ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. -- The Joint Munitions Command honored four individuals for their career contributions during the 2015 Ammunition Hall of Fame Ceremony, held here, June 26.
Lester Griffin, John Masengarb, Bryon Morris and Col. (Ret.) Thomas Tobin, were inducted in a ceremony hosted by Brig. Gen. Kristin K. French, JMC commanding general, to recognize their contributions to the ammunition community. Three additional inductees; John Amerspek, Michael Devine and Edward Ford will be recognized during a ceremony at Picatinny Arsenal, Dover, New Jersey, in August.
The Ammunition Hall of Fame was established in October 2011 to honor and memorialize former civilian and military personnel who made significant, lasting contributions to the U.S. Army ammunition mission. Their achievements are indicative of the excellence required to provide the highest quality ammunition to the service members who used the products they provided. A selection board of ten members reviewed 15 nominations to determine the seven 2015 inductees. Thirty-two individuals have been inducted to date.
"This is a wonderful opportunity to recognize individuals who have made significant advancements in the field of ammunition," said French.
"These individuals built the foundations of the programs we are still using today," continued French. "These honoree's contributions remind us that each generation builds on the dedication and achievements of those who served before them. They pursued excellence and I'm honored to take this time to recognize their contributions."
Mr. Lester Griffin served as an expert within the ammunition community from 1959 to 1994. Griffin was key to developing the Vietnam-era ammunition industrial base, working on critical studies to plan for modernization, stand up and construction of facilities to support the War. He became the key player for a $10 billion modernization effort for the Army's munitions and armaments production facilities. He was also essential to solving critical fuze shortages for mortar ammunition during the war. During a period of just a few months, two million fuzes were produced, alleviating the fuze related battlefield shortage of mortar ammunition.
Working in the quality field, Griffin significantly decreased malfunction rates. He also championed new initiatives for precision munitions. Griffin conceived and implemented a Contractor Performance Certification Program to improve the quality of the organic and commercial base. He also championed using statistical process controls to improve quality and saved the government millions by doing so. He advocated for the standardization of quality clauses in contracts. He was one of the first to push for ISO: 9000 standards. Over the course of 35 years of service in ammunition, he ensured quality was driven into each and every process across the ammunition community. Griffin was promoted to Senior Executive Service in 1985, and served as the principal advisor for the Armament Munitions and Chemical Command product assurance and test mission, production, and contractor industrial relations until retirement in 1994. Griffin passed away in 2007. His son, Richard Griffin, accepted the award on his behalf.
Mr. John Masengarb served as a valuable leader within the ammunition community from 1964 to 1996, during a time of great change for the ammunition mission. Masengarb was actively involved in all facets of the ammunition business within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Department of the Army, Army Materiel Command, and Joint Munitions Command predecessor commands by providing expertise on the joint nature of conventional ammunition business.
For more than 30 years, Masengarb was a recognized expert on the joint issues affecting ammunition management and addressing all facets of the mission to properly analyze, manage, lead, and influence operation of the ammunition industrial base and logistics mission. He provided numerous continuous improvement recommendations to management which resulted in more effective and efficient operations.
Masengarb's work on implementing the Single Manager for Conventional Ammunition concept across all Services is considered to be his premier contribution to the ammunition field. The successful negotiation of the major changes in ammunition management, implementing a single manager from four managers, required extensive effort and skill. The worthiness of the establishment of the SMCA was proven over time and is evident in its continued operation. During his career, Masengarb provided critical expertise and leadership, and was a respected expert and ammunition management professional. He retired as the Deputy Director of the Defense Ammunition Directorate in the Armament Munitions and Chemical Command.
Mr. Byron E. Morris was a health physicist and founder of the Department of Army Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Program. Morris advanced the LLRW program into a world class organization and pioneered its structure and procedures, still in use today. The Army, Department of Defense, and many other federal agencies have benefited from his leadership, guidance, and technical knowledge in the proper removal and disposal of every type of LLRW stream found around the world.
Servicing hundreds of sites spread around the world, Morris recognized the need for consolidation of LLRW by trained experts. He partnered with the Army Test Measurement and Diagnostic Equipment Nucleonics Laboratories in Germany and Korea to establish theater consolidation facilities, which greatly enhanced shipment efficiencies and compliance. He later set up a similar site at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, that played an effective role for collection of LLRW generated during Operation Desert Storm.
The Army LLRW disposal program and the DoD Executive Agency for LLRW have a long history of excellence in the safe, compliant, and cost effective management of DoD LLRW. The programs have never had a license and have not had a shipping violation in the past 15 years, despite thousands of shipments around the world, including in combat theaters. Morris envisioned and built the foundation of effective and enduring operations to the benefit of all of DoD. Morris passed away in 2009. Patti Crooks, his daughter, accepted the award on his behalf.
"On behalf of the Morris family, we would like to thank you for this recognition," said Patti Crooks. "I know my dad would be very honored."
As part of the Ammunition Hall of Fame Ceremony, Morris was honored by the official designation of the Low Level Radioactive Waste Facility at the Rock Island Arsenal, renamed the Morris Consolidation Facility. Family members and guests toured the facility following the ceremony.
Colonel (Ret.) Thomas Tobin completed a long and successful career in the Army by contributing significantly to the ordnance and ammunition field.
In the field of ammunition, he was an expert in science and logistics. Tobin published 35 articles from 1969 to 2003 documenting numerous scientific technologies benefitting ammunition logistics, ordnance and strategies. His career experience spanned depot management to battlefield supply to program management. His background in physics allowed him the opportunity to understand the facets of research and development, while his journey in leadership positions enabled him to improve ammunition logistics.
As Project Manager for Ammunition Logistics, Tobin implemented and managed the Safeload program to provide Soldier-ready solutions to minimize existing explosive hazards and risks. Safeload solutions were divided into two distinct categories: propagation control solutions and improvements to explosive safety technology. Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm ultimately tested the ability to quickly move huge quantities of ammunition from depots in the United States to overseas storage locations. Safeload provided numerous improvements to include: the upgrade of storage racks, upload of ammunition trucks and trailers, computerization of site planning, firefighting, barrier technology and container storage initiatives. Tobin currently resides in Thailand. Daniel Tobin, his son, accepted the award on his behalf.
JMC produces small-, medium- and large-caliber ammunition items for the Department of Defense. JMC is the logistics integrator for life-cycle management of ammunition and provides a global presence of technical support to U.S. combat units wherever they are stationed or deployed. JMC's logistics operation is unique to the Department of Defense and its industrial base is an important asset in supporting the Warfighter.
Social Sharing