RICHMOND, Ky. -- It's rather difficult to walk away without an interesting story or two.
Considering most of the Joint Munitions Command sites operation in such a low-key manner, you don't expect to find little gems there--whether people or history.
Often nestled away in remote or rural settings, the personnel and operators of the facilities boast a wealth of knowledge.
But their own unique backgrounds leave you intrigued and yet not the least bit surprised they hold the positions they do. Fast fading is the notion people come to their professions by coincidence.
Ask Brian Freeman.
"As a kid growing up in rural Leland, N.C., I was always dreaming up inventions and or coming up with clever ideas to make my chores easier (which was sometimes mistaken for laziness).
"Long before I ever heard of the term 'engineering', I had a strong draw toward science and its practical application." Freeman wasn't lazy and his love of science never quite faded.
"My dad was an accomplished welder; he loved to build things in his spare time. I have fond memories of him showing me intricate hand drawn sketches of useful items that he would later construct. Though he passed away some 14 years ago, many of his creations are still with us today."
Years later as a mechanical engineer educated at North Carolina State University, he calls the Blue Grass home.
At Blue Grass Army Depot, Brian continues to dream up new and innovative ways to get the job done. And this time, no one mistakes his ideas for idleness.
Freeman's forward thinking took one project from the brink back to reality. While discussing a plan initially believed to be feasible, talks went south and someone had to speak up.
"What if we acquired our own armor, cut some sample pieces, and sent them to you for examination along with the cut-times, then you'll see what we can do and go from there," said Freeman.
With that suggestion, Blue Grass maintained its position as an ideal location for a new project.
Not that this great outcome didn't include added responsibility. From there, Joel Kallenberger, director, BGAD Mission Operation, appointed Freeman the single point of contact for the potential project.
And so the story goes. Freeman offers an interesting thought and buys himself an additional responsibility, but the fun is just beginning as this sequence of events launches the MRAP Expedient Armor Protection kits mission.
The MEAP kits or Mine Expedient Armor Program are add-on-armor kits for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, MRAP, developed to safeguard Soldiers against the threat of improvised explosive devices and explosively formed penetrators.
The jump to MEAP kit production ushered Blue Grass into the Army's organic manufacturing club. It wasn't just this feat that served to further motivate Freeman but rather this comment, "Brian, it wasn't your capabilities that impressed us enough to partner with you guys. It was your attitude. We were convinced that you wouldn't let us down." (Donald Wild of TACOM Life Cycle Management Command, Warren, Mich., referring to MEAP kit production)
From that experience Freeman acknowledged, "In the end, it's not the equipment, but the quality of the people that makes the difference."
To make a difference you have to think differently and not insist on keeping with the usual way of doing business--Freeman doesn't shy away from this concept.
"I love process improvement. I find it hard to resist challenging the status-quo when a better way of doing things is within reach.
"At times, I can have a pretty inventive mind, and over the years I've come up with some real doozies. But I've found that if I lay out a plan that clearly demonstrates achievability, cost cuts, and productivity gains, management will at least listen. If it makes sense to them, they'll back it 100 percent," said Freeman.
With just under 6 years spent at the depot, Freeman is making his mark. Taking any ideas he sees as plausible and approaching leadership, he has the background for such progressive thinking.
With knowledge rooted deep in industry, he began his career with Texas Instruments and later moved on to Raytheon and into automation.
"I enjoyed working there (Raytheon) in a production support capacity. I designed fixtures, jigs and an automation system that joined two sections of a laser-guided bomb. I enjoyed the automation project so much so, that after Raytheon shutdown our site, I passed up a Raytheon offer in Arizona to spend the next few years working for small industrial automation companies in Texas, Pennsylvania and New York," said Freeman.
Probably without knowing it, Freeman was acquiring the knowledge necessary to guide another large and interesting project, 81mm mortar fin production. Only this project would be new to Department of Defense and Freeman would serve as technical lead.
By the middle of 2004, Freeman weighed two options--return to another large defense manufacturer or work directly for the government.
Now, he takes his well-acquired skill and puts them into play daily at Blue Grass Army Depot never thinking for a moment those days of automation were just coincidence.
Freeman says, "In retrospect my past experiences prepared me well for my current position. Standing up a manufacturing operation really requires that same entrepreneurial tenacity that I developed during that small automation company season.
"At the same time, having worked at Raytheon's Baldridge Award winning plant in Texas provides a mental benchmark for the quality of operations we should strive to have."
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On the 81mm cartridge mortar fin project:
"Brian has done an outstanding job of directing many of the technical aspects of this project. His relentless pursuit of efficiencies has helped to both move this project forward and keep it on schedule." Joel Kallenberger
(Director, Missions Operations) Blue Grass Army Depot
"With regards to the mortar fin mission, I believe our success with MEAP kit mission certainly gave us the courage to go after this kind of work. We had never done it before; it required procurement of new kinds of equipment we had little or no experience with: tight timelines, building modifications, etc. In many respects it was a rerun of what we had just undertaken, and we made every attempt to leverage off lessons learned." Brian Freeman
(Mechanical Engineer, Mission Operations) Blue Grass Army Depot
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