Historic arsenal has historic visit by first female major general of NC's Army National Guard

By John B. Snyder, Watervliet Arsenal Public AffairsAugust 31, 2015

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7 / 14 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Maj. Gen. Elizabeth Austin is briefed by Terry Van Vranken, the Arsenal's chief of production planning and control. Nice machine in the background gives an interesting perspective in the type of machinery required in today's weapons manufacturing ce... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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WATERVLIET ARSENAL, N.Y. (August 2015) -- Even in today's defense manufacturing centers there remains an imbalance in the ratio of women to men, but for one brief moment on August 25 at the Watervliet Arsenal that all changed as the Arsenal hosted Maj. Gen. Elizabeth D. Austin.

Austin, who is the assistant deputy commanding general for Army National Guard affairs at the Army Materiel Command, may be accustomed to being a minority even in today's Army.

After all, Austin said that in 1978 she graduated from the last segregated basic training cycle that kept women and men separate during their eight weeks of initial Army training. Then on Oct. 6, 2014, Austin became the first female major general for the North Carolina Army National Guard. Such a far climb for one who began her career as a platoon leader for a small maintenance company in Roxboro, N.C., in 1980.

Although the Arsenal has never had a female commander in its 202-year history, it has always employed women. Since that hot summer day in 1813 when the Arsenal opened its gates for manufacturing, women have been employed here standing shoulder-to-shoulder on the production line with their male counterparts. Okay, the Arsenal often employed children too, but that is a different story.

And so, Austin was treated with the same dignity and respect as those women who proceeded her in the historic gun shops. Albeit women's numbers have always been small, with the exception of during World War II when women made up about 30 percent of the workforce, their impact on the Arsenal has always been significant. Such was the case with Austin's visit.

What was one of the most enlightening and welcomed comments provided by Austin was her reference to Gen. Dennis L. Via, the commander of the Army Materiel Command. According to Austin, Via often talks about the Watervliet Arsenal as the nation's national insurance policy. The Arsenal workforce has always believed that but it is great to hear it from general officers who reside more than 1,000 miles away.

Beyond the rich, 202-year history that sometimes becomes the central point of an Arsenal command overview briefing, Austin was given a short introduction of the various weapon systems that Arsenal manufacturing supports.

But one of the strongest points or takeaways from the overview briefing was a good discussion about the great synergy of having a premier Army research and design center, the Army's Benét Laboratories, collocated on the Arsenal. No other Army manufacturing center enjoys such a relationship where those who design are within a five-minute walk to those who will machine their design.

During her four-hour visit, Austin witnessed cannon, tank, and mortar tubes in various stages of production. She saw firsthand the detailed and thorough quality control process that touches every product. Finally, she met many of the great workers whose world deals in tolerances of thousandths of an inch.

So, how did her visit go?

"I learned a great deal today and now I can call my artillery friends and tell them about the great work being performed here (Watervliet)," Austin said.

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The Watervliet Arsenal is an Army-owned-and-operated manufacturing facility and is the oldest, continuously operating arsenal in the United States, having begun operations during the War of 1812. It celebrated its 200th anniversary in July 2013.

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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