U.S. Army Watervliet Arsenal October 2015

THE SALVO

Incremental upgrades help fuel growth, workload

Story on Page 3

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The Arsenal Salvo is an authorized monthly publication for members of the Department of Defense. Contents of the Salvo are not necessarily the official views of, or an endorse-ment by the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense, the Department of the Army, or the Watervliet Arsenal. News may be submitted for publication by sending articles to Public Affairs Officer, 1 Buffington Street, Bldg. 10, Watervliet, NY 12189, or stop by office #102, Bldg. 10, Watervliet Arsenal. The editor may also be reached at (518) 266-5055 or by e-mail: john.b.snyder.civ@mail.mil. The editor reserves the right to edit all information submitted for publication.

Commander, Col. Lee H. Schiller Jr.Public Affairs Officer, John B. SnyderEditor, John B. SnyderPhotographer: John B. Snyder Arsenal Facebook Page @http://on.fb.me/sq3LEm

ColonelLee H. Schiller Jr.

CommandingManufacturer 6

Commander’sCorner

Given our front-row seat over the last 202 years of watching and supporting our troops as they went off to war, we should have a unique perspective in the value of taking a few moments of our time throughout the year to honor our former and active servicemen and women.

While November 11, our Nation’s Veterans Day, provides a day off for most federal and state workers, it may be how we use that time off that truly defines the essence of our character.

We were founded by Soldiers on a hot summer day in 1813 and so, it shouldn’t take any encouragement by me to sell you on the importance of your honoring the selfless service of our Nation’s Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines. But I will do it anyway.

Although New York’s Capital District is not a military community, it is a community with military. And given the Arsenal’s proximity to the Gerald B. H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery, the Stratton VA Medical Center, and numerous Veteran Service Organizations, there are countless opportunities throughout the year for you to visit one of those locations to get a better sense of military service or to thank those who have served.

The calendar drives our Nation and our community to focus on just a handful of dates to honor those who have served. However, it shouldn’t take a special day of the year for us to appreciate the personal sacrifice of those

who have served and who are currently serving because everything we have done and continue to do directly supports our Nation’s warfighters. Nevertheless, this upcoming Veterans Day does give us time to do just that.

Although I know that more than 40 percent of the Arsenal workforce are Veterans, folks who shouldn’t need any encouragement, I nevertheless challenge each of you this Veterans Day to join us as we parade through the streets in Albany as the Watervliet Arsenal or to make a short visit to one of those sites that I have mentioned above.

On this Veterans Day, and always, I thank our Veterans for their service and I thank all of you for your sense of duty to our servicemen and women. Suffice it for me to say that what you do here has helped our troops to safely come home from battle.

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Story continues on page 4, “Bore”

By John B. Snyder

Even small, incremental improvements involve several critical skills

Secretary of the Army John McHugh said earlier this year that the way ahead for the Army is to build weapon systems that can be incrementally upgraded to adapt to the realities of the day, but the Watervliet Arsenal isn’t waiting for the future as it is already modifying current weapon sys-tems for the realities of today.

The Arsenal announced this week that has received orders totaling nearly $1.3 million to provide the Army with a new, lightweight bore evacuator for the self-propelled howitzer system, the M109A7. The M109 series howitzer was originally fielded throughout the Army decades ago.

This new evacuator will reduce the weight of the current version, which is made from steel, from 203 pounds to about 110 pounds for the new fiberglass version. Making the gun system lighter is only secondary, however, to the ef-fect of making a rather difficult maintenance job much easier for the artillerymen.

What is also great about going after “incremental” improvements, such as what the Secretary of the Army sug-gested, is that the Arsenal can field a new product that will provide dramatic improvements for the Soldier in a signifi-cantly reduced acquisition window.

“What we did was to take a decades-old manufac-turing process that is being used on the 120mm tank can-non and modify that design for the self-propelled artillery system,” said Joshua Root, a mechanical engineer with the Army’s Benét Laboratories. “It took us (Arsenal manufac-turing and Benét Laboratories) a little more than two years to go from concept to prototype development.”

Gregory Stone, the Arsenal supervisor for the metal processors who are doing the manufacturing work, said that this is great work for his team in that the job exercises sev-eral critical skill sets, from welding to lathe machining to fiberglass winding.

Metal Processor Sean Stephenson is working the winding machine on two bore evacuators in October. Using this fiberglass method, versus steel, will reduce the evacuator weight by nearly 50 percent. Although 120mm tank barrels have used this process for decades, the process is new for the 155mm self-propelled howitzer.

Photo by John B. Snyder

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Just last month, the Arsenal reported that it has received orders totaling nearly $20 million to introduce a bore protection coating for the self-propelled howitzer can-non, the M284A2, that will extend the wear life of those tubes by up to 50 percent.

And so, it seems lately that the Army is investing a significant amount of resources at the Watervliet Arsenal to keep a decades-old howitzer system in good shape for the next fight. The M109 has had a num-ber of major upgrades through the years and is now on the M109A7 version.

This effort, performing work that will incrementally up-grade current systems, may be just what McHugh meant when he recently spoke at the American En-terprise Institute.

“We understood that some-times good enough is good enough and we recognized that the afford-able way for us in the future was to build something in a fashion that incrementally, from generation to generation, you could add on and adapt to whatever the new realities of the day may be,” McHugh said.

The current orders will only retrofit approxi-mately 50 percent of the self-propelled fleet of howitzers. The Arsenal anticipates follow-on orders to equip all self-propelled howitzers with the lightweight bore evacu-ator.

The Arsenal will begin shipment of the new evacuator in December 2015 and will complete these or-ders by January 2017.

A bore evacuator is used on the gun barrels of the Abrams tank and the M109 howitzer to help reduce propellant gases and pressure from venting back into the vehicle’s firing compartment.

Benét Laboratories is a Department of the Army research, development and engineering facility located at the Watervliet Arsenal. It is a part of the Weapons & Software Engineering Center (WSEC), an organization under the Army’s Armament Research, Development, and Engineering Center (ARDEC), that is part of the U.S. Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command (RDECOM). The Watervliet Arsenal is an Army-owned-and-op-erated manufacturing facility and is the oldest, continu-ously active arsenal in the United States having begun operations during the War of 1812. It celebrated its 200th anniversary on July 14, 2013.

Bore Cont.

Top: Joshua Root, left, and Gregory Stone, center, check out a 120mm bore evacuator that is being cured while Kevin Brammer readies another evacuator. Bottom: Metal Processor Marvin Hunter is preparing to do a quality control check on a recently completed bore evacuator. In this test, Hunter will put the evacuator under intense pressure checking for leaks.

Photos by John B. Snyder

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By John B. Snyder

Story continues on page 6, see “Fame”

The commanding general of the Army Materiel Command, Gen. Dennis L. Via, left, with AMC Com-mand Sgt. Maj. James K. Sims, right, and Watervliet Arsenal Commander Col. Lee H. Schiller Jr. at the AMC Hall of Fame Induction ceremony on Oct. 27, 2015. Schiller accepted the Hall of Fame award on behalf of former Arsenal Director of Operations Fred Clas who could not attend.

AMC Hall of Fame

A former World War II apprentice who rose to greatness at the Watervliet Arsenal, Fred Clas, re-ceived on October 27 one of the highest honors in the U.S. Army Materiel Command -- induction into the AMC Hall of Fame. Gen. Dennis L. Via, the Commanding General of AMC, provided Clas' award to Arsenal Commander Col. Lee H. Schiller Jr. in a ceremony at AMC head-quarters, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., which honored five other inductees. As much as Clas would have loved to attend this ceremony, his current health status precluded his travelling from upstate New York to Alabama. Nevertheless, Via called Clas at his home in Niskayuna, N.Y., just prior to the ceremony to thank

him for his service and to congratulate his selection into the Hall of Fame. Clas said he was very honored and humbled not only by his award, but also by the call from the four-star general. "I told him (Via) how proud I was to have had an opportunity to work at the arsenal," Clas said. "I also told him that he made an old man cry today. This award means that much to me." In every conversation about his induction into the Hall of Fame, Clas gave credit for his 45 years of suc-cess to the “wonderful” workforce who stood with him during some tough, challenging times.

Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Michael Zuk, AMC

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Fame Cont.

When Clas reported for his first day of apprentice training here in 1940, it would take three major wars and nearly 100,000 hours of work before he would drive out the Arsenal gate one last time en route to his retirement. Clas' origi-nal plan was to stay one year and then attend college. But war has strange consequences not only for Soldiers, but also for Department of the Army civilians who support the troops. In 1963, he became the director of operations overseeing a manufac-turing workforce of nearly 3,000, a position he held until he retired in 1985. During his career, he help lead the Arsenal's trans-formation from manufacturing 16-inch guns for battle-ships to cannons for the Abrams Tank. But beyond all the greatness that Clas helped bring to Watervliet, he remains an unassuming man. When he was informed this month about his se-lection into the AMC's Hall of Fame, he relished the moment ever so briefly before he broke into a dialogue about what the Arsenal is doing today and what he can do to help it. After all, Clas is a tough, spirited man who won't let his health challenges slow him down. But as much as he looks forward to getting back on his feet, he said he does have a sense of the impending future given that he is 93. "I know that there is not much else my doctors can do for me after this next surgery," Clas said. "And so, what concerns me most is that I have a lot left to do for the Arsenal and I'm a little worried that I won't be able to complete my mission." Clas is a humble man who wants nothing more in life than to make the Arsenal better. He did, but no one here will ever tell him that his mission is complete. It is hard to measure the importance that such a man has on the Arsenal and on our Army, but suffice it to say it is significant.

Background:

Army Materiel Command…Mr. Frederick Clas was inducted into the 2015 AMC Hall of Fame by Gen. Dennis L. Via, the Commanding General of AMC, at the Redstone Arsenal, Ala., on Oct. 27, 2015. AMC was activated in 1962, but its Hall of Fame was not established until 2012, on its 50th anniver-sary. The Hall of Fame was established to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to the command and the U.S. Army, giving employ-ees a sense of heritage, honor, and pride. Nominees are evaluated on their contributions to one or more of AMC's core missions or the lasting impacts they made on the command. AMC is the Army's premier provider of materiel readiness -- equipping, sustaining and enabling the war fighter through technology, acquisition support, materiel development and logistics power projec-tion -- across the spectrum of joint military opera-tions. AMC impacts or has a presence is all 50 states and in 144 countries. It has a work force of more than 65,000 dedicated military and civilian employ-ees.

Army Materiel Command's Gen. Dennis L. Via, left, with AMC's Command Sgt. Maj. James K. Sims unveil the new Hall of Fame wall honoring Watervliet Arsenal's Fred Clas and five others. Via, who is AMC’s commanding general, inducted Clas into the Hall of Fame on Oct. 27, 2015.

Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Michael Zuk, AMC

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Albany County Veterans’ Day ParadeWednesday, 11 November

11 a.m.You have a chance to join us this November as we honor our Nation’s Veterans by marching in this year’s Albany County Veterans’ Day Parade. In addition to two Arsenal/Benét Labs floats, we plan to field several of our emer-gency service vehicles and several historic military vehicles from the Hudson-Mohawk Military Vehicle Club.

So, please gather your family members and march with us as we pay proper recognition to our Veterans, as well as to showcase the Arsenal to the commu-nity. If you have any questions, give John Snyder a call @ 266-5055.

SAVE THE DATE

Nov. 11, 2015

Veterans Day Parade

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By John B. Snyder

Photo by John B. Snyder

James HeaphyBoiler Plant

Some people have wondered through the years why the western part of the arsenal is called “Siberia.” But if it wasn’t for James Heaphy and his team who run the boiler plant, the entire post may be referred to as Siberia. Not that the Arsenal workforce are prima donnas, but they do like the simple things in life such as heat during the winter. And, for most of the year no one thinks about Jim and his crew. But come October, Jim is on the speed dial of every senior leader because he supervises the Arsenal’s boiler plant and the massive heat that it generates. Suffice it to say, Jim can go from hero to zero in a day. And so, it takes a special breed of person who can oversee the dangerous lighting of the boilers each fall, understanding the importance, as well as the burden, each worker here places on this mission. Jim is such a person. His 34 years

of service here has well prepared him for this important mission — turning on the heat and doing so safely. Jim was the first graduate of an Arsenal apprentice program in the early 1980s for boiler plant operators. He was also the last graduate. He became the boiler plant work leader about one year ago. Dealing with four large boilers, some five stories tall, is no small undertaking as the steam the boilers generate heats up to 350 degrees. The bottom line is that dangers are daily, but even with decades of experience, Jim does not fall into a false sense of comfort as he vividly recalls a steam accident that injured two workers about 18 months ago. One of the things that makes Jim standout in a sea of more than 500 workers is his leadership in a critical and dangerous mission area that requires a steady hand, said David Roe, the Arsenal’s director of public works. “Given the daily dangers of working with high-temperature and high-pressure steam, it is important that we have someone in charge who puts safety at the top of their priorities, and Jim does just that,” Roe said. “But what makes Jim really standout amongst the crowd is his quiet professionalism. He is a quiet, humble person who is reluctant to draw attention to himself even though he and his team are critical to the accomplishment of our mission.” But don’t mistake his quietness

because when you get him one-on-one he is his boiler team’s biggest cheerleader. He enthusiastically touts his team as the key to his success. True to Jim’s spirit, he asked that his team members, without whom this place could not run, be highlighted, too. Jim’s team consists of: Phil Kramarchyk, Mike Kelly, Jim Ryan, Mike Guiry, Jon Creamer, Paul DeMasi and his right-hand man Charlie Hannan. He also relies on the faithful, reliable and professional support from all of the Public Works division staff- especially his fellow Facilities Maintenance and Operations team members, and the engineering and environmental staff members. Beginning this month and lasting through May, Jim will supervise three shifts of workers who will work seven-days-a-week keeping the Arsenal workforce warm. Given the cold winter coming up and the dangers that will lurk while the workforce is sleeping, having someone who is highly knowledgeable, extensively experienced, and who is a profoundly great, quiet leader at the helm of the boiler plant means that we have the right person to be selected as this month’s Arsenal Face of Strength. By the way, the west side of the Arsenal is called Siberia because of the large warehouse that was built there during World War II, which is currently used by the Nation Guard, was isolated from other Arsenal buildings and was unheated.

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After seven years here writing about the Arsenal, I should have known better than to cover this story, espe-cially given that Halloween is this weekend. Neverthe-less, once again this shows just how much I sacrifice my-self to give the workforce the information that it wants. The tingling of the hairs on the back of my head should have been enough for me not to do this story, but the warm smile of John Kenna, who is a senior engineer-ing technician at Benét Laboratories, lulled me into a false sense of security.

John invited me this week to talk about a hobby that he has had since 2009. After I sat down, John broke the news to me that he is a real-life ghost hunter. I immediately broke out into a sweat and the hand that I used to shake John’s hand began to tremble…could apparitions travel? I thought. I immediately used some hand sanitizer blindly thinking that would help ward off ghosts. John told me that he is a Paranormal Investigator with

Story continues on page 10, see “Halloween”

This Halloween, who are you going to call ... John Kenna

John Kenna and his team of ghost hunters checked out the USS Constitution for paranormal activity. He claims that his team captured video and sound recordings of “spirit” actions that cannot be explained.

Photos by John Kenna and Wikipedia

By John B. Snyder

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Halloween Cont.

the team S.P.I.R.I.T.S. of New England who are based in Winthrop, Mass. S.P.I.R.I.T.S. stands for Supernatu-ral, Paranormal, Investigations, Research, Intuitive, Truth, Society. It was very difficult for me to take notes as John was talking because I was constantly looking around John for any signs of an apparition, which John sim-ply called ghosts. Since he was five-years-old, John said that he has been visited by spirits, and I immediately thought that now was certainly not a good time for a visit. Even John’s mother had confessed to him many times that she, too, had experi-ences with the dead. John said he and his team from S.P.I.R.I.T.S. have done nearly 15 investigations this year and they have often found evidence of the supernatural. But in the six years that John has been doing investiga-tions, he has never wit-ness an evil spirit…or so he claims. Armed with infrared digital recording de-vices and other devices that capture electro-magnetic pulses, John and his team respond to personal requests to investigate. There is no charge for the investiga-tion. Nevertheless, get-ting an investigation approved is no easy task as the requestor has to fill out a 10-page questionnaire that asks for such information as the amount of alcohol they drink to whether or not they have been treated for mental health issues. In June of 2010, John and the S.P.I.R.I.T.S. team in-vestigated the USS Constitution, an American warship

that was built in the late 1700s and is now America’s Ship of State by order of Congress, for paranormal activity. Not that I didn’t believe John, but I never knew the USS

Constitution was haunted. So, I did what any college student would do when try-ing to find a term paper to turn in…I “Googled” it and found more than 40,000 list-ings for “haunted USS Con-stitution.” John claims that his team found evidence of actual electronic voice phenome-na, as well as infrared video recordings on the Constitu-tion. I scoffed, then looked quickly over my head for any signs of something un-usual. I noticed that John’s smile changed and now looked like a smirk, or was it that his body was being taken over by a supernatural being? He invited me to see and hear the evidence from the Constitution. After hearing a young boy’s voice talk about a bear and seeing a floating light on the haunted USS Constitution, I realized that the time was right to wrap up this interview. After all, there are limits to what I will do to get a story. As I departed, I asked John if apparitions can follow people or can go from house to house. He said that if you tell them not to follow you, they won’t. I didn’t feel good about John’s guidance because I remember how ineffective I

was years ago telling my daughters not to do something. So, why would a ghost, hopefully not a relative, listen to me now? Nevertheless, all the way back to my office I kept repeating, “Don’t follow me, don’t follow me, don’t ...”

John Kenna setting up one of the S.P.I.R.I.T.S. team’s Infrared digital camcorders on a tripod in the attic of the Mattapoisett Library, Mass., for a paranormal investigation there. Although Kenna is currently working on a book that may be published in 2017, he says that he has already written the first in a series of comic books about his paranormal team’s investigations.

Photos provided by John Kenna

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LEAN Corner...Bad News is Good News???

No one likes to get bad news. Unless you are implementing Lean manufacturing, that is. The whole idea of Lean is to eliminate waste. Lean even singles out eight specific wastes; transportation, inventory, motion, defects, over-production, waiting, over-processing and failing to see your employee’s knowl-edge as a resource to be tapped. But, in order to eliminate any of these wastes, you have to be able to SEE the waste in the first place. It’s harder than you think to SEE waste. We are so used to having waste all around us that we fail to see it. Every time we move a part from building to building, order extra (just in case), go looking for something, fix some-thing we have already done, make a few extra (just in case), make the next person wait for something, put that extra special unnecessary touch on something or file away that good idea without acting on it we are adding waste to the process. And we don’t give it a second thought because we are used to it and accept it as part of our normal day...everybody does. We don’t SEE the waste. So, of course, we never do much to eliminate the waste. For example, there usually are very real causes why we did not ship a part on time. Those causes are bad news. But to Lean they are good news. Because those causes are usually some form of waste. And (surprise!) you have just SEEN the waste you couldn’t SEE before. And when you SEE the waste you can eliminate the waste and make sure it never happens again. Bad news becomes good news because you now have been shown a flaw in your process. And now that you SEE the flaw you can fix it. So, go look for the next bit of bad news and smile when you SEE it because you know it’s actually good news.

By Mark Ripley

Arsenal’s Red Lights

Have you ever wondered why some buildings have red lights in the hallways, such as the one outside of the public affairs office? The answer may have been found. During World War II, master light switch-es were made ready so that all lights could be turned out immediately if a “Red Signal” had been activated. The Red Signal meant that enemy bombers were approaching. Do you have a better thought? And, be nice.

Arsenal History

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