Phoenix, Ariz. – Members of the Communications-Electronics Command Integrated Logistics Support Center Technical Support Division traveled to the annual Department of War Maintenance Symposium to present their efforts and spread awareness about corrosion prevention and control. Aided by a member of the ILSC Defense Industrial Base Branch and matrixed Combat Capabilities Development Command engineers, the ILSC Corrosion Prevention and Control team also attended breakout sessions on topics such as advanced manufacturing, provisioning, and cataloging that allowed them to build new relationships with industry partners.
In support of the overall Army CPC Program, ILSC experts were joined in their exhibition at the symposium by Army Materiel Command representatives from CECOM, Aviation and Missile Command, Joint Munitions Command, Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, and the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisitions, Logistics, and Technology as they collaboratively provided guidance, assistance, and knowledge to event attendees about the importance of the program. Among their demonstrations, team members gave an overview and demonstration of KITCO Fiber Optics cleaning kit to active-duty service members and private industry personnel in attendance, passing along pamphlets that described the full utility of the kits.
The CPC also highlighted their training and survey missions to mitigate corrosion and improve readiness, and they took this opportunity to initiate discussions with other Life Cycle Management Commands to coordinate joint survey missions and lessen the burden on the units that currently conduct them.
“It’s about being smarter with our resources,” said Packaging Handling Storage & Transportation branch chief John Baron, who attended as part of the ILSC team. “Instead of four different teams visiting the same unit four times, we’d like to get to the point where we can go in once as a joint force, get a holistic picture of the challenges, and give that unit more time to focus on its primary mission.”
From these conversations, the LCMCs identified specific locations in the Pacific theater as top priorities in the National Defense Strategy, determining that the CPC mission can maximize its impact in these areas.
In discussions with Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Sustainment Dr. Theresa Smith and Corrosion Control Program Executive Courtney Guasti, the CPC team garnered full support for their program, impressing the value and importance of addressing Army corrosion on senior leaders. Smith also offered to assist in marketing the KITCO kits to help build a demand base and increase the readiness and cost impact. The ILSC CPC team enjoyed a follow-on meeting with other LCMCs after the symposium to discuss timelines and mission dates.
The decision to attend the event paid immediate dividends for the ILSC, allowing for corrosion subject matter experts to attend multiple networking engagements and reach new segments of their intended audience on this important but often overlooked issue. Said Baron, “This was truly a valuable opportunity to engage face-to-face with senior leaders throughout the DoW and explain how proactive corrosion prevention improves equipment readiness and saves taxpayer dollars”.
As the ILSC critically examines existing strategies and the lessons learned from the DoW Maintenance Symposium, they will continue to lean on industry partnerships and spread their messaging in a way that maximizes the benefit of their work to the warfighter in the field.
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