Secretary of the Army visits team, views work at Red River Army Depot

By Ms. Adrienne Brown (AMC)February 21, 2019

Secretary of the Army at Red River Army Depot
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Secretary of the Army at Red River Army Depot
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Secretary of the Army at Red River Army Depot
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Secretary of the Army at Red River Army Depot
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RED RIVER ARMY DEPOT, Texas --Secretary of the Army Mark T. Esper visited Red River Army Depot Feb. 20.

Accompanying Esper was Maj. Gen. Daniel G. Mitchell, commanding general of the Tank-automotive and Armaments Command. He was also met by Rep. John Ratcliffe, Texas 4th district and staff delegations from Senator Ted Cruz, Senator John Cornyn, Senator Tom Cotton, Senator John Boozman and Rep. Bruce Westerman.

Esper, who is a senior civilian in the Department of Defense, visited the east Texas installation following a visit to Anniston Army Depot. Both depots are being considered for repair work on the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle.

"AMPV is pending in my front office," Esper said. "It's a decision I need to make in the next few months, but before I made the decision I did want to come and visit Red River, understand the workforce, the leadership and the capabilities here."

Factors for the AMPV decision are maintaining workflow and matching the right skills to the right tasks, according to Esper.

While at Red River, Esper toured several maintenance areas including the combat vehicle production area, the rubber products facility and the Maneuver Systems Sustainment Center.

"My purpose today was to get a good understanding of what Red River does and how it is instrumental to maintaining the readiness of our force," he said. "What I saw today is a really capable workforce of skilled artisans who are committed to their mission and very enthusiastic."

Throughout the tour, Esper interacted with Red River team members at times climbing on top of vehicles to speak to them about their work. He also presented several coins to employees for their continuous dedication to support Army readiness.

"I spent 21 years in the Army, active guard and reserve as an infantry officer, so I know that part of the Army but I really don't know this part of the Army," Esper said. "My goal for the past 15-16 months that I've been secretary has been to get out and visit the Watervliets, the Rock Islands, the Annistons and Red Rivers and really understand the world of the industrial base to ensure the readiness of the Army. The ability of places like Red River to take vehicles and refurbish them like brand new tells the importance of the work we're doing here."