DETROIT ARSENAL, Mich. – After attending the Army Materiel Command House Depot Caucus Breakfast in the District of Columbia on April 7, Maj. Gen. Werner, commanding general, Tank-automotive and Armaments Command visited Rep. Paul Tonko and Rep. Cheri Bustos in their congressional offices to discuss the Army’s modernization efforts from the TACOM perspective. Both Tonko and Bustos are part of the Army’s House Depot Caucus. Rep. Bustos is the co-chair of the depot caucus.
Werner was accompanied by David Franing, assistant project manager for TACOM’s modernization efforts at Rock Island Arsenal – Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center and Sierra Army Depot.
Gen. Ed Daly, commanding general of Army Materiel Command, as well as commanders and staff from U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command, and representatives from the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisitions, Logistics and Technology) and Program Executive Offices also participated in the House Depot Caucus breakfast and congressional visits.
“We met with the House Depot Caucus to explain (the Army’s) 15-year modernization plan for our depots and arsenals,” Franing said. The overview gave Representatives, “An opportunity to ask questions and to open the conversation.”
The caucus had requested that all Services develop a modernization plan for the Department of Defense Organic Industrial Base in late 2020, according to Franing.
“As I understand it, the Army is the first service to provide Congress with their modernization plans for their organic industrial base,” Franing said, adding, “They want to ensure we’re modernizing towards future weapons systems. They also want to ensure that we are ‘upskilling’ the workforce to meet the needs of a modernized OIB.”
The Army’s proposed investment, Franing said, would amount to $16 billion over 15 years. The investiture would impact modernization across the Army’s 23 arsenals and depots, to include six within TACOM.
Werner and Franing also met with representatives from Sen. Gary Peter’s (Mich.) office, as well as Representatives Brenda Lawrence (Mich.-14) and Representative Jim Jordan (Ohio-4), representative Cheri Bustos (Ill.-17), and Representative Paul Tonko (N.Y.-20) to discuss updates concerning TACOM assets within their areas of oversight.
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