TOBYHANNA ARMY DEPOT, PA. -Thomas "Bernard" Holmes, Chief, New Equipment Training Division, Field Logistics Support, deployed to Iraq for eight months to support the Logistics Information System (LIS) mission formerly known as Standard Army Management Information Systems (STAMIS).
While there, he managed the Forward Repair Activities operating in the country, which included accounting for the employees and providing Automated Data Processing Equipment (ADPE) support for local military units.
"It was rewarding to hand a laptop to a Soldier and watching him walk out of the shop happy that his equipment was fixed," Holmes said, adding that if he decided to deploy again, it would be for the experience of working directly with the warfighter.
"The honor of serving your country and the experience you gain is not available elsewhere," Holmes said of the experience. "You will never be the same."
Tobyhanna Army Depot is the Defense Department's largest center for the repair, overhaul and fabrication of a wide variety of electronics systems and components, from tactical field radios to the ground terminals for the defense satellite communications network. Tobyhanna's missions support all branches of the Armed Forces.
About 5,600 personnel are employed at Tobyhanna, which is located in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania. Tobyhanna Army Depot is part of the U.S. Army CECOM Life Cycle Management Command. Headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., the command's mission is to research, develop, acquire, field and sustain communications, command, control computer, intelligence, electronic warfare and sensors capabilities for the Armed Forces.
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