Picatinny Arsenal receives Army Community Partnership Award at the Pentagon

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Picatinny Arsenal officials received the 2024 Army Community Partnership Award during a ceremony at the Pentagon Hall of Heroes on May 15.

Earlier this year, the Department of the Army announced U.S. Army Garrison Picatinny Arsenal as one of seven winners of the 2024 Army Community Partnership Awards.

During the ceremony, Lt. Gen. David Wilson, Deputy Chief of Staff, G-9, Headquarters Department of the Army, and Michael Klippstein, Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment, presented the award to representatives to six of the seven U.S. Army organizations able to attend in-person.

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Receiving the award on behalf of all Picatinny Arsenal installation employees were Maj. Gen. John T. Reim, Picatinny Arsenal Commanding General and Joint Program Executive Officer Armaments and Ammunition, Lt. Col. Craig A. Bonham II, Picatinny Arsenal Garrison Commander, and Command Sgt. Maj. David M. Franks, Picatinny Arsenal Garrison Command Sergeant Major.

Joining the Picatinny Arsenal team at the Pentagon was Cathy Burd, Morris County Assistant Director for Law and Public Safety.

“This Community Partnership of the Year Award isn’t just a recognition of the incredible work done by the Picatinny Arsenal Garrison team, it is a testament to the truly exceptional relationship we have with Morris County and its residents,” said Reim.

The Army Community Partnership Awards Program seeks to highlight examples of exceptional cooperation and diligence that will encourage continued collaboration to achieve the full potential of community partnerships.

Picatinny’s nomination centered on a mutual aid agreement that the installation’s fire department maintains with the Morris County (New Jersey) Office of Emergency Management.

The county provides dispatching services for the Picatinny Arsenal Fire Department at no cost to the government. In exchange, the department provides mutual aid response to municipalities and fire departments outside the installation’s cannon gates. The partnership improves firefighter capabilities through real-world response, exceptional training opportunities, and the development of installation-wide certification training.

“For over a century, Picatinny has been interwoven with the fabric of this community, and this award underscores the mutual respect, collaboration, and shared commitment to excellence that defines our partnership,” said Reim.

“We are deeply grateful for the unwavering support of Morris County. Their dedication allows us to focus on our critical mission of delivering enhanced lethality to our warfighters, while simultaneously strengthening the bonds that make this region such a wonderful place to live and work,” Reim added.

The awardees represent partnerships that have improved quality of life for Soldiers and their families, enhanced readiness, driven modernization and contributed to reform initiatives throughout the Army.

“As Garrison Commander, I’m incredibly proud to see Picatinny Arsenal recognized for the strong bonds we’ve built with our Morris County partners,” said Bonham. “These relationships aren’t just about mission success; they’re about ensuring the well-being and resilience of our entire community when it matters most.”

Dave Leinberger, Army Community Partnerships chief, who narrated the ceremony, visited Picatinny in March, touring the northern New Jersey post and discussed partnerships that are often created through intergovernmental support agreements (IGSA). These partnerships aim to produce cost savings/avoidance and efficiencies for the Army and the surrounding communities, while strengthening the relationships between the installation and outside partners.

The Army selected seven winners and their neighboring communities that formed innovative partnerships that improve quality of life for Soldiers and families, enhance readiness, modernize services, provide efficiencies, expand capabilities and strengthen community relations.

Submissions were evaluated using the following criteria:

Improves Soldier/family quality of life

Improves or enhances readiness

Modernizes a service, system or process

Provides cost or other efficiencies

Expands capability

Improves community relations

Joining Picatinny Arsenal at the recognition ceremony were:

Fort Leonard Wood and the cities of Saint Robert and Waynesville, U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii, Pōhakuloa Training Area and the Hawaii County Fire & Emergency Services, Fort Carson and the Colorado Springs Utilities, Fort Bliss and the El Paso Water Utilities Public Service Board, U.S. Army Garrison Poland and the Republic of Poland, and U.S. Army War College and the Cumberland County Department of Public Safety.

Picatinny Arsenal is one of the top three employers in Morris County, New Jersey, according to the Morris County Office of Planning and Preservation, and supports the Army priorities of People, Readiness and Modernization. The installation’s capabilities are unique and vital to the nation, as the workforce leads the advancement of armament technologies and engineering innovation for the U.S. military.

The Picatinny Arsenal garrison supports mission partners that use unique laboratories, special facilities, and various performance measures to evaluate prototype designs, thus reducing development cycle time.