Newsletter from the Army's Oldest Operating Arsenal - November 2017

Story on Page 3Story on Page 3
SALVOU.S. Army Watervliet Arsenal - Since 1813
November 2017
Local college helps show
Arsenal the future

Salvo November 30, 2017
The Arsenal Salvo is an authorized monthly publication for members
of the Department of Defense. Contents of the Salvo are not necessar-
ily the official views of, or an endorsement 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 pub-
lication.
Commander, Col. Joseph R. Morrow
Public Affairs Officer, John B. Snyder
Editor, John B. Snyder
Photographer: John B. Snyder
Arsenal Facebook Page @
https://www.facebook.com/WatervlietArsenal?ref=hl
Cover Photo by John B. Snyder
Colonel Joseph R. Morrow
Commander’s Corner
First, on behalf of every worker here, I offer Fred
Campbell’s family and friends the command’s sin-
cere condolences. Fred passed away on November
13th
. He was a Machine Tool Inspector Supervi-
sor who had worked here about 11 years, as well as
served in the Air Force for approximately 22 years.
Although I am well beyond the mid-point of my
command, I am not yet ready to start reflecting on
my tenure here. After all, there is too much left for
us to do over the next eight months of my command
to now start reminiscing about the good old times.
But having said that, it would be difficult for me
not to have a sense of reflection and appreciation for
all that we have accomplished as a team. Our telling
the public that we achieved nearly $126 million in
revenue last fiscal year does not tell the whole story
about how hard we worked to support our Soldiers’
and our allies’ readiness.
To support each sale, there are often hundreds of
communication and coordination activities made,
and that does not even count all the machining and
quality control actions performed on each part. From
business development to procurement to production
planning and control to assembler to even our ap-
prentices, every employee here has a critical part to
providing the tools that have made and will make our
troops more lethal and more survivable on the battle-
field.
At the end of the day, what we send to our troops
will truly enhance their ability to return safely home
from battle. I don’t know how to measure the impact
of what we do other than to ask you to watch just one
Soldier’s homecoming in the news and you will soon
see that our impact is significant.
As we are now in the midst of our holiday season,
it will be easy for us to focus our attention and our
thoughts on family and friends. And, rightfully so.
What I do ask of you, however, is to keep in your
hearts and minds that while you are enjoying the
holiday season there are deployed troops who will
not spend this holiday season with their families.
And so, we owe it to those troops to make our deliv-
ery schedules so that they, too, will someday be back
home.
The holiday season is also filled with unsafe ac-
tivities, from working on ladders to hang lights in
30 mph winds to overloading electrical connections
to drinking and driving. So, please take a moment
to think through your holiday activities before you
become a statistic. After all, you are too valuable to
your family and to the Arsenal to lose.
Take great care and have a safe and joyous holi-
day season!

Story continues on page 4, “Readiness”
By John B. Snyder
Arsenal commander
goes back
to school to build
readiness
Hudson Valley Community College Professor David Larkin, left, showing Arsenal Commander Col. Joseph Morrow the layout of the new Ad-
vance Manufacturing Skills center that the college will open in 2019.
Photo by John B. Snyder
The Arsenal has a significant challenge, but it is a
good challenge to have ̶ How to double its manufac-
turing capacity in the next four years to better support
increased Soldier readiness needs?
Although the recent announcement that the U.S.
Army will invest more than $40 million in new equip-
ment at the Arsenal is a good start, equipment is only
part of the overall strategy the Arsenal must now ex-
ecute to improve its manufacturing readiness.
After several years of inconsistent defense budgets
that negatively impacted the number of contracts di-
rected here, recent contract numbers are hitting multi-
ple year highs, and more multimillion-dollar contracts
are in reach, said Commander Col. Joseph Morrow.
“With a need to double our manufacturing capabil-
ity in the next four years to meet rising Soldier readi-
ness requirements, simply adding new machines is
not enough,” Morrow said. “We also need to increase
our workforce size, but do so with skilled, capable
people.”
Given the immediate need to increase manufactur-
ing capacity, which is the number and or volume of
products that can be produced in a defined time frame,
Morrow has challenged his subordinate leaders to
break the paradigm of new employee development.
“We no longer have the luxury of time to welcome
and train new employees before they become a viable
and productive part of our workforce,” Morrow said.
“We need to work hard the on-boarding process so that
new employees are fast tracked into our manufactur-
ing center. They (new employees) must be productive
on their first day of work.”

Readiness Cont.
Earlier this year, Arsenal appren-
tice Jeff Empie, right, explained
to instructors from the Hudson
Valley Community College's Ad-
vance Manufacturing the operation
he was performing on a howitzer
tube. As a requirement of Empie's
apprentice training, he attends
Hudson Valley Community Col-
lege for four years, while attaining
8,000 hours of hands-on training at
the Arsenal.
In order to break the paradigm, however, Mor-
row said he understands the importance of recruiting
high quality job applicants as step one. The problem,
however, is that there is a national shortage of em-
ployees who will or want to become machine tool
operators and machinists.
To address this shortage, Morrow traveled re-
cently to Hudson Valley Community College where
he met with college President Andrew Matonak and
Manufacturing Technical Systems Professor David
Larkin. The College has for decades worked with the
Arsenal in the development of machinist apprentices
who after four years of education and 8,000 hours of
hands-on training become Department of Labor certi-
fied machinists.
Although Matonak and Larkin were sympathetic
to Morrow’s dilemma, they had little to offer in the
near term.
“The challenge is that you need our graduates
now, but until our Advance Manufacturing Skills
center opens in 2019, there is little the college can do
to increase your numbers here,” Matonak said. “But
we are sympathetic to the Arsenal’s needs, as well as
to its mission, and will work with the Arsenal to offer
alternatives to better support you.”
Larkin said the college is flexible, if the Arsenal
would be flexible, too.
“Because of the high degree of technical learning
required to become a skilled machinist or machine
tool operator, you can’t take this course online,” Lar-
kin said. “But what you (the Arsenal) can do is to
be creative in how you send your employees here for
education.”
The Arsenal’s apprentices currently work full time
during the day and then attend night school a couple
of days a week. Larkin suggested that having stu-
dents work Friday through Sunday and then attend
school on their off days or to have students attend
school during the day and work at night might open
up a few more opportunities.
But even with a modified work schedule, the Arse-
nal will be competing for student seats against other
local manufactures who also have a great demand for
the college’s graduates.
"Last year, every advanced manufacturing tech-
nology student had a job when they graduated,” Lar-
kin said. “There is a shortage of skilled machinists
throughout our country and it will only get worse.
We believe that when we open the Advanced Manu-
facturing Skills center in 2019 that some of the ma-
chinist shortages will be met, but not all.”
The Arsenal currently has three apprentice classes
in session with the next class graduating in 2019.
The maximum number of students the college’s night
school can handle for the Arsenal is 14, which has
been maxed out through the years.
As Morrow left the college, he turned to his chief
of manufacturing, John Zayhowski, and apprentice
program supervisor, Robert Day, and challenged
them to draft initiatives and to do it now. After all,
given the significant amount of workload that is al-
ready on the books, the Arsenal cannot wait until
2019 to solve this challenge.
Which is a good challenge to have.

British force War Department
to establish arsenal in New York
Page 5 Salvo November 30, 2017
Story continues on page 6, “News”
Arsenal at Gibbonsville
Since U.S. President James Madison declared war on the British in July 1812, the U.S. Army has suffered many defeats due in large part to
an under strength and under supplied force. To better provide sustainment to its Soldiers and militia, the War Department has selected three
locations as forward deployed logistical hubs, one of which will be at Gibbonsville, N.Y.
Gibbonsville, N.Y. (July 14, 1813) -- The U.S. War
Department announced today the purchase of 12 acres
of land in the Village of Gibbonsville, N.Y., for the
purpose of establishing an arsenal that will provide ord-
nance supplies and munitions to soldiers in the northern
and western frontiers.
When the U.S. Congress voted for war to redress the
wrongs of England in June 1812, the U.S. Army was
virtually nonexistent, said Col. Decius Wadsworth, Col-
onel of the Ordnance. Since that time, the War Depart-
ment established the Ordnance Department with the first
order of business being to form forward-base ordnance
stores from which Army units may draw from.
Wadsworth, who once served as the superintendent
of the military academy at West Point, said that he spent
nearly a year traveling throughout upstate New York
and Vermont for the right place. Weary of his travels,
and the embolden presence of the British in Canada and
the Great Lakes, now was the right time to decide on a
strategic forward-base location from which to supply
the troops.
“What a great location for the arsenal at Gibbons-
ville,” said Wadsworth. “If the British attack at Lake
Champlain, we can quickly resupply using the Hudson

U.S. forces capture Fort George on
May 27, 1813, after suffering 41
killed in action and 113 wounded.
Fort George is the western most of
the British fortified posts on Lake
Ontario situated on the western
bank of the Niagara River near
its mouth. The British suffered 52
killed, 44 wounded and 262 missing.
News Cont.
River and Lake George. If the British attack from Lake
Ontario, supplies could be quickly shipped along the
Mohawk River. And, if New York City came under at-
tack, we can provide quick shipment to the south. This
is the perfect site.”
James Gibbons said he was pleased to sell 12 acres
of his farmland to support the war effort.
“My wife, Esther, and I bought a large parcel of land
in this area in 1805 and never thought that it would be
of such value to our country,” Gibbons said. “Although
12 acres is not much to me, it will become such an im-
portant part of the war effort in the western and northern
frontiers.”
Wadsworth explained that he will establish three
main establishments from which to support the war ef-
fort. The principal foundry will be at Georgetown, near
Washington, for casting cannon, mortars, and howit-
zers. Pittsburgh arsenal has been selected to construct
gun carriages. And the Gibbonsville arsenal will be the
principle establishment for making fixed ammunition
and all the small articles of equipment.
Other key considerations made by Wadsworth in
selecting the small site on the Hudson River is due to
its close proximity to Troy, N.Y. The citizens of Troy
have long held that their community is the birthplace of
the American Industrial Revolution due in large part to
the significant number of manufactures in the local area.
The Arsenal will have a high and immediate demand to
hire skilled laborers to not only build the arsenal, but
also to man production areas.
Additionally, the Army’s main provider of food ra-
tions in the New England area of operations is Samuel
Wilson, who has his business located in Troy. Wilson
said that he will keep the Arsenal well supplied.
Although the commanding officer of the Arsenal is
Maj. James Dalliba, Capt. Thomas Campbell will be in
temporary command of the Arsenal as Dalliba is cur-
rently stationed at an Army depot in Buffalo.
“My first order of business is to hire carpenters,
bricklayers, and masons to begin construction of 10
buildings in the next month or so,” Campbell said.
“Once the buildings are in place, I will hire laborers at
a great rate of $9 a month. Due to a shortage of male
labor, Children, 12 and older, as well as women may
apply.”
Campbell added that this Arsenal is only temporary
and will probably close once the British threat has been
removed.
It is not known if the U.S. War Depart-
ment had sent out a news release in
1813 about this arsenal. But if it did,
this is what it may have looked liked.
John B. Snyder
By Benson Lossing - The Pictorial Field
Book of the War of 1812, Public Domain.

Sometimes working here is not fair
By John B. Snyder
Oh, Jodi Sellie is such a tricky trickster.
As some here may recall from last year about this
time, Jodi invited me to attend a fair that would be con-
ducted on the Arsenal. And so, I saved up my dollars
for several months to play carnival games and to buy
fried dough. It turned out that the fair dealt with health
benefits for the workforce and their family members.
There was no petting zoo for me to visit between arcade
games, let alone fried dough.
Jodi is a Human Resources Specialist in the Arse-
nal’s Civilian Personnel Advisory Center who is a very
nice person with a warm smile. But having said that,
when she invited me to this year’s health benefits fair, I
was ready.
As I walked up to the fair location, a couple of ladies
from the command group were walking out holding
large bags and protecting them as if they had just come
from a Black Friday sale. I asked them if I could have a
look at what was in their bags. Immediately, both ladies
moved the bags to their hip furthest from me and told
me that if I wanted to know what they had that I had to
visit the fair, and to be swift because the freebees were
going quick.
Freebees??? My favorite word. My step quicken
and I busted in through the doorway to the fair site only
to be met by ̶ you guessed it ̶ tricky trickster Jodi.
Story continues on page 8, “Fair”
Even Arsenal retirees attended the Health Benefits Fair on November 15. Former safety officer Richard Clickner, left, with Human Resources
Specialist Jodi Sellie at the fair. The annual Benefits Open Season began Monday, 13 November and runs through midnight on Monday, 11
December 2017. This is the time of the year to make changes about health, dental, and vision needs.

As what seemed like hundreds of Arsenal employees,
family members, and retirees stuffing shopping bags full
of free stuff, Jodi felt compelled to hold me back to ex-
plain to me about the fair, the Arsenal's history, and War
and Peace.
As I stood next to Jodi, more folks pushed passed me
cleaning off vendor tables as quickly as the tables could
be replenished. Jodi explained that fair is important be-
cause there have been changes to the prices for health,
dental, and vision
plans and getting
that information out
to the employees is
critical so they can
make an informed
decision to either
stay with their cur-
rent plan or change
to another plan. I
nodded, but became
more nervous as the
fair site was filling
up.
She continued
to tell me that she
and a new Human
Resource Assistant
by the name of Joelle
Zwack had worked
since September coordinating and planning for this event
that she hoped to have about 300 attend. So noted, I
thought, as I started shuffling toward the freebees.
When Jodi got to the part that if someone is happy
with their current plan, then there is nothing that they
need to do. That is when I made my break.
I told her that I am good because I don’t plan on
changing anything and moved toward the door as if I
was leaving. She smiled and said goodbye and then I
waited just outside the door until she latched onto an-
other employee. Poor soul. I then made my move to the
tables.
En route to the tables, Machinist John Maroney
stopped me to show me the goodies that he was able to
snatch. He said that while he was stuffing his shopping
bag at the various tables that he was able to get informa-
tion on how much his health insurance was going up.
Which he said was his original intent on attending the
fair. Yeah, right.
I quickly moved past John only to be corralled by
Financial Program Coordinator Dave Madsen. While
Dave was struggling to hold onto his year’s supply of
toothbrushes, he explained to me that because his health
insurance company does not provide vision or dental
coverage, he was comparing various company plans to
get the best coverage for the price.
I don’t know if Dave was talking about me when he
said, “This is a strange benefit fair this year. It used to
be that people just came here for the free stuff, but today
it seems as if people
are actually asking
questions.”
If only Dave
knew what my goal
was for the day. It
had not changed
from last year.
I finally made it
to my first table as
Manufacturing Sup-
port Division Chief
Tim Allard grabbed
the last toothbrush.
I waited patiently
for Von Ahouse,
from Delta Dental,
to reload the table.
Instead, Von spent
the next 10 minutes
talking to me about the enhanced benefits his company is
offering this year.
By the time I got done with John, Dave, and Von, the
tables had been cleared of anything of value. Not even
a shopping bag was left. Well, there went my wife’s
Christmas present.
As I was walking out the door with no freebees, Jodi
stopped me again. I explained to her that I was disap-
pointed in this year’s fair because I was leaving with
nothing other than flyers and brochures.
Jodi said she didn’t understand my dissatisfaction be-
cause it appeared to her that I had a successful morning.
Huh? She went on to say that the goal of the day was
to ensure that people left with the information that they
needed to make smart decisions about their health care.
Obviously, Jodi and I have a different measurement of
success.
Fair Cont.
Arsenal Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Specialist Sheryl Melican, right, and Arsenal
Manufacturing Support Division Chief Tim Allard, standing left, getting critical infor-
mation during the Arsenal's Health Benefits Fair on November 15.

Most don't like to talk about it,
but some thrive in it ... snowBy John B. Snyder
Story continues on page 10, “Snow”
While the Arsenal’s machinists have recently been
working overtime to make tough production schedules,
another team here has been quietly working behind the
scenes to ensure that adverse weather will not slow the
machinists’ efforts.
“We are ready for the winter,” said Marc Kouff-
man, the Arsenal’s Public Works Operations Supervisor.
“Over the last several weeks, we have put together a
great team who will keep the Arsenal’s parking lots and
roads clear this winter.”
It has been about six years since the last article about
the Arsenal’s snow team was written, and through the
years, much has changed.
In 2011, then Arsenal Public Works Supervisor Thom-
as Herold said that he had 20 snow team volunteers and
that they came in only after being called. Today, Kouff-
man has 28 volunteers, or about 40 percent more people
than Herold, who will be told before they go home if
they need to come in the next morning.
“This is my third year with the snow team and I have
learned that if people know the day before that they need
to come in early that they will be better rested,” Kouff-
man said. “I and others on the snow team used to lay in
bed waiting for a call that may or may not come.”
But even with prior planning, Kouffman said some-
times the weather changes in a matter of hours. What he
From left: Public Works Operations Supervisor and Snow Team Leader Marc Kouffman, and snow team members Edward Klementowski and
Jacob Gilchrist standing by one of the newest snow plow blades that can be switched out with the traditional scoop in less than five minutes.

As with most operations here,
it takes a team to maintain
the Arsenal. The motor pool
crew directly supports the
snow team by ensuring the
snow removal equipment is
operational.
may have thought the day before was a good plan,
sometimes became overcome by events. Never-
theless, about 95 percent of the snow team’s ef-
forts last year were prior planned.
According to Kouffman’s 16-page snow plan,
his team will go into action when two inches of
snow accumulates on surfaces, or when ice pres-
ents a hazardous condition. Kouffman said this
includes weekends and holidays.
But with 143 acres of land and 2.1 million feet
of office and manufacturing space, Kouffman’s
snow team can’t do it all.
“Building occupants must clear snow and ice
from building entrances and calcium chloride
is provided at every entrance,” Kouffman said.
“Additionally, those who live in
post housing are responsible for
removing snow and ice from their
resident’s steps and sidewalks.”
On a cold mid-November morn-
ing when snow flurries were drift-
ing along the roads, two of Kouff-
man’s snow team, Edward Klemen-
towski and Jacob Gilchrist, were
preparing equipment just in case a
snow storm hit during the Thanks-
giving week.
“This is my third year on the
snow team and you can never be too
ready,” Klementowski said. “Be-
cause I live about one hour away, it
is very important that I make sure
my equipment is ready to go prior to
the snow falling.”
Gilchrist said this will be his
second year on the snow team and
because he is one of the few em-
ployees who have a CDL license, he
will work with Klementowski driv-
ing the heavy snow plow trucks.
“I enjoy driving the plow trucks
and with the new plows purchased
for this winter, my job will get a lot
easier,” Gilchrist said. “But as good
as my equipment is, we were very
successful last year because we had
a good team.”
Both Gilchrist and Klementowski said that one of the
main challenges to being on the snow team is that there is no
such thing as a standard day. Dur-
ing a heavy snow storm last year,
Klementowski spent the night not
wanting to fight traffic getting home
only to turnaround a few hours later
and drive on snow and ice back to
having to clear roads at the Arsenal.
Kouffman said that in actuality,
his snow team includes every Arse-
nal employee and resident.
“There is nothing that makes
our job easy, but it is certainly
more manageable if everyone has
patience and supports our clear-
ing efforts,” Kouffman said. “Our
biggest safety issues every season
are when vehicles that remain over-
night are not parked in a designated
long-term parking areas, and when
people do not take the extra time to
clear snow and ice off of their ve-
hicles."
When asked if this winter is
shaping up to be a tough season for
him and his team, Kouffman said
that he has planned for the worst
case by already having 100 tons of
salt on hand and another 200 tons
on order.
There are many here who hope
he doesn’t use one ton.
Page 10 Salvo November 30, 2017
Snow Cont.
The Arsenal snow team clearing a road during a March 2017 snow storm.
Most roads and sidewalks are cleared before the
workforce arrives for work. In this 2015 snow
storm, about two feet of snow fell in about 12
hours.

Lean Corner by Joshua O'Leary
Cost of Quality
Quality management accounts for the plans, processes, tools, techniques and activities that de-
termine the quality policies, objectives and responsibilities undertaken in order to meet a variety of
requirements faced by a business. Modern quality management approaches seek to minimize variation
and to deliver results that meet defined requirements. Cost of quality is one of these approaches, used
to determine the extent to which business resources are employed to ensure quality.
Cost of quality includes all costs incurred over the life of the product or service by preventing
nonconformance to requirements, appraising the product or service for conformance to requirements,
and failing to meet requirements. Failure costs are categorized into internal (found by the performing
entity) and external (found by the customer). These cost categories can be further rolled up into two
primary sources of quality cost: Cost of conformance (costs incurred to avoid failure) and cost of non-
conformance (costs incurred as a result of failure). See Figure 1.
Prevention costs are the costs incurred to prevent or avoid quality problems. These costs are associ-
ated with the design, implementation, and maintenance of the quality management system. Example:
Product or service requirements, quality planning, quality assurance and training.
Appraisal costs are associated with measuring and monitoring activities related to quality. These
costs are associated with the suppliers’ and customers’ evaluation of purchased materials, processes,
products, and services to ensure that they conform to specifications.
Internal failure costs are incurred to remedy defects discovered before the product or service is de-
livered to the customer. These costs occur when the results of work fail to meet requirements and are
detected before they are transferred to the customer. Examples include: Waste (remember “DOWN-
TIME”), scrap, repair and rework.
External failure costs are incurred to remedy defects discovered by customers. These costs occur
when products or services fail to meet requirements and are not detected until after transfer to the cus-
tomer. Example: Servicing, warranty claims and complaints.
Cost of quality must be a true measure of the quality effort in order to accurately assess quality man-
agement and provide insight into problem areas, opportunities, savings and action priorities.
American Society for Quality or ASQ (http://asq.org) is a great resource for learning more about
COQ. If you’re uninterested in creating an ASQ account of your own, but would like to view more of
the resources they have available for account holders, contact me at Joshua.J.OLeary.civ@mail.mil.
Figure 1

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE
CHRISTMAS,
   HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
   IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE
MADE OF PLASTER AND STONE.
  
   I HAD COME DOWN THE
CHIMNEY
   WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
   AND TO SEE JUST WHO
   IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.
  
   I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,
   A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
   NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,
   NOT EVEN A TREE.
  
   NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,
   JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
   ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES
   OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.
  
   WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,
   AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
   A SOBER THOUGHT
   CAME THROUGH MY MIND.
  
   FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,
   IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
   I FOUND THE HOME OF A
SOLDIER,
   ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.
  
   THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,
   SILENT, ALONE,
   CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR
   IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.
  
   THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,
   THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
   NOT HOW I PICTURED
   A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.
  
   WAS THIS THE HERO
   OF WHOM I’D JUST READ?
   CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,
   THE FLOOR FOR A BED?
  
   I REALIZED THE FAMILIES
   THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
   OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE
SOLDIERS
   WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.
  
   SOON ROUND THE WORLD,
   THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
   AND GROWN UPS WOULD
CELEBRATE
   A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.
  
   THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM
   EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
   BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,
   LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.
  
   I COULDN’T HELP WONDER
   HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
   ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE
   IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.
  
   THE VERY THOUGHT
   BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
   I DROPPED TO MY KNEES
   AND STARTED TO CRY.
  
   THE SOLDIER AWAKENED
   AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
   “SANTA DON’T CRY,
   THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;
  
   I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,
   I DON’T ASK FOR MORE,
   MY LIFE IS MY GOD,
   MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS.”
  
   THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER
   AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
   I COULDN’T CONTROL IT,
   I CONTINUED TO WEEP.
  
   I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,
   SO SILENT AND STILL
   AND WE BOTH SHIVERED
   FROM THE COLD NIGHT’S
CHILL.
  
   I DIDN’T WANT TO LEAVE
   ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
   THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR
   SO WILLING TO FIGHT.
  
   THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED
OVER,
   WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
   WHISPERED, “CARRY ON SANTA,
   IT’S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS
SECURE.”
  
   ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,
   AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
   “MERRY CHRISTMAS MY
FRIEND,
   AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT.”
Anonymous
During your holidays,
please do
not forget
about our
customers

Newsletter from the Army's Oldest Operating Arsenal - November 2017

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Newsletter from the Army's Oldest Operating Arsenal - November 2017