Wars are won by civilians and military partnering together

Standing shoulder to shoulder, together the military and industrial base will defend the nation.

"Our Soldiers are out there winning battles, in the mud, air battles and land battles, but wars are won by civilians and military partnering together, usually back in the national industrial base, and that's our ace in the hole," said Maj. Gen. Ted Harrison, commanding general of the Army Contracting Command, drawing inspiration from a quote by Gen. Omar Bradley. "You're our ace in the hole for Army Contracting Command and the United States Army."

Harrison spoke to members of the National Defense Industrial Association - Tennessee Valley Chapter at their 2015 Membership Dinner Feb. 23. The annual event kicked off the year for the association, providing the opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of 2014, as well as elect and install officers for the new year.

"I appreciate what you do," Harrison said. "There's a lot of challenges out there that we face together going forward with the budget and with the threats that are emerging out there. It's great to have partners, especially here at Team Redstone, to work with."

Harrison provided an overview of ACC, which operates in 107 locations, including their newest center in Orlando, Florida. Each center focuses on a specific commodity set, such as procurement for aviation and missiles at Redstone Arsenal. Harrison also addressed the challenges facing his command, such as budgetary challenges and possible sequestration. As the Army draws down, ACC will too undergo transformation, Harrison said.

"What that's caused us to do is take a look at how we provide services to the Army," Harrison said. "The Army is changing, not just in the fact that it's reducing its size, but it's becoming more expeditionary. We are basing more out of CONUS and projecting ourselves more than we have in the past, with less of a forward footprint. We're adjusting to that reality as well."

NDIA provides "a legal and ethical forum for the interchange of ideas between the government and industry to resolve industrial problems of joint concern." Officers installed for 2015 include: Patty Popour, president; Bob English, immediate past president; Jeff Gronberg, executive vice president; Pam Caruso, VP communications; Bob Wilkie, VP external operations; Glen Williams, VP membership; Michael Bertoldi, VP programs; Suzanne Norris, VP education programs; Jesse Barber, VP awards and scholarships; Billy Warner, VP small business; Keith Brown, secretary; Bob Darnall, treasurer; Joe Fitzgerald, chair, SMD working group; and Kathy Broad, president, Women in Defense.

Looking back at 2014, the association celebrated a number of achievements at the dinner, including: earning the model chapter designation, contributing more than $70,000 in support of STEM programs, scholarships and fellowships, co-sponsoring the Space and Missile Defense Symposium, as well as supporting numerous Soldier and veterans activities.

"I've always looked at the defense industrial base as the ace of hearts, the one hand behind our back that we can bring out when we need to in terms of national security," Harrison said. "To be able to leverage that is really what the Army Contracting Command brings to the table -- to leverage the free enterprise system, the industrial base if you will, to be able to provide innovative goods and services to America's warfighters, and that's where you all come in."