Official newsletter of the U.S. Army Watervliet Arsenal. A gathering of key stories and photos that capture some of the action at the U.S. Army's manufacturing center at Watervliet, N.Y. This is a low resolution edition and so, if you wish to have a higher resolution copy, please send a note to: usarmy.watervliet.tacom.list.wvapublicaffairs@mail.mil The Watervliet Arsenal (pronounced water-vleet) is an Army-owned and -operated manufacturing facility located in Watervliet, New York. The Arsenal is the oldest, continuously active arsenal in the United States having begun operations during the War of 1812.

1. OrganizationDay
OrganizationDay
returnstoarsenal
returnstoarsenal
Team plans day of family fun
Team plans day of family fun
Page 3
Page 3
Best continuous improvement
Best continuous improvement
event of FY21
event of FY21
Page 4
Page 4
U.S. Army Watervliet Arsenal – Since 1813
U.S. Army Watervliet Arsenal – Since 1813 May 2022
May 2022
Employee spotlight:
Employee spotlight:
Lisa Sheldon
Lisa Sheldon
Page 6
Page 6

2. Page 2 The Salvo
Commander’s Corner
Col. Earl B. Schonberg Jr.
This issue of the Salvo features some of the latest
developments and going ons at Watervliet Arsenal and
I am proud to share them with you.
We are proud to bring back Organization Day to the
arsenal. This is going to be a great day of family fun and
activities and I look forward to seeing you all there with
your families. Best of all, there is no admission fee and
food will be provided. So come on out and enjoy a day
of fun!
Arsenal Apprentice Lisa Sheldon is featured in this
month’s employee spotlight. Sheldon is continuing a
proud tradition of women’s important role in the arse-
nal’s history.
A strong team requires strong leadership. Our Work-
force Development team has launched a new leader-
ship development program that will teach leaders at all
levels the fundamental skills to be great leaders. I highly
encourage all leaders and aspiring leaders to reach out
to the team and continue building your skills.
Lastly, as this is likely my last Salvo with you as your
Commander, I want to take a moment to thank all of
you for your hard work and dedication during my com-
mand here. Prior to taking command I had heard great
things about this team here and I am proud of my time
as a member of Team Watervliet. I know you will contin-
ue to accomplish great things in the future and know
that I will always be on the sidelines rooting for you.
Army Strong!
Col. Earl B. Schonberg Jr.
61st Commander, Watervliet Arsenal
Greetings Team Watervliet! There are a lot of good
things happening at our arsenal and there is still more com-
ing. I am proud beyond words for the work you do here to
help support the defense of our great nation.
Commander: Col. Earl B. Schonberg Jr.
Public Affairs Officer: Matthew I. Day
Photography: Tanya Bissaillon, Matthew I. Day
www.wva.army.mil
www.facebook.com/WatervlietArsenal
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 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
12180, or stop by office #102, Bldg. 10, Watervliet Arsenal. The editor
may also be reached at (518) 266.5055 or by email: matthew.i.day.
civ@mail.mil. The editor reserves the right to edit all information
submitted for publication.
U.S. Army Watervliet Arsenal – Since 1813

3. Page 3
May 2022
Story by: Matthew Day
“We are happy to open this year’s org day up to all
of our tenants, government and commercial.”Suzanne
Oliver, WVA tenant management representative and
organizational day co-chair, said.“It will be nice to have
everyone together after the past two years.”
Oliver and co-chair Forge Supervisor Kevin Burchett,
have worked with representatives across the arsenal over
the past several months to plan this year’s event.
“We are all a family here and it is nice to come in out-
side of work to interact with the people that you don’t
always have the opportunity to do so during the week,”
Burchett said.“There is going to be something for all
ages, from toddlers to adults.”
Employees will be able to take a swing at soaking Com-
mander Col. Earl Schonberg and arsenal leadership at
the dunking booth. Additional activities this year include
Zorbs, a cornhole tournament, face painting, magic show,
photo booths, bounce house, live music, food and much
more.
“This is a chance to show your family where you work
and meet your team mates and leadership,”Burchett said.
“We are so happy to bring back this day of fun.”
The Civilian Welfare Fund is sponsoring this year’s
Organization Day with no admission fee for all Watervliet
Arsenal personnel and families.
OrganizationDayreturnstoarsenal
OrganizationDayreturnstoarsenal
Team plans day of family fun
Team plans day of family fun
Organization Day is returning to Watervliet Arsenal after a two-year break due to COVID restric-
tions with a day of fun planned for all ages here June 11.
Watervliet Arsenal
O
Or
rg
ga
an
ni
iz
za
at
ti
io
on
n D
Da
ay
y!
!!
!
A Day Full of Entertainment, Family
Fun, Games, Music, Food and More!
SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2022
11:30 AM – 3:30 PM
FREE burgers
hot dogs, drinks
and ice cream
FREE ACTIVITIES
Sumo Suits
Zorbs
Magicians
Clowns
Balloon Artist
Gaming Truck
Benet Lab Tours
Bounce Houses
Photo Booths
Police vehicles and Dogs
Dunk Tank
Stilt Walkers
Reptiles
Cornhole Tournament
Mad Scientist
Face Painting
AND MORE!!!
Black t-shirts will be on
sale for $10 (cash only)
the day of the event
Have your picture taken
with Spider-man and other
characters!!!
served from 11:30 AM-1:00 PM
The 2022 Watervliet Arsenal Organization Day flyer.

4. Page 4 The Salvo
It’s nice to get an easy tasker – I already had a list all
set. In addition, I was asked to pick a few of the projects
that deserved special mention. So I looked at the event
names and description... but what I really looked at was
the ROI – Return on Investment.
Most people would say ROI is a pretty good indicator
of the value of a Continuous Improvement event (me in-
cluded) – big ROI, big success, right? So I listed“Manage
WVA Authorized Stocking List”, a great project that con-
tinues to pay off ($2,368,639). And the event“Streamline
Leave Request and Approval Process (ATAAPS)”, everyone
requesting time off benefits from these improvements
($1,426,043). I looked at“Improve the Process of Ana-
lyzing and Adjusting Reorder Points”, which helps pre-
vent us from running out of production materials and
supplies ($638,473). Or even the“Create a WVA Direct
Hire Authority (DHA) Recruitment Process”event that
streamlined our hiring process just when we needed it
($509,457). There were plenty of ROI-generating events
to choose from in FY21.
By then I was near the bottom of my list with a se-
ries of events with ROI listed as $0.00. To be fair to the
teams performing these events, there were plenty of
benefits. But TACOM now has to validate our ROI gener-
ating events, on top of our usual RM approval from our
accountants. RM can understand the benefits and can
help us put a value on them. But the strict, narrow re-
quirements of the TACOM reporting process do not allow
anything but the most obvious ROI validation.
So, down near the bottom, with a sad ROI total of
$0.00 was“Improve M776 Machining Flow”. It must not
be important, right? But the more I thought about this
event, the more I realized how important it was – and
continues to be.
Implementing“flow”is one of the five basic tenets of
Lean. But it has historically been difficult to convince
WVA to make the effort required. Improved flow is hard
to put a dollar value on so it won’t generate ROI. Our
processes and Customers are used to long material lead
times – what good is it to reduce our manufacturing time
from 4 months to 2 months when it takes a year and a
half to get the material in? (Do I hear, “Because that’s the
way we’ve always done it”? Ouch!)
But the team working on“Improve M776 Machining
Flow”took a new attitude. Scott Huber, Ryan Scrum and
their team had already done good work implementing
flow on the M256 line but with the help of Lean Facilita-
tor Jazmin Kukla and our Simpler Contractor, Joe White,
the team hit a home run. Flow time, from the first opera-
tion to the last, was reduced by nearly half!
The official ROI was $0.00. But now look what has
happened – we have implemented flow on other prod-
uct lines and upstream in B135. ODP and XOI figured out
a way to measure flow time from LMP data and now it is
one of our key shop floor metrics.
The other day, I was asked to provide a list of our FY21 Lean Six Sigma/Continuous Improve-
ment projects.
Story by: Mark Ripley
BestcontinuousimprovementeventofFY21
BestcontinuousimprovementeventofFY21
Continuous Improvement Office
Continuous Improvement Office

5. Page 5
May 2022
Reducing flow time pays off in many ways; less han-
dling, counting and stacking, reduced damage, less
obsolescence, discovering issues early, fewer pieces
in process – not to mention improved delivery perfor-
mance. Plus it means you are making it right the first
time almost every time. There are frequent challenges
to making things flow and sometimes we take a few
steps backward. But the new attitude that promotes
flow will pay off in many uncountable ways in the future.
“Improve M776 Machining Flow”was one of the most
important events of FY21.
Leadership Development
Workforce Development
When an employee enters a career as a supervisor for
the first time, they may not have all the skills needed to
be a successful leader. This program aims to arm them
with those skills and improve the overall organization at
Watervliet Arsenal.
“Most of the classes offered in this program are de-
signed for new or aspiring leaders,”Chelsea Matthews,
Watervliet Workforce Development specialist, said.“The
courses teach the skills needed to transition from em-
ployee to supervisor.
While designed for employees transitioning to leader-
ship roles, current supervisors according to Matthews.
“Even if someone has been a supervisor for 10 years,
they can still benefit from this program.”Matthews said.
“These courses teach modern concepts of leadership and
what’s expected in today’s workplace.”
Employees will receive email notifications with the
course codes in TED where employees can sign-up for
the classes. The training consists of 26 classes broken up
into three levels, with 12 in level one.
“Every supervisor and leads will have to complete the
level one courses before moving on to level two and
three,”Matthews said.“The focus this year is to get as
many leaders through level one as possible.”
If employees are interested in the leadership develop-
ment training program or other training opportunities,
they should contact the WVA Workforce Development
Office at 518-266-5376.
Story by: Matthew Day
Watervliet Arsenal launched its leadership development training program last fall to provide
soft skill leadership training to all supervisors and leaders here.

6. Page 6 The Salvo
Women have played an important role in Watervliet Arsenal’s past – carrying on that tradi-
tion is Apprentice Lisa Sheldon who will graduate from the Arsenal Apprenticeship program
later this year.
Story by: Matthew Day
EmployeeSpotlight:LisaSheldon
EmployeeSpotlight:LisaSheldon
Arsenal apprentice continues history of female machinists
Arsenal apprentice continues history of female machinists
Sheldon joins just a handful
of women to graduate from the
apprentice program since it restart-
ed in 2003 becoming the fourth
woman to do so.
Sheldon has already established
a reputation for being a skilled
machinist and dedicated worker,
earning the respect of her peers.
According to Machinist Apprentice
Supervisor Tom Mulheren, Sheldon
has demonstrated a strong willing-
ness to learn her job and help out
wherever needed.
Like all apprentices, over the
past four years Sheldon has learned
the skills and duties of a machinist
but also spent time working with
the folks in safety, IT and quality
control. She is currently performing
duties in minors manufacturing and
quality control.
Historically, apprentices have
been critical to skills development
and retention at the arsenal.
“It is good being an apprentice,
we get to see all manufacturing
departments and we can be moved
around if help is needed in another
area,”Sheldon said.“I get to move
around and see everything the ar-
senal does here, not just one thing.”
Sheldon was born into the
military, quite literally at Pease Air
Force Base in Portsmouth, New
Hampshire. Growing up, she moved
around a lot as her father was
served in various duty stations but
eventually stayed in Rotterdam to
live with her grandparents after her
father was assigned to Korea. Prior
to coming to the arsenal, Sheldon
worked a variety of jobs from being
a commercial brick designer to
seamstress for Taylor Made but,
according to Sheldon, working for
the arsenal has given her the most
job satisfaction.
Fourth year Watervliet Arsenal Apprentice Lisa Sheldon operates a grinding machine in the process of
making split rings for use on cannon assemblies March 8, 2022.

7. Page 7
May 2022
WVA ASAP services
now available
Watervliet Arsenal’s Army Substance Abuse
Program, better known as ASAP, provides
several drug and alcohol related services to DA
Civilians, Family Members, civilians of tenant
units and their Families.
ASAP services are free and include, alcohol and
drug prevention training, creating a prevention
and education plan, short-term counseling,
as well as referrals to military and community
treatment and rehabilitation facilities.
If an employee or Family Member should need
any ASAP related services, please reach out
to the Erica Clark via phone at ext. 4553 or by
email, erica.m.clark.civ@army.mil to schedule
an appointment. Phone calls and emails are
answered the same day or within the next
business day.
“I enjoy the fact that I get to come to work every day
and do something meaningful,”Sheldon said.“I get to
make weapon systems that keep our nation and the
men and women of our military safe.”
Sheldon was recognized as the most improved
student in the Hudson Valley Community College
advanced manufacturing technology program during a
ceremony held at the college May 12.
Fourth year Watervliet Arsenal Apprentice Lisa Sheldon prepares split rings
for a grinding process.
Arsenal Strength
defends title
Arsenal Strength successfully defended the raw
bench press title at the 2022 Monster Bench compe-
tition held April 30 at Brewery Ommegang in Cooper-
stown, NY. The team previously won the 2019 title,
this is the first year the competition returned since
the COVID pandemic making Arsenal Strength back-
to-back champions. All members of Arsenal Strength
placed either first or second place in their respective
weight classes. Arsenal Strength is made up of Benet,
Watervliet Arsenal and tenant employees Mike Knapp,
Ryan Meewarth, Jordan Selin, Lucas Smith, Greg Vigilan-
te and Joe Urban. Anyone interested in joining Arsenal
Strength should contact any of the team members for
more information - training has already begun for next
year’s competition.

8. PETS AND ANIMALS IN
EMERGENCY PLANNING
When preparing for an emergency, be sure to include arrangements
for your pets. Your emergency supply kit should contain provisions
including food and water for your pets. Know in advance how you
will handle your pets if you need to evacuate. If you must leave them
behind, make sure they have access to food, water and shelter.
Preparing to Take Your Pets
When an emergency occurs, pets may become frightened. Allow
extra time to secure your pet.
 Make a plan for your pet.
 Talk with your vet about any special considerations.
 Ask a neighbor to evacuate or care for your pet in case you are separated.
 Locate pet-friendly hotels or shelters in advance for use in an emergency.
 Make a pet emergency supply kit. Include food, water, medications, leash, carrier, toy
and veterinary and insurance documents. Include a photograph of your pet in case
you are separated.
 Make sure your pets’ identification tags are up to date and secured on their collars.
Consider microchipping your pets. If you have advance warning of an emergency,
add a tag with your evacuation information.
What to Do With Your Pets During an Emergency
 Bring pets inside immediately and place them in a contained room. Many times pets
run away or hide when they sense danger. Never leave them tied up outside, and
remember that pets may experience behavioral changes due to stress.
 If you are told to evacuate and you can bring your pets:
○ Take enough supplies and food for at least three days and a small toy for your pet.
○ Make sure the carrier is secure and tagged with your pet’s name,
description and contact details.
○ Be responsible for your pets by cleaning up after them and making
sure they are not causing problems.
○ Many shelters do not allow pets. You may have to board your pets or
place them in a shelter prepared for evacuated pets.
 If you are told to evacuate and are ordered not to bring your pets:
○ Bring your pets inside. Never leave your pets outside during an emergency.
○ Leave plenty of food and water.
○ Take the toilet seat off and brace the bathroom door open so they can drink.
○ Place a notice on your door that your pets are inside. List the type and
number of animals on your property, your name, phone number and
the name and phone number of your veterinarian.
○ Make arrangements for someone to visit your pet until you can return.