U.S. Army Watervliet Arsenal July 2015

THE SALVO

Not since 9/11 have U.S. troops deployed here

Story on Page 3

Page 2 Salvo July 31, 2015

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

By the time you read this, the Arsenal’s annual shutdown will be in its final hours. I appreciate the great effort by those who remained on duty during this week to enhance the Arsenal’s safety and maintenance posture. Well done! If you have taken an interest in some of the $27 million of infrastructure work that is currently ongoing, you may have seen a few uniformed troops on the periphery in recent weeks. They have been working for us. Nine Army officers and sergeants from the Army Reserves’ 305th Engineer Facility Detachment, from Staten Island, spent two weeks this month with our public works team to help oversee some of the major waterline work, provide electrical expertise, as well as to help draft statements of work for new projects. This great effort by the Reservists provided several benefits to our operations. One, we worked them hard for two weeks at no cost to us. Several of the troops provided additional quality control oversight of ongoing projects, while others help set the conditions for success for future public works projects. Secondly, we hope to establish a long-term relationship with this unit and its sister brigade units for continued support. Two other engineer units in this Reserve brigade provide horizontal (road-type of work) and vertical (building-type of work) support, which we could greatly use. It was truly great having this team of professionals

and I look forward to hosting them again next year. Now that most of the annual leave has been taken, it is time for us to push hard to close out the fiscal year, which ends on September 30th. There are delivery schedules we have promised to meet and just as important, there are revenue figures that we must hit. Both of these measurable actions will help us define success for this year. Finally, if we get someone hurt or damage our equipment while trying to close out the year, that will put a stain on all of our efforts. So, now is not the time to take shortcuts and we will reinforce that message during our annual safety shutdown on August 13th.

Page 3 Salvo July 31, 2015

By John B. Snyder

Story continues on page 4, see “Reserves”

Front row: Capt. Mario Boemio, 1st Lt. Anthony Richards. Second row: Maj. Brian Mykulak, Maj. John Coppola, 1st Lt. Louis Boisnier, Staff Sgt. Nandram Shiwnath, Sgt. David Diano, Capt. Corey Walsh, 1st Lt. Joshua Lehman.

Photos by John B. Snyder

ArmA Army Reserve Soldiers’ expertise in high demand at Watervliet

Not since 9/11 has the Watervliet Arsenal had U.S. troops deploy to support its operations, until now, as nine personnel from the U.S. Army Reserve’s 305th Engineer Facility Detachment from Staten Island de-ployed here July 13 to do critical support work. There was no crisis or force protection concern, as was the case when the last troop units deployed here following the devastating attacks on our homeland on Sept. 11, 2001. This support is more about efficiently leveraging critical engineering capability to support the Arsenal as it undergoes $27 million worth of con-

struction projects, said Col. Lee H. Schiller Jr., the Arsenal commander. “This year, we added more than $20 million of new construction work with no increase in public works personnel who do the planning, coordination, and the oversight for all construction projects,” Schiller said. “And so, when the 305th Army Reserve unit volun-teered to conduct its two-week annual training here, we jumped at the opportunity to have an experienced engineer team perform critical work for us, at no cost to our operations.”

Photo by John B. Snyder

Page 4 Salvo July 31, 2015

Reserves Cont.

1st Lt. Anthony Richards, right, and Sgt. David Diano working on electrical panels in the Big Gun Shop. Nine Army Reservists from the 305th Engineer Facility Detachment from Staten Island spent their two-week annual training at the Arsenal. Many Reservists said that it was great to provide such critical engineering support to an Army post that is located in their home state. If this detachment has any say on where they will be during next year’s annual training, it will be here.

Photo by John B. Snyder

Maj. John Coppola, the detachment commander, said that his team provided engineering expertise that ranged from civil engineers to architects to electri-cians. “What is great about supporting the Watervliet Arsenal is that we are able to provide engineering sup-port that will stay in New York State and that every-thing we do will support our annual training require-ments,” Coppola said. “This is definitely a win-win situation for the Reserves and for the Arsenal.” Coppola said that on day one his team was already making a difference on the Arsenal. The detachment immediately accepted tasks that have: eased the workload for some of the Arsenal staff; provided an extra set of eyes, as well as experi-ence, to the quality control process of a $5 million water project; and assisted in the mapping and minor repair of electrical systems, Coppola said. 1st Lt. Anthony Richards, a licensed electrician by trade, said that the experience he received inspecting the Arsenal’s electrical grid is unlike anything he has ever experienced. “The Arsenal has a unique electrical system that can only be found in a large manufacturing center,” Richards said as he was inspecting an electrical panel in the Arsenal’s historic Big Gun Shop. “I believe that what I did here was so important that I almost feel as if I am becoming part of the Arsenal’s history.” This detachment remained on duty here until July 24, said Robert Shadlock, the Arsenal’s senior engi-

neer who was also the liaison with the Reserve detach-ment. “These guys were great in that they came in on day one and immediately went to work providing quality control oversight to a major water line project, as well as drafting statements of work for future public works projects,” Shadlock said. “The bottom line is that they saved us a bunch of money by providing critical engi-neering expertise to our public works department just as several major construction projects were at their peak.” Coppola added that he hopes this new relationship with the Arsenal will continue and that he will invite his sister units in the brigade, which deal with verti-cal and horizontal construction, to support the Arsenal during their future annual training. Schiller said he is already envisioning what could get done on the Arsenal next year if he had more Re-serve support. “Having this team here has really opened my eyes as to the realm of possibilities of how we could signifi-cantly improve the infrastructure of this post,” Schil-ler said. “If we could get continued support next year by this detachment or even better yet, if the Reserves could add more units to support, we could truly make a huge impact on upgrading the infrastructure of this 202-year-old post.” Other than providing office space and limited computer-network support, there was no cost to the Arsenal.

Photo by John B. Snyder

Page 5 Salvo July 31, 2015

Story continues on page 6, “Visit”

Army’s Industrial Base leaders meet to improve Soldier support

Industrial base leaders that included the Project Director for the Army’s Main Battle Tank Systems, Andy DiMarco, Arsenal Commander Col. Lee Schiller Jr., Anniston Army Depot Commander Col. Brent Bolander, and Benét Lab Director Lee Bennet, achieved significant objectives during a gathering here earlier this month to discuss how to better support the Soldier.

Photo by John B. Snyder

By John B. Snyder

After nearly 15 years of sustained support to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, more than 20 leaders from the Army’s industrial base converged on the Watervliet Arsenal on July 8 to discuss how best to support our Army as it prepares for the next unpredictable crisis.

The purpose of this gathering was to bring together key program managers for the Army’s ground combat systems together with select leadership from the Army’s arsenals and depots to discuss cost, schedules, and above all, quality, said Col. Lee H. Schiller Jr., the Arsenal commander.

“The ultimate goal for this event is to look at the challenges and initiatives that will ensure the long-term viability of the Army’s industrial base, especially in an environment of declining defense budgets and requirements,” Schiller said.

“If we remain viable, to our communities and to our nation, then we know that we are providing critical sustained support to our troops, support that today cannot come from outside of the Army’s industrial base.”

Given that all attendees have either been the recipient of Watervliet products or had previously worked hand-in-hand with the Arsenal’s manufacturing center, limited time was spent providing overview briefings of the Arsenal’s opera-tions before the group moved to observe the quality control process in the production centers. Additionally, the U.S. Army’s Benét Laboratories, which is collocated on the Ar-senal, was a key part of the series of discussions about how

Page 6 Salvo July 31, 2015

Visit Cont.research and design is weaved into every step of the quality control process.

What everyone observed during the tour went beyond the standard orientation visit because of the heavy focus on quality. A significant amount of explanation and demonstration was spent on such quality control processes as magnetic particle inspection, ultrasound testing, metrology checks, and first article inspections of vendor products.

Why so much effort on quality?

Beyond the cost of its products or its on-time delivery rate, many believe that the Arsenal’s number one con-tribution to a Soldier is its quality. The last thing any leader wants is for his or her troops to hesitate in the heat of battle because they do not trust their weapon system. The unwavering confidence that a Soldier has in his weapon system is due to Arsenal quality.

The Arsenal’s quality assurance process begins at the gate when raw stock or unfinished products arrive for manufacturing and continues throughout the life cycle of the weapon system it manufactures.

The summit also provided a venue for the attendees to see firsthand the Arsenal’s critical skill capabilities that have supported every U.S. Soldier since the War of 1812. With nearly 600 manufacturing machines, the Arsenal demonstrated its capability to provide full-scale metal manufacturing of products that range from 30-foot howitzer tubes to a firing pin that can fit into a pants pocket.

“I was very proud to host this event and to have the chance to showcase the Arsenal’s capabilities and its outstanding workforce,” Schiller said. “I believe that as partners in the Army’s industrial base we are now better focused on how to best to support our Army in a complex world.”

According to Schiller, this summit was the second iteration of a recent initiative by arsenal and depot leadership to improve the Army’s industrial base. The first roundtable session was conducted at the Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois earlier this year.

Photos by John B. SnyderTop: Benét Labs Materials Engineer, Paul Bouchard, left, explaining the work that he does in the Materials Lab.Center: Chad Day, from Rock Island Arsenal, viewing the rotary forge.Bottom: Production Control & Program Manager Terry Van Vranken, right, leading the tour.

Page 7 Salvo July 31, 2015

Army manufacturing centers don’t shut down, do they?

By John B. Snyder

Photo by John B. SnyderQuality assurance inspector Josh Neal, right and machine tool inspector Mike Paraszczak take extraordinary time and care remarking a gauge used for 155mm howitzer tubes. New calculations and markings will improve quality control.

Long days, 90-degree heat, and no wind — yes, it must be time for the Arsenal’s annual shutdown week. Not to get into what the correct definition or termi-nology of what a shutdown should be, but it should be self-evident that calling an intense maintenance and safety surge is anything from a shutdown. For decades, the Arsenal shuts down production one week a year to prop-erly manage a wave of vacations that occurs each summer, but more importantly, the activi-ties during a shutdown ensure the Arsenal’s machines and equipment are ready to launch into a new production year, which starts on Octo-ber 1, said Col. Lee H. Schiller Jr., the Arsenal commander. Tim Allard, who is the Arsenal’s chief of the Manufacturing Support Division, said the shut-down period allows him to service hundreds of produc-tion machines, many of which are in continuous opera-tion during the year for the production of such product lines as tubes for mortars, tanks, and for artillery sys-tems. It is also a time for the Operations Directorate, which has the preponderance of Arsenal personnel, to focus on Occupational Safety and Health Administra-tion or OSHA requirements. “I have 141 personnel this year who are performing maintenance and safety-related tasks that range from inspecting slings to changing air and oil filters to repair-ing machines,” Allard said. “Although I could use all 141 personnel, I sent 28 personnel to public works to help out the rest of the Arsenal team so that they may accomplish other critical safety and maintenance-related

tasks.” Mike White, the acting supervisor of the Public Works maintenance team, said the impact of having an extra 28 personnel meant all the difference between success and failure during the annual shutdown. After all, White said that he had more than 1,000 tasks to ac-complish this week.

“We have more than 50 air conditioning units, 300 exhaust fans, 150 overhead doors, hun-dreds of other pieces of equipment that had to be inspected and serviced, and numerous crosswalks and parking lots had new lines painted,” White said. “The key to our success, however, was the work we did in prepa-ration for this week.” In addition to devel-oping a detailed task list, an extraordinary effort was also made during the

year to replace senior, well-experienced personnel with individuals who are also well-experienced and highly motivated, White said. Key people had departed due to retirements or another job opportunity. “We truly have built a great team of self-starters who get the job done without a lot of supervision,” White said. “The shutdown week also provides a great lead-ership experience for us as many public works team members supervised the personnel who are on loan to us this week.” Schiller added to White’s comment by saying that although the shutdown is only a week-long event, the planning is a continuous activity. The planning for next year’s shutdown will begin the day after the current shutdown is completed.

Page 8 Salvo July 31, 2015

Shutdown ???2015

Page 9 Salvo July 31, 2015

Visual Control of work and processes is a subject we have been talking about a lot lately – well, around the Continuous Improvement Office, anyway. It is a common technique used in Lean companies. The theory behind Visual Control is that if something is clearly visible or in plain sight, when it’s actually happening, then it will be seen and addressed quick-ly.

Proper Visual Control should highlight that a problem exists, even to someone unfamiliar with the specifics of the process. Colors help: green = good, yellow = possibly going bad, red = bad.

There are several categories of Visual Control:

Visual Controls that make a process more efficient with fewer defects -• Tool storage that includes all needed tools and shows when a tool is missing.

• A posted “Key Points” sheet that lists the critical steps in a process with helpful hints.

• Lines on the floor or wall showing the best place to put things.

• Reorder points for raw materials or parts.

Visual Controls that show the status of a process -• Hour-by-hour comparison of planned production to actual production with issues encountered and corrective ac-

tions (by machine or by line).

• Overview of the area with machine status, part number/operations expected to run with expected times of comple-tion (with actual operations/times).

• Machine status lights – red, yellow, and green.

• Operator attendance and assignments.

• Routine maintenance or 6S checklists with sign-offs and Supervisor validation.

Visual Controls should be designed to make management of a process easier and the process itself easier for the operator. Most Visual Controls should be worker-managed. Employees performing the work should be engaged in design and up-keep so they can work steadily unless something goes wrong. This is called “management by exception.” You don’t have to manage the system when it is working; you just have to deal with the issues that come up that interfere with the pro-cess. Also, we all must be sensitive to the fact that a process’ “dirty laundry” is out there for all to see. And this is a good thing! An abnormality indicated by a Visual Control is an opportunity to see and correct a problem you would otherwise never notice until it’s too late.

LEAN Corner...By Mark Ripley

Photo provided by the Continuous Improvement Office

Page 10 Salvo July 31, 2015

William TharpOperations Directorate

Who would have thought that a former boat builder and U.S. Navy hovercraft repairman would fit in at an Army post, but as crazy as that sounds it works here. That opening statement is not meant to cast dispersions on our sister service, because the Navy, albeit a younger service than that of the Army, also has a storied history of self-sac-rifice, personal courage, and worldwide presence. But there is definitely a cultural difference between land and sea faring individuals. To some who may not have served in the military, those cultural difference might seem too challenging to overcome. But for those who have worn the uniform of our military, they know that values such as integrity, sense of duty, and respect transcend the differ-ent branches of service. William “Will” Tharp is one of those rare individuals who made that transition, from ship to shore, about as well as anyone could have expected here. Will served in the Navy for six years repairing hov-ercrafts, an experience that allowed him to gain valu-able experience in plumb-ing, welding, fabrication, and of all things, firefight-ing. Firefighting? Abso-lutely! When one is con-fined to a ship hundreds of miles off of a coastline, everyone becomes a firefighter. During his Navy years, he also met and married his girlfriend, who was also a Sailor. Understanding the unique challenges, such as long-term deployments, that many military families have, the Tharp’s decided it would be best to start a family as civilians. They both left active-military service. Will, originally from New York, landed a job at Scarano Boat Building in Albany, where he was hired as a welder. But after a couple of years, Will and his wife wanted to start a family and with a family comes a heightened demand for ben-efits, such as health care.

Will admits that when he applied for a welding job at the Arsenal nearly four years ago, he knew very little about the Arsenal except for what he learned on social media sites and Wikipedia. Nevertheless, he knew that his military training would be a great fit at an Army manufacturing center and if he could land a job here, then he would be set with the benefits needed to raise a family. In the less than four years that Will has worked here, he has progressed beyond expectations, having gone from a welder of mortar baseplates to metal fabricator to now, a metal processor work leader who supervises nearly 25 personnel. “In little time, Will acquired his certification to be a weld

inspector, as well as lever-aged his skills to become the Arsenal’s sole metal fabrica-tor,” said Greg Marcklinger, General Foreman of Metal Processing. “In regards to his leadership attributes, Will takes extraordinary ef-fort to train the 25 new metal processors in such critical skills as welding and water-jet cutting.” To Will, “This is like be-ing in the Navy,” he said to explain how it feels to have a team that he can build. In the Navy, Will was a Petty Officer 1st Class who often supervised up to 30 person-

nel. Will now has a daughter, who is nearly three, and another one due next month. Somehow, between maintaining a great family and success as a work leader, Will found time to com-plete an Associate’s Degree in Applied Marine Engineering and remains a full-time student at the American Public Uni-versity, where he plans to attain a Bachelor’s degree in Busi-ness Administration. For his well-representing all the great values of military service, his dedication to the Arsenal and to his family, and for his ability to build teams, Will is truly deserving to be this month’s Arsenal Face of Strength.

Story and Photo By John B. Snyder

William Tharp, left, taking time earlier this month to work with new metal processor Chris Finn to teach him the finer points of Arsenal welding.

Page 11 Salvo July 31, 2015

Having a strong user name and password for all of your devices and online accounts is your first line of defense.

Once a hacker gains your information, he or she may not use that data for years. And so, you must be vigi-lant checking your financial statements looking for any charges or expenses that you cannot recall.

Your personal information was stolen online Why it’s a big deal. What you can do.

The latest attacks from Anthem, Premera Blue Cross, and OPM affected more than 100 million people. If we include credit card companies, banks, and scores of other online sites that contain Personal Identifiable Information or PII that were hacked, chances are you’ve lost a little or a lot of your personal information.

What’s the big deal?

Your PII is what defines you in the real world as well as the Cyber realm. Imagine only losing your Social Security Number. Your Social Security Number is used for opening financial accounts, such as house mortgages, car loans, and credit cards. Missed payments are tied to your Social Security number and end up on your credit report. You could receive a criminal history record if the actual criminal is using your Social Security Number.

What you can do.

Do nothing and the consequences could be dire. Someone could open financial accounts in your name, personal emails can be stolen, credit card debt racked up. You get the picture.

1. Don’t use the same password. Imagine having the same key for your home, office, car, safety deposit box, and gym locker. All the bad guy needs is one key and they access to all of them. If you’re like me and can’t remember all those passwords, use products like OneSafe or 1Password.

2. Use two factor authentication. It sounds complicated but it’s not and it works like this: You logon to your bank or email account and the bank or service provider sends you a text message to your phone to verify you are truly you.

3. Identity theft protection. The three major credit reporting agencies (Experian, TransUnion, and Equi-fax) provide identity theft protection. Get credit monitoring services and check it on a regular basis.

4. Never respond to emails, text messages or phone calls requesting personal information you did not initiate. Call or email the company with information you know is good.

(The author: Maj. Dennis Kaszynski is the Information Assurance Officer for Watervliet Arsenal)

Page 12 Salvo July 31, 2015

Arsenal History Oh, 1926 was not such a good year

This question always comes up every year during the Arsenal’s annual shutdown period ... has the Arsenal ever truly shut down?

Col. Edwin Bricker hit a low point in his command in 1926 when only 126 workers remained due to the decline of the defense requirements after World War I. Of this number, only 41 machinists and toolmak-ers were on duty.

To spread out the limited production re-quirements through the year in order to not lose any more workers, the entire Arsenal closed for a month’s vacation in July 1926.