ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. -- The newly elected Illinois 17th U.S. Congressional District representative met with senior leaders from organizations at Rock Island Arsenal on Dec. 10.
Brig. Gen. John Wharton, commanding general of the Army Sustainment Command and senior mission commander for Rock Island Arsenal, hosted Rep.-elect Cheri Bustos during her visit here.
Bustos, a 30-year resident of East Moline, Ill., received briefings about the global missions that ASC performs to sustain Army and coalition forces. Some of the missions discussed included Army Field Support Brigades, Directorate of Logistics, Army Prepositioned Stocks, Logistics Civil Augmentation Program, and Lead Materiel Integration.
"We are everywhere the Army is," Wharton told Bustos. "As the bridge between the operational forces and the industrial sustainment base, we are the Army's center of gravity for logistics."
Through video teleconference, Bustos spoke with commanders from the 401st Army Field Support Brigade in Afghanistan, 402nd AFSB in Kuwait, 403rd AFSB in Korea, 404th AFSB at Joint Base Lewis-McCord, Wash., 405th AFSB in Germany, 406th AFSB at Fort Bragg, N.C., and 407th AFSB at Fort Hood, Texas.
Additionally, she met with Col. Victor Harmon, commander of the Distribution Management Center, at Rock Island.
"Thank you for your service and for taking time to brief me," Bustos told the commanders while visiting the Command Operations Information Center conference room. Bustos said the work performed by RIA organizations is impressive and critical to the national defense.
Other tenants on RIA that provided overview briefings to Bustos included Army Contracting Command - Rock Island, Corps of Engineers, Community Based Warrior Transition Unit, Edgewood Chemical & Biological Center - Rock Island, First U.S. Army, Joint Munitions Command, Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center - Rock Island Arsenal, and Garrison Rock Island Arsenal.
Following her visit to the installation, Bustos hosted a news conference where she told reporters that with more than 7,500 employees "Rock Island Arsenal is the largest employer in the 17th congressional district." The global reach of the organizations on the installation was impressive, she said, and makes the installation a "national treasure."
Bustos will take office in January. She has requested assignments to the House Armed Services Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
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