Value engineering improves programs and systems that Soldiers bet their lives on every day -- and those who work toward those efforts were recognized for their contributions during a Team Redstone ceremony Dec. 9.
"You are successful in making an impact," Command Value Engineering Manager Tom Reynolds told recipients of the Team Redstone Value Engineering Life Cycle Cost Reduction Awards.
Savings across Redstone totaled $547 million in hard savings and cost avoidance for local organizations during fiscal 2019. Seventeen affiliated organizations located outside of the Redstone Arsenal area saw a savings of $38 million.
Reynolds, of the Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center, said representatives from the center are embedded across the Aviation and Missile Command to answer the engineering call. That can mean developing a solution or providing an engineering disposition on all types of challenges.
The 11 organizations that participated in the program completed 105 actions in fiscal 2019. Each action translated into at least one additional benefit, Reynolds said. Added benefits include mitigating obsolescence, improving capabilities, relieving Soldier burdens and inserting technology.
"This highly motivated and well-trained workforce identifies deficiencies and resolves issues, often before our Soldiers in the field know there is an issue in the first place," Reynolds said.
Before presenting the awards, AMCOM Commander Maj. Gen. Todd Royar dispelled the misnomer that the most innovative engineering and problem-solving talent resides in the private sector.
"You and your teams show you are second to none," Royar said, commending awardees on their innovation, technical expertise and leadership.
"This is not just about dollars," he said. "Make no mistake about it -- every dollar we save can be applied somewhere else. But this is about Soldiers in the field and artisans in the depots. It's about being ready. Readiness is the true result of value engineering."
The AMCOM Logistics Center was among the organizations that was recognized at the ceremony. Its deputy executive director, Fred Pieper, noted the importance of the program.
"We are always looking for ways to improve processes and consume fewer resources by using less paper, oil and supplies," Pieper said. "The engineers who are embedded throughout AMCOM help with the technical aspects of making our dollars go further."
The most prestigious honor -- the Robert Tarquine Award -- went to Ronald Brychta, an Aviation & Missile Center aerospace engineer at Corpus Christi Army Depot, Texas. Brychta was instrumental in initiating and successfully completing value engineering projects, particularly on CH-47 Chinook helicopter transmissions. His efforts, which reduced maintenance time and increased parts availability, improved readiness and contributed to a savings of $263 million over three years.
Value Engineer award plaques were presented to the following organizations:
-Aviation Ground Support Equipment Product Directorate
-AMCOM Logistics Center
-Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation and Missile Center
-Corpus Christi Army Depot
-Counter-Rocket, Artillery, Mortar Project Directorate
-Integrated Air and Missile Defense Project Office
-Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Project Office
-Precision Fires Rocket and Missile Systems Project Office
-Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, Project Office
-Unmanned Aircraft Systems Project Office
Value Engineering Award Certificates were presented to the following individuals.
-Thomas Havir, Aviation Ground Support Equipment Product Directorate
-Jeffrey Jenkins, AMCOM Logistics Center
-Patrick Kelley, Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center
-Kristene Bell, Counter-Rocket, Artillery, Mortar Project Directorate
-Mike Maddox, Integrated Air and Missile Defense Project Office
-William Lovell, Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Project Office
-Alvin Gracie, Precision Fires Rocket and Missile Systems Project Office
-Toni Hamilton-Datcher, THAAD Project Office
-Russell Matteo, Unmanned Aircraft Systems Project Office
Value Engineering Change Proposal award certificates were presented to the following:
-Darrell Quarles, Aircraft Survivability Equipment Project Office
-Amy Lett, Army Contracting Command
Life Cycle Cost Reduction Obsolescence Mitigation award certificates were presented to the following:
-Frank Collins, Aviation Turbine Engine Project Office
-Lisa Alexander, Cruise Missile Defense Systems Project Office
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