Steve Carr has spent a lifelong career studying the effects of corrosion on Army missiles and aviation equipment, and sharing corrosion test results with Army and Department of Defense leaders. Come April, he will retire as the manager of the Aviatio...

Steve Carr holds a coated piece of metal that has been tested for corrosion effects. The Aviation and Missile Command Corrosion Program is known for its knowledge and experience with prevention of corrosion on missile and aviation equipment. Carr has...

It's hard for Steve Carr to talk about his career without talking about corrosion.

From the earliest of his 35-years as a chemical engineer, Carr has studied the debilitating effects associated with corrosion, developing solutions to prevent, slow down and counter those effects.

Since coming to Redstone Arsenal some 33 years ago, Carr's career has focused on how to fight against corrosion as it affects the Army's weapon systems. His recommendations and solutions in the battle against corrosion have been recognized at both the Department of the Army and Department of Defense levels, where he has served on several corrosion prevention programs; have been incorporated into numerous weapon system corrosion prevention plans and training for more than 50,000 Soldiers; and have led, back in the early 2000s, to the establishment of the Aviation and Missile Command's Corrosion Program, which has reduced the cost of corrosion by $200 million annually during the past several years while also improving readiness and safety.

But, while the battle against corrosion rages on at all levels of the nation's military services, Carr has decided to retire, leaving the battle plan to a knowledgeable group of engineers who have also made corrosion prevention the focus of their engineering careers.

"I've been a little surprised that we've been able to accomplish as much as we did while I've been here," Carr said. "What we've done in terms of corrosion prevention has really brought the program to the level of importance where it is today.

"With missile systems, corrosion must be emphasized because it affects reliability. With aviation systems, corrosion prevention must be emphasized for readiness and safety issues. Getting that emphasis across to Army leadership has really been our biggest accomplishment."

A Northeast Mississippi farm boy, Carr was the first in his family to attend college. He earned his bachelor's degree with honors in chemical engineering from Mississippi State University in 1981.

"I loved chemistry and the challenge of engineering," he said. "I was just determined. I've been determined all my life. I live by the words of retired AMCOM Logistics Center director Keith Roberson, who said 'Stick to your morals and take the high road.' And, I believe in setting priorities and maintaining a positive attitude."

He first worked as a co-op student with the Tennessee Valley Authority in Muscle Shoals, where he developed a liquid fertilizer formulation to reuse gypsum, a by-product of highly corrosive phosphoric acid production. He then worked as a development engineer for the Occidental Chemical Co., in Florida, where he re-established a corroded pilot plant for the production of di-calcium phosphate animal feed supplement and performed research on the reclamation of clay sludge, a phosphate ores corrosion by-product.

"Phosphoric acid is very corrosive," Carr said. "I've been in the middle of corrosion from the very beginning of my career, even before I came to work for the Army."

Wanting to get closer to home, Carr accepted a position as a materials engineer with the then Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center to consolidate three chemical laboratories and to work on Materiel Deterioration Prevention for missile systems.

"I had a stack of drawings and designs to review for corrosion prevention and control. They gave me a list of materiel issues and corrosion issues, and I went through the documents to find those issues. Fortunately, I had a good background in corrosion even then, so I could find what was causing corrosion issues from the drawings," he said.

Carr's first trip as a government employee was to Boston to assist Raytheon with a corrosion issue on the Patriot production line.

"I was able to figure out that the coating in the tin plating processing was attacking the copper circuit and causing corrosion," he said. "I had to show them a series of photos taken with a microscope and demonstrate what was happening. I also recommended a different tin plating solution that wouldn't affect the copper. I just had a knack for that kind of stuff."

His reputation for understanding corrosion issues grew, and Carr was eventually put in charge of all corrosion prevention programs for the Army's missile systems. In 1997, aviation came to Redstone and Carr was given the opportunity to learn the corrosion prevention programs for aviation systems. In 2001, he became manager of the Aviation and Missile Command Corrosion Program Office.

Today, the program has about 14 government employees and 50 contractors working on corrosion assessments, training, monitoring and technology validation.

"We support corrosion prevention for the life cycle of missile and aviation equipment, which includes acquisition with the Program Executive Offices and sustainment maintenance with the Aviation and Missile Command," Carr said. "We have a saying here that, 'Corrosion never sleeps.' It's always an issue when you are working with metals and other materials in challenging and stressful environments."

The Corrosion Prevention and Control Program followed by AMCOM has resulted in major improvements in the reliability of weapon systems, he said, and defense manufacturers are now addressing corrosion prevention in the design of new equipment. AMCOM provides corrosion preventive maintenance technologies to Soldiers, and has led the use of environmentally controlled storage, better paints and coatings, and better care of equipment while in storage.

But, even with that, 30 percent of repairs in reset are corrosion related. And, corrosion issues continue to cost the Department of Defense $20 billion annually.

"The biggest challenge has been communication of corrosion and materials degradation issues and impacts, and potentials for corrosion prevention technologies and improvements," Carr said. "It's been a challenge to convince our leaders of the critical requirements for corrosion prevention and control, and its importance to the future of our Army.

"Our Soldiers need it. Our Army needs it. Our nation needs it. We have to take care of our equipment. If we don't, it won't be there for us when we need it and we can't afford to replace it."

Carr hopes the AMCOM Corrosion Program will continue to work toward reducing corrosion impacts on aviation and missile systems, continue to implement better coatings that provide corrosion protection performance, and continue to improve care of supplies in storage.

"I really have enjoyed working with all the people -- the leaders, Soldiers and employees -- at AMCOM, and I believe we have made a difference for our Soldiers. We have had a real impact on performance, reliability and safety of Army aviation and missile systems," he said.

In retirement, Carr plans to spend more time with his 94-year-old father, his wife Doris, who is a Realtor, and other family members; and do mission work with his church as well as farm and garden.

Editor's Note: Steve Carr's retirement luncheon will be on March 17 at The Summit. To make a reservation, contact Jennifer Richman at 313-8788 or Jennifer.i.richman.civ@mail.mil, or Courtney Guasti at 842-6182 or Courtney.a.guasti.civ@mail.mil