The 26th U.S. Secretary of the Army Daniel P. Driscoll visited Pine Bluff Arsenal March 12. This was his first visit to the installation.
Lt. Gen. Gavin A. Lawrence, Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Army Materiel Command, Brig. Gen. Daniel J. Duncan, Commanding General, U.S. Army Joint Munitions Command, Brig. Gen, George Walter, Commander, Southwest Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders, Arkansas Secretary of Commerce Hugh McDonald, White Hall Mayor Noel Foster, staffers from Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton and Sen. John Boozman’s office were also in attendance, plus others from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and Hanwha Defense USA.
Opening remarks by Duncan kicked off this high-level meeting.
“Welcome to Pine Bluff Arsenal – a gem within the Organic Industrial Base. We are super excited to have the Secretary here,” he said. “We are here to talk about modernization as it relates to the strategic visions for our Army. We are glad to have everyone here.”
Driscoll said he was excited to be here. “There is nothing more important than spending our time fixing places like Pine Bluff and investing in the American Workforce. This will allow us to scale at a moment’s notice with all the tools of war we need,” he said. “My impression of the Organic Industrial Base this past year is the passion in which people talk about it. It is an honor to be here with you.”
Foster offered some passionate remarks about PBA and the city he grew up in.
“I’ve been here all my life. I was born and raised here. Our city exists because of this Arsenal,” he said. “I retired as the Chief of Police and have been the mayor for 16 years. This is the largest leadership I can remember being here and it is because of the people in this room. For the last eight decades, this community has supported the Arsenal, and we will do it for the next eight decades. Thank you all for being here.”
Sanders said Pine Bluff Arsenal is a great anchor for the entire area. “We think there is opportunity for great partnerships with everyone here in this room. This will be a great thing for the state of Arkansas,” she said. “I look forward to the discussions.”
During his remarks, Michael Coulter, CEO of Hanwha Defense USA, said the support of the team here at PBA, the state of Arkansas, the Army and others has been great. “We are excited to be part of it,” he said.
Hanwha Defense USA was selected by the U.S. Army in late January to construct and manage a new $1.3 billion munitions manufacturing plant at PBA. This enhanced use lease agreement is a strategic move to modernize the U.S. military's supply chain by producing key components for explosives and propellants domestically.
Pine Bluff Arsenal has a rich and proud history of supporting our nation’s Warfighters dating back to 1941, said AMC’s Lawrence. “I want to thank all the leadership and our industry partners for being here. We are absolutely at an inflection point of the future here,” he said.
A pyrotechnic demonstration was presented prior to lunch.
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