Depot, GDLS celebrate Stryker production restart

By Pete Keating, GDLSSeptember 12, 2014

Depot, GDLS celebrate Stryker production restart
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Depot, GDLS celebrate Stryker production restart
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ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT, Ala. -- Anniston Army Depot was in the spotlight once again, Aug. 28, when it celebrated the restart of the Army's Stryker double-V hull exchange vehicle production, with Congressman Mike Rogers, the depot leadership team, Program Manager Stryker Brigade Combat Team, General Dynamics Land Systems employees, local dignitaries and news media.

Under the lights of Building 500, approximately 250 community guests, depot and General Dynamics employees gathered in bleachers before two Stryker DVH Infantry carriers, which were on display.

The two Strykers were among the first of 93 converted, under a $163 million contract, by exchanging their original flat bottom chassis for the double-V hull variant, which offers greater protection against improvised explosive devices at a cost that is 40 percent less than the original vehicle.

Giving the official welcome, Col. Brent Bolander, the depot's commander, said, "Today, Anniston Army Depot is once again, playing a major role as a national strategic capability. We are a key element in our national defense and continue to rise in support of the many challenges associated with making a positive impact as a centerpiece of Army readiness."

"We're producing these Strykers in a partnership that provides the best product to save lives," Bolander said. "We look forward to a continued strong partnership."

Congressman Mike Rogers, the chairman of the House of Representatives' Strategic Forces Subcommittee and a senior member of the Homeland Security Committee attended the event.

"The depot and the Stryker program are both vital components of national defense," Rogers said. "This program saves lives."

Gary Whited, president of General Dynamics Land Systems, thanked Bolander and David Dopp, the project manager for the Stryker Brigade Combat Team, for their leadership and support of the Stryker DVH Exchange program.

Whited praised a number of depot and General Dynamics employees by name for making the program a model public-private partnership.

The majority of the Double-V Hull exchange work is completed at Anniston Army Depot by government and General Dynamics employees.

GDLS hired nearly 100 employees for production restart. Delivery of the first exchange vehicle was made to the U.S. Army on July 29 and a delivery schedule which continues until March of 2016.

Anniston Army Depot partnered with General Dynamics in 2012 to launch the Stryker DVH-exchange pilot program, validating that Stryker flat-bottom variants can be quickly refurbished and reassembled as the new, more survivable, DVH variant.

Anniston machinists, welders and mechanics partial disassemble a flat bottom Stryker and repair the electronics, hydraulics, wiring harnesses, cables and transfer case.

The refurbished components are sent to the General Dynamics assembly line, where the flat bottom chassis is exchanged for a double-V chassis delivered by General Dynamics' employees in Lima, Ohio, and London, Ontario, Canada.

The reassembled Stryker DVH is then painted and accepted on-site by the Defense Contract Management Agency before being shipped to one of the Army's nine Stryker Brigade Combat Teams.

General Dynamics and Anniston Army Depot successfully completed the double-V hull pilot program in April 2013, delivering 52 Stryker vehicles on time and under budget.

The success of the partnership convinced the Army and Congress that a cost efficient process for exchanging the original Stryker for a more survivable double-V variant could be implemented for the entire fleet of more than 4,500 vehicles.