An Army system is helping to power both the battlefield and a local economy by bringing efficient power distribution to theater and more than 40 jobs to the Bucks County, Pa., area.
Department of Defense Project Manager, Mobile Electric Power (PM MEP) received the first four Fidelity Technologies Corporation Power Distribution Illumination Systems Electrical (PDISE) units to come off the product line during a ceremony at its plant in Reading, Pa., on Nov. 23, 2009.
"Thanks for all you do--you're unsung heroes," Mike Padden, the project manager for MEP, told the staff. "Our men and women in uniform deployed around the world appreciate what you do. I have spoken with battalion and brigade commanders and they stressed a need for more power distribution equipment and the Army has taken that seriously."
Producing these systems was a team effort that involved development, testing and some hurdles along the way, said Air Force Lt. Col. Bob Thoens, product manager for PM MEP's Large Power Systems. The delivery could not come at a more opportune occasion, he added.
PDISE is the Army's principal power distribution system, said Bob Lesko, Fidelity's PDISE program manager. It is a rugged and safe power distribution tool that is easy to connect and disconnect, he said.
"It is basically a more rugged version of the circuit breaker panel that you have in your basement at home," he said. "It serves to distribute power from a mobile generator to places in the field that need to have their power."
The system is designed for safety, portability, durability and to perform in all weather conditions from any location, Lesko said. It is equipped with several flat-panel units and associated cables and is designed to support mission critical and life-saving equipment in the field. PDISE units are necessary components to distribute power from fielded generators to where it is needed.
The Fidelity PDISE enclosures will be produced at a rate of 250 per month and shipped to depots in Georgia and California and then sent on for deployments worldwide.
PDISE brings high quality, well paying jobs to support the local economy and "quality equipment to the brave men and women in uniform," said Rep. Tim Holden, (D-Pa).
"The men and women who serve our country daily deserve to have the best tools and resources available," he said.
"We're extremely proud (to support the Warfighter)," Gulati said. "All of our employees take pride in the products and services that we provide to better prepare our service men and women. We have a lot of ex-military, veterans that work for us and it's very gratifying to be able to service those men and women and that pride permeates through the company."
PM MEP is assigned to the Army's Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T). PEO C3T develops fields and sustains a vast range of capabilities fielded to units in training and in theater to regions throughout the world. These include power generation; satellite communications and network capabilities; digital tools to plan the battle; intelligence and situational awareness systems; current force radios and capabilities to sense and warn of incoming mortar attacks.
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