WATERVLIET ARSENAL, N.Y. (March 24, 2015) -- Today's arsenal workforce takes every opportunity it can to help pay back the local community that has wholeheartedly supported this Army manufacturing center since its inception in 1813.
One such opportunity occurred this past week when the arsenal participated in a machining career day that hosted students from three local area high schools.
The career day, which was sponsored by the Board of Cooperative Educational Services Career (BOCES) Technical Education Machining Program, was offered to students who are currently not in a high school machining program in hopes to increase enrollment next school year.
Arsenal Machinist Robert Day and Apprentice Steve Luther talked with the students at the Mohonasen High School Machining and Manufacturing Technology campus in Rotterdam, N.Y., about their personal journeys in machining, as well as the benefits of becoming a machinist for the U.S. Army.
"What is great about the machinist profession is that our skills are in high demand anywhere in the country," Day said. "When I graduated from the apprentice program at Hudson Valley Community College two years ago, every student had a job when they graduated."
Luther added that the arsenal probably has the most challenging apprentice program in New York's Capital District.
"In addition to the four-year college program, every apprentice must also have more than 8,000 hours of hands-on training at the arsenal," Luther said.
Although several students' eyes popped open when Luther talked about challenges to becoming an Army machinist, he soften the impact of his words by telling the students that their college would be paid for by the Army, as well as they would receive full-time pay and benefits while going through the program.
Once the talking was done, the students were provided a demonstration on the proper use of several machining tools, from a lathe to a milling machine. Day and Luther helped the Mohonasen instructors to explain how each machine worked.
As the tour was winding down, Mohonasen high school senior Troy Bennett stopped in to talk to Day and Luther about career opportunities at Watervliet. Bennett was not part of the machining career day, but has been taking machining courses at Mohonasen for two years.
As soon as Bennett said he would love to work at the Watervliet Arsenal, Luther immediately found a computer and walked Bennett through the employment process on the USAJOBs website.
According to Nancy Liddle, who is the BOCES Career and Technical Business Community Liaison, seven of the career day students have already expressed interest in next year's machining program.
Already, Day and Luther's efforts were paying off.
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The Watervliet Arsenal is an Army-owned-and-operated manufacturing facility and is the oldest, continuously active arsenal in the United States having begun operations during the War of 1812.
Today's Arsenal is relied upon by U.S. and foreign militaries to produce the most advanced, high-tech, high-powered weaponry for cannon, howitzer, and mortar systems. This National Historic Registered Landmark has an annual economic benefit to the local community in excess of $90 million, and its 2014 revenue was about $117 million.
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