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., for the month of October 2017. This is a low resolution edition and so, if you wish 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. It's a new day!
Army invests
millions
to improve
Arsenal Readiness
SALVOU.S. Army Watervliet Arsenal - Since 1813
October 2017
Story on Page 3Story on Page 3

2. Page 2 Salvo October 31, 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
This month, I had the pleasure to tell our story to
a significant number of people who attended the As-
sociation of the United States Army annual meeting in
Washington, D.C. As many of you know, this annual
gathering of military and civilian defense experts is
the premier event the Army association uses to show-
case current and future technologies. It is also an op-
portunity to hear from the Army’s senior leaders on
the status of where we are and where we are going.
At the meeting, Gen. Mark Milley, the U.S. Army’s
chief of staff, said that he envisions a significant in-
vestment in modernization that will bring a new gener-
ations of fighting vehicles. As he explained his vision,
Gen. Milley highlighted six modernization priorities
-- long-range precision fires; next generation combat
vehicle; future vertical lift; a mobile and expedition-
ary network; air and missile defense capabilities; and
Soldier lethality.
For those of you who are directly tied to produc-
tion, you are well aware of some of the actions here
that already support Gen. Milley’s modernization pri-
orities. Nevertheless, I thought I would take a moment
this month to highlight our work that is supporting the
Army’s efforts to enhance the lethality and readiness
of tomorrow’s Soldiers.
On the production floors today, we are working on
two systems that support the Army chief’s priorities
of long-range precision fires and the next generation
combat vehicle, as well as enhancing Soldier lethality.
The Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA) gun
system under development requires a gun tube that is
significantly longer than anything we have produced
in decades. Ramping up prototype production, with
great support from our friends at Benét Laboratories,
has been nothing short of phenomenal. If these gun
tubes perform as well as we expect, we will have been
able to directly support the development of a new
155mm howitzer system that will double the effective
range of the current gun system.
And as we reported in the August Salvo, we have
started a prototype production line for what the Army
now calls the Mobile Protected Firepower, or MPF,
gun system. A gun system, such as the MPF, has been
greatly needed by the infantry since the 1990s when
the Sheridan tank program was retired. The Sheridan
was the only rapidly deployable, air-droppable ar-
mored combat vehicle in the Army inventory.
Now that I am back from the AUSA meeting, I feel
more excited about the mission that we have and the
type of work that we do. Make no mistake, your ac-
tions, from personnel development to resource man-
agement to quality control to machining, are having a
direct impact on the sustainment of today’s Soldiers,
as well as on the readiness of tomorrow’s Soldiers.

3. Page 3 Salvo October 31, 2017
Story continues on page 4, “Readiness”
By John B. Snyder
Photo by John B. Snyder
U.S. Army to upgrade Arsenal's
readiness to better support
troop readiness
The Army is making a $41.7 million investment in
its manufacturing center here to position the Arsenal
to better support the emerging readiness needs of U.S.
and foreign militaries.
Commander Col. Joseph Morrow explained that
the Arsenal has received more than $100 million in
new orders over what it had at this same point in time
last year. And to support this dramatic rise in readi-
ness requirements, as well as the potential for tens of
thousands of more direct labor hours to support future
contracts that are currently being worked, the Army
must invest now to upgrade the Arsenal’s mature
infrastructure.
“This is not the same Arsenal that it was when I
took command in July 2016,” Morrow said. “Due to a
significant and recent rise in sustainment and modern-
ization readiness needs of our Army and of our allies,
we must nearly double our current manufacturing
capacity in the next four years.”
“When the average age of the Arsenal’s plant
equipment is more than 30 years old, which includes
nearly 650 machines and heat treatment facilities, it
is becoming more difficult every day to meet the
increased readiness needs of our troops,” said James
Kardas, an Arsenal industrial engineer who will over-
see the equipment modernization program.
Kardas explained that the last major infrastructure
This new hollow-spindle lathe was brought on line earlier this year. According to James Kardas, the Arsenal industrial engineer who will
spearhead the modernization effort for the Operations Directorate, the Arsenal will purchase up to 10 new lathes of various varieties.

4. Page 4 Salvo October 31, 2017
Readiness Cont.
In some cases, the Arsenal
must contract for significant
foundation work to support
new machines. This foun-
dation, which took many
months of effort, was put in
several years ago in Build-
ing 35.
Photo by John B. Snyder
investment here occurred in the late 1970s and
early 1980s through an approximately $300 million
Renovation of Armament Manufacturing program
called REARM. Since then, the Arsenal has pri-
marily relied on an internal Capital Investment Pro-
gram or CIP, which is funded through the Arsenal’s
sales to maintain equipment availability. But CIP,
although very successful, has had limited funding
through the years and was only set up to maintain
current capability, not to increase capability.
Recent Arsenal commanders have raised the
issue of aging plant equipment to the Army’s senior
leaders and, as a result, various Army weapon pro-
gram managers have also stepped in to augment the
Arsenal’s limited-funded CIP activity by paying for
equipment upgrades and or for new machines.
And so, the Arsenal team was well prepared for
the day when additional funding would come in by
already having an established list of priorities for
capability and capacity upgrades, Kardas said.
Simply bringing on line one machine involves
a team effort that transcends Kardas’ team, such as
representatives from the manufacturing division,
production planning and control, public works,
safety, resource management, and contracting. But
there are very few here, if any, who have a history
of working with an investment of this size.
Gerard Mangione, the Chief of Contracting at
the Arsenal, said that this investment will be the
largest that anyone on his team has seen in their
careers here. But despite the enormity of the
contracts required to support this investment, he
believes the Arsenal is well prepared to execute the
plan that Kardas and his team have developed.
“The Arsenal leadership has done a great job
ensuring that my team was involved in all plan-
ning actions that may affect Arsenal production
and or future readiness requirements,” Mangione
said. “As the likelihood for a significant amount
of funding increased, we fast tracked the procure-
ment process by issuing solicitations for contracts,
reviewing proposals and positioning for contract
awards pending the receipt of funding.”
Due in large part to having equipment and in-
frastructure priorities established, coupled with the
ability of the contracting team getting support from
its higher headquarters at Warren, Mich., the Ar-
senal shaved nearly six months off of the procure-
ment cycle, Mangione said.
Although funding has arrived, due to the com-
plexity of some of the larger machines and the
challenges of preparing foundations to support the
new machines, the final machine from this funding
may not be on line until 2020. Nevertheless, some
of the smaller, less complex machines may arrive
in 2018.

5. Arsenal receives nonstandard
contract, one that will save
Soldiers' lives
Page 5 Salvo October 31, 2017
It's Back!
Photo by John B. Snyder
Armor Kits
The Watervliet Arsenal announced this month the receipt
of a U.S. Army contract valued at approximately $3.7
million to manufacture vehicle armor plate kits that will
enhance Soldiers’ survivability on the battlefield.
The contract requires the Arsenal to manufacture armor
plate kits for the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected ve-
hicle, a vehicle that was fielded to U.S. forces about 10
years ago to counter improvised explosive devices in the
Iraq war. Production will begin in 2018 and will end in
2020.
John Zwack, the Arsenal’s project manager for this order,
said the Arsenal received the order due to the Arsenal’s
recent experience in manufacturing armor plate kits.
“Although this type of manufacturing is not a traditional
product line for us, we have done this type of work be-
fore,” Zwack said. “During the Iraq war, we produced
armor kits for 5-ton trucks and Humvee vehicles.”
Between 2004 and 2010, the Arsenal received $100 mil-
lion from the Department of Defense to produce armor
kits to safeguard troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. This
little known production line welded, fabricated, and as-
sembled tens of thousands of armor kits for U.S. troops
— kits that saved countless lives, limbs, and immeasur-
able heartbreak. When the Arsenal armor kit line closed
in 2010, the Arsenal returned nearly $20 million back to
DOD because production costs came in under budget.
Although all work is important to the Arsenal’s ability to
sustain its manufacturing readiness, this order represents
much more than money, said Scott Huber, an Arsenal
general foreman.
Story continues on page 6, “Kits”
By John B. Snyder

6. Page 6 Salvo October 31, 2017
Nearing the end of the Arsenal's armor kit production line, workers were pack-
ing up the final crates. The armor kit line, which ran from 2004 until 2010, was
so efficient that the Arsenal returned nearly $20 million back to the Army.
“This order will provide the Arsenal more than 16,000
hours of direct labor, as well as several thousand hours
of indirect labor,” Huber said. “But more importantly,
this order provides us a strong sense of pride know-
ing that the Army’s leadership has recognized that our
manufacturing readiness transcends traditional cannon
making.”
Once again, the Arsenal’s ability to quickly adapt to
Soldier readiness needs is one of the main reasons
why the Arsenal remains open today after more than
200 years of operation, Huber said. The tight machin-
ing tolerances that are required to produce the finest
tank and artillery cannons in the world have devel-
oped a workforce here
that can machine any
product from a valid
design.
As an added value of
this order, Huber said
that he plans to use
the armor kit line as a
training opportunity
for machine tool oper-
ators and apprentices.
“Because the toler-
ances are not as tight
as they are for cannon
and mortar produc-
tion, this will be good
work for machine tool
operators and apprentices to refine their skills in drill-
ing and milling,” Huber said. “Additionally, we will
introduce waterjet cutting into a production line for the
first time.”
Although the Arsenal’s main production lines deal
mainly in large caliber cannon and mortar systems, the
Arsenal’s manufacturing skills have often been lever-
aged by the Army to meet the emerging and some-
times, the urgent readiness needs of Soldiers. Because
the Army can set or change the Arsenal’s manufactur-
ing priorities at any time, speaks volumes as to why
the Army still retains control over the Watervliet Arse-
nal after more than 200 years of operation.
The Watervliet
Arsenal is an Army-
owned-and-operated
manufacturing facility
and is the oldest,
continuously active
arsenal in the United
States having begun
operations during
the War of 1812.
The Arsenal is a
subordinate command
to the U.S. Army
Tank-automotive and
Armaments Command
and the Army Materiel
Command.
Sgt. Donald Leinfelder, left,
a Wyantskill resident, told
Arsenal employees during
his visit here in 2010 that
an armor kit that they may
have assembled prevented
a rocket-propelled grenade
from slamming into him
during a 2005 firefight in
Iraq. He did sustain minor
injuries from which he fully
recovered.
Kits Cont.
Photo by John B. Snyder
Photo by John B. Snyder

7. Page 7 Salvo October 31, 2017
When staff come here from higher headquarters
there is sometimes a bit of angst by the workforce
as it is often uncomfortable for someone, especially
from higher headquarters, to query and observe Ar-
senal operations. But in the spirit of “we are here to
help,” several members from the U.S. Army Tank-au-
tomotive and Armaments Command visited here last
November and lasered in on a potential issue in such
a way that will make us see the issue better.
Let me first apologize for overusing puns to tell
this story, but it was too hard for me to resist as I was
blinded by the light of knowledge.
When TACOM safety gurus visited, they asked
how was the Arsenal preventing and responding to
potential eye injuries due to laser use. “Hmm” was
the response by Matthew Church, the Arsenal’s safety
manager.
“It was if I was hit with a blinding glimpse of the
obvious,” Church said, as he, too, got caught up in
the silliness of pun usage. “In all honesty, we were
unaware of how quickly the improper use of lasers
could cause permanent damage to an employee’s
eyes. And, if there was damage, where would we take
an injured worker for an assessment and or for treat-
ment.”
Church and his safety team then surveyed the Ar-
senal, to include Benét Laboratories, to determine just
how big of an issue laser use may be. They found
that on any given day, there are approximately 12
people working with lasers.
Then, the hard part came in. Church worked with
the Arsenal’s Health Clinic to research the regula-
tions, bulletins, and standards directed by the U.S.
Army and by industry that describe and prescribe pre-
cautions against and treatment for eye injuries caused
by laser usage.
Health Clinic Supervisor Laura Garramone said
that although laser-eye injuries are remote given that
a very small segment of the Arsenal’s workforce work
with lasers, it is a big deal if you are the one who gets
injured.
“Although we don’t have any laser injuries on re-
cord, given the type of production and research work
that is done here injuries can happen,” Garramone
said. “Surprisingly, what we learned in our research
is that there are very few medical treatment facilities
locally that provide 24-hour care for eye injuries.”
Garramone and Church’s research into which med-
ical treatment facilities can be applied to everyone at
the Arsenal, Church said.
“We have identified the Albany Medical Center
and the Samaritan Hospital as two medical facilities
that can provide 24-hour care, seven days a week,”
Church said. “And because they do, the Arsenal com-
mander has directed our emergency services to trans-
port injured workers to one of those facilities.”
One of the key takeaways from this is that every-
one at the workforce now knows that if they have an
eye injury when they are not at work, there are two
medical centers that can provide care, 24 hours a day.
Higher Hqs opens
our eyes to a
potential problem
By John B. Snyder
Given the importance of saving one's sight,
it may surprise some here that there are
very few 24-hour, seven day a week medical
treatment centers for eye injuries.
Photo by Army Safety Center

8. Page 8 Salvo October 31, 2017
Lean Corner by Mark Ripley
Managing for Daily Improvement (MDI)
Like most Lean tools, Managing for Daily Improvement (MDI) makes waste visible - the waste of not fixing prob-
lems. Huge gains can be made by empowering the entire workforce to steadily solve their own problems every day.
There are three elements of MDI: Visual Control Boards, Leader Standard Work (LSW), and Daily Accountability.
Visual Control Boards
Visual Control Boards (production boards or Mission Control Boards) highlight when the activity is not performing as
planned. All boards contain the same four key elements: the plan, actual performance to the plan, causes for misses and
actions to fix the causes. Green means good, red means bad.
A Mission Control Board is a special visual control board that governs a plan to accomplish a goal. They visually
show if the plan is on track utilizing metric charting and monitoring on-time completion of tasks. Corrective actions
when off track are mandatory.
A key point: The main purpose of the visual display is to make problems visible so you can fix them. Fixing the
causes of your problems, once and for all, is the most satisfying and rewarding aspect of the whole MDI process.
Leader Standard Work (LSW)
The focus of MDI is on managers. LSW is what to do, when to do it, whether it was done and why not. LSW pro-
vides a structure and routine for leaders. LSW is more defined and specific the closer a manager is to the activity. For
example, senior managers may have 15% of their day scripted by LSW while supervisors have 50%.
Daily LSW is set up so that (among other things) the proper level managers are at the proper visual control boards at
the proper times. LSW creates tiers of brief, stand-up team meetings (or “huddles”) up the chain of command monitoring
goal accomplishment.
Daily Accountability
The final element of MDI is daily accountability. Problem solving is moved to the tier owner best able to act on the
issue, the lower the better. Higher tiers ensure the next level down has all the resources they need. And we check every
day to make sure the plan is on track. The focus is on the process, not the people. If the plan is off track then something
is wrong with the process.
One of my favorite quotes is, “Acting disciplined is not much different than being disciplined.” MDI ensures we act
disciplined.
Managing for Daily Improvement

9. Page 9 Salvo October 31, 2017
The recent discussions in Congress about how to
pay for tax cuts, as well as the recent news that the
Social Security Administration will pay out more
than one trillion dollars in benefits this year, should
trigger employees here to review their retirement
plans before they drive off into the sunset.
It doesn’t matter if you fall under the Civil Ser-
vice Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Em-
ployees Retirement System (FERS), there is a gen-
eral concern by many that they will run out of money
before they run out of life. In essence, they will out-
live their savings or that their quality of life will not
keep pace with rising expenses.
Earlier this year, the Bank of America Merrill
Lynch released findings from a study titled, “Financ-
es in Retirement: New Challenges, New Solutions.”
Key findings of nearly 5,000 respondents conclude
that Americans are not as well prepared for retire-
ment as they should be.
Key findings are:
• 81 percent say they do not know how much
money they will need to fund their retirement.
• While most people say they want to live to
the age of 90, only 27 percent of pre-retirees
age 50+ feel financially prepared to fund a
retirement that lasts 10 years, let alone 20-30
years.
• Americans are saving only a fraction of what
they think they should: 5.5 percent vs. 25 per-
cent of their annual income (after taxes).
• More than half of millennials feel a secure re-
tirement is beyond reach, compared to 30 per-
cent of baby boomers who feel this way. And
millennials expect 65 percent of their retire-
ment income to come from personal sources,
including savings and continued employment,
far more than earlier generations.
• The three biggest retirement-related financial
worries for most Americans are 1) a costly
health issue impacting them or loved ones; 2)
inflation – the rising cost of life; and 3) not
having enough money to do what they would
like.
Some here, especially if they are a FERS em-
ployee, may think that the filler that will bridge the
financial gap will be Social Security. Given that So-
cial Security is now paying out more than one trillion
dollars a year, some may wonder if Social Security
will be around throughout their retirement years.
In Social Security’s 2017 annual report that is
posted on its website, the Trustees project that the
fund’s asset reserves will be depleted by 2034. What
happens to those retirees who are relying on Social
Security after 2034 is not yet known.
At the time of this article, the U.S. Congress is
debating tax cuts for all Americans. As great as tax
cuts sound, someone has to pay for them. One of the
reported discussions deals with a program that most
Before you ride
off into the
sunset, plan for
the worst case
By John B. Snyder
Story continues on page 10, “Retirement”
Photo by Environmental Protection Agency

10. Page 10 Salvo October 31, 2017
here participate in, 401(k) or better known as the
Thrift Savings Plan.
According to multiple media outlets earlier this
month, there are some in Congress who are looking
at limiting the pre-tax contributions to $2,400 a year,
a considerable reduction from the current limit of
$18,000 or $24,000, if you are over 50. While oth-
ers in Congress are looking at reducing cost of living
raises for Federal retirees.
If you are within five years of retirement, a good
first step may be to contact the Social Security Ad-
ministration via their website at www.ssa.gov to get a
Social Security statement to see what your payments
may be. And the days of full retirement being at age
65 do not apply to workers here. Beginning with
Retirement Cont.
people born in 1938 or later, the age increases until it
reaches 67 for people born after 1959.
TSP also has several great tools to assist your
retirement planning and you can access them at:
https://www.tsp.gov/PlanningTools/index.html
Nevertheless, even if you have planned well for
retirement there are often too many variables that
you cannot control, and we didn’t even talk about
the rising cost of health care. But you must plan and
maybe, plan for the worse, so that your “anticipated
and or planned” quality of life remains throughout
your life.
Finally, keep this in mind … you can finance your
college education, car, home, and your vacations, but
you cannot finance your retirement.
Please take the online Morale, Welfare, and Recreation
(MWR) and Nonappropriated Fund (NAF) Customer
Needs Survey at:
https://www.imcomsurveys.com/se/724B33873BE7A593
This survey will allow Arsenal leadership to identify what
MWR and NAF programs that you are most interested
in, so that they deliver the most effective programs and
services to you. Your opinions are very important and so,
please take the survey today. The survey period runs to
November 16.
MWR Survey CFC Campaign
Morale, Welfare, and Recreation supervisor
Melissa Ryder encouraging workers to take
the survey.
The Arsenal's Combined Federal Cam-
paign will begin in November. Stay tuned
for more information...
Photo by John B. Snyder

11. Page 11 Salvo October 31, 2017
Contrary to popular belief, one doesn’t have to live in a wintery climate to encoun-
ter icy and unsafe roadways. In temperatures at or just above 32 F, a thin layer of
water can turn to ice, causing extremely hazardous, slippery driving conditions.
Black ice is one of the most dangerous road conditions a driver can encounter.
Not all private motor vehicles handle the same on icy or slippery roads. It’s impor-
tant drivers know how to handle their vehicles and understand how it responds in
various weather conditions.
Comprehensive pre-trip planning, including weather checks, verifying roadway
conditions and understanding vehicle capabilities can help drivers make it to their
destination safely.
Statistics:
While accidents occurring on wet pavements and/or rain represent the greatest
weather threat to driving, 10-year averages during the period 2005 - 2014 show of
the 5,897 people killed in weather-related traffic accidents, 538 died in accidents
on snowy/slushy pavements, 739 in snow/sleet conditions and 559 perished on icy
pavement.
It's Coming ... Don't let the Winter catch you off guard
Photo by Army Safety Center

12. Page 12 Salvo October 31, 2017
Veterans should go to VetVerify.org to check their eligibility.
The process usually takes about two minutes.
What is the Veterans
online shopping benefit?
Veterans will be able to enjoy tax-free
shopping, exclusive military pricing
on name brand products, exclusive
credit opportunities and more at
shopmyexchange.com
VetVerify is a shared verification service
that relies exclusively on secure data
supplied by the Defense Manpower Data
Center (DMDC) to determine eligibility.
Where can approved
Veterans shop?
This benefit allows Veterans of all United
States Armed Forces to shop online at
shopmyexchange.com, as well as the
other online military exchanges. This
does not grant on-installation access.
What information do
Veterans need to provide?
Most Veterans only need to provide a
name, date of birth, the last four digits of
their social security number and a valid
emailaddress.SomeVeteranswillneedto
takeadditionalstepsforverification.Please
visitVetVerify.orgformoreinformation.
When can approved
Veterans shop?
The benefit launches on Nov. 11, 2017.
However, millions of records have not
yet been digitized, so Veterans should
check their eligibility today! Veterans who
verify early also increase their chances of
being selected as an early shopper.
Where can Veterans
get more information?
Visit VetVerify.org/faq
for more details.
The Department of Defense will soon allow Veterans of all
United States Armed Forces to shop online at shopmyexchange.com
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
VetVerify.org
V E T E R A N S O N L I N E S H O P P I N G B E N E F I T
What is VetVerify.org?
Family Serving Family 1895 to today and beyond
Beginning on 11 November