 different countries."
Although he doubts the American public fully understands the AMC mission, Odierno said "those that are in uniform and those of us we support understand completely what that means."
In other comments, Odierno expressed the Army's appreciation for the families that support its Soldiers. Despite budget cuts that will affect some family programs, he is confident that the right programs providing the right amount of family support will stay intact.
"We will have to select those programs that are the best, the ones that are helping our families the most, and we will continue to invest in those programs. You (the Army's families) are always on our mind," he said.
"(The Army's leadership is) constantly putting as a first priority our Army families. So you can depend on us. We'll continue to support your needs as we go through this downsizing."
Those families are still supporting a significant number of deployed Soldiers. Today, there are 92,000 Soldiers forward deployed, with 68,000 Soldiers in Afghanistan. Even as AMC works to maintain equipment and supplies for those Soldiers, the organization is also involved in bringing equipment back to the U.S. from both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Odierno praised AMC's efforts to get that equipment reset and back to the Soldier force, emphasizing its role in ensuring Soldiers and the Army are "prepared for the next fight."
AMC and Redstone also have a significant role in working to reduce the costs of supporting those Soldiers and their equipment.
"It's about us coming up with new technologies as we make the Army leaner and agile and more deployable," he said. "And the research and development and science and technology work done here at the Army Materiel Command will be key in that."
How well AMC, Redstone Arsenal and the Army as a whole endures through budget cuts will depend on how well the American public "understands the complexity of the mission and supporting us in that mission. It's about making sure that congressmen and senators and state officials understand the importance of AMC," he said.
"It's about building a military/civilian relationship that can carry us for many, many years. It's a technical relationship, a business relationship as well as a relationship of support. I think if we can do those things it will continue to solidify the Army Materiel Command here at Redstone."
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