Aviation and Missile, Research, Development and Engineering Center's Team ED Gives Back

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- It was a little after 8 a.m. on election day, but 10 people from the Engineering Directorate, Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center, weren't thinking about voting just yet. Instead, they were thinking about where they would be going to help out a local family for Habitat for Humanity in Huntsville.

Team ED gathered inside a briefing room at the Habitat for Humanity headquarters in Huntsville, listening intently to Don Adams, HFH Construction Management, brief on safety and other aspects of the build.

Carl Hottel, DLA team lead, Industrial Operations Division, acted as lead for this team. He had done numerous builds with HFH in St. Louis before he transferred to Huntsville in 1997.

"I have done a number of jobs with HFH including rough framing, finish carpentry, vinyl siding, painting, landscaping, raising roof rafters and cleanup crew," Hottel said.

Once at the site, the team had the commemorative team photo taken in front of the house and then began the day's work.

While Adams backed the 14-foot trailer into position beside the house, Hottel gave his team some basic directions, and everyone immediately formed four smaller teams to begin cleaning up the excess construction materials from the yard.

"Picking up bricks and building waste was not what I expected, but everyone pitched in and by the end of the day, it was remarkable how great the yard and house looked," said Tod Jordan, Data Management Team lead.

After they worked for nearly an hour picking up pieces of brick, chunks of masonry, unused lumber, and unused construction material, some of the outer layers of clothing began to be peeled off. The work was physical but worth every minute.

Data specialist Carla Crawford said, "There was a true sense of accomplishment. Many of us didn't know each other, but we developed efficient methods for getting our tasks done as a team."

While some of the team finished cleaning up the yard, others worked inside the house doing general cleanup such as washing windows, countertops, bathtubs, sinks and sweeping the floors.

Patricia Martin, director of ED, had a unique role on this team as both a leader and a follower. As she swept the floor she mentored two young engineers, Jackson Wilson, mechanical engineer, Reliability and Maintainability Engineering and System Assessment Division, and Michael Trahan, general engineer, Quality Engineering Division. Martin told them that they should look at themselves and their backgrounds for possibilities to offer the Soldier for the future -- much like Kris Walker, RAM Division, had done with his love of NASCAR.

Through Walker's interest in NASCAR he developed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, or CRADA, with Roush Fenway Racing, which has led to the joint testing of new and cutting edge technologies.

Wilson said he had heard of that agreement and knew of a great NASCAR innovation that had been adapted to military use through it; that was the windshield tear-offs.

They were a great contribution from this exchange.

"We can't forget the Isotropic Superfinishing, which is at the Corpus Christi Depot right now," Martin said.

Before moving on to tackle another job, Trahan and Wilson talked about what he and the others were experiencing on the job site.

"We shared a great opportunity learning how we all fit together to support the war fighter and while we bonded we also combined our strengths as a team to provide a service to the community," Trahan said.

Others on the team felt the same.

"Working and giving back to the community is a pleasure and not everyone has that opportunity," said Doug Keel, PIF technical execution supervisor. "Getting to know new Team ED members is exciting. I'd work with Team ED again."

The final job of the day was to put up vinyl siding onto a tool shed.

Ashley Williams, Missiles Systems Branch student aide/administrative assistant, said, "It was great working with new faces from ED and learning new things. I had never put up siding before, but now I understand how it's done. I'm no expert, but with Team ED I could do it again."

"I hadn't done anything in the building trades since high school working with my dad, so it was great to be outside and learning to put up siding, replacing the rotted footers and replacing the insulation board," Jordan said.

Aviation and Missile, Research, Development and Engineering Center's Team ED Gives Back

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