New leadership at Tobyhanna Army Depot There are two new leaders at Tobyhanna Army Depot. Col. John W. McDonald relinquished command of Tobyhanna Army Depot to Col. Daniel Horn during a change of command ceremony on June 28. Sgt. Maj. Shantae Gordon also relinquished responsibility as the depot’s senior enlisted officer, welcoming Sgt. Maj. Michael J. Wiles to the Tobyhanna family. The ceremony, which culminated with a passing of Tobyhanna’s flag, was presided over by Maj. Gen. Mitchell Kilgo, Commanding General of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command. Depot employees, representatives of state and local government, and family members witnessed the event. Col. McDonald’s next assignment is with the Joint Staff Operations Directorate at the Pentagon. In his parting remarks, he promised to never forget his time at Tobyhanna Army Depot. “My assignment here at Tobyhanna has been, without a doubt, the best and most broadening I have experienced in my career. I will take and share the Tobyhanna legacy with anyone who will listen.” Horn is the depot’s 34th commander, joining Team Tobyhanna fresh off an assignment as the military deputy of the Defense Logistics Agency, U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command forward. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington. Horn also has Master of Science degrees in Supply Chain Management from Kansas University, and Strategic Studies from Army War College. As commander, Horn will lead 3,700 employees responsible for supporting global readiness for Command, Control, Communications, Computer, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) systems across the Department of Defense. Wiles is the depot’s 21st sergeant major. His most recent assignment was as the chief mechanical operations sergeant major for the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia. He has served in staff and leadership positions at stateside and overseas military installations including the Republic of South Korea; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Fort Hood, Texas, and Fort Lee, Virginia. As sergeant major, Wiles serves as the voice of the warfighters who use equipment repaired by the depot. He advises the commander on all matters relating to Soldiers, the civilian workforce and their family members. In his first address as depot commander, Col. Horn expressed his excitement at joining Team Tobyhanna. “When I learned that commanding Tobyhanna Army Depot was my next assignment, I was elated that I’d be leading such a skilled and dedicated workforce. You have a reputation for strategic planning and innovation,” adding that he holds the mission of Tobyhanna close to his heart. “As Army Civilians, you have what many other people do not: a sacred purpose behind your work. What you do matters. You matter. Like any job, there will be good days and frustrating days. But when you get home at night, I hope you’ll remember that your work helps our warfighters keep America safe. And I hope you’ll be as proud of that as I am.”
Tobyhanna Army Depot Partner with Ohio National Guard An Ohio military unit made their annual pilgrimage to Tobyhanna Army Depot last week, strengthening an enduring partnership between Soldiers and the civilians who support them. Thirteen Soldiers from the Army National Guard’s Bravo Company, 638th Aviation Support Battalion received their two-week annual training, courtesy of Team Tobyhanna. The unit has been traveling to the installation for 13 years, according to Chief Warrant Officer Steven Kobus. “For years, I knew of Tobyhanna because I saw the depot’s name on our equipment,” he said. “I finally decided to come see the facility for myself and meet the people who supported our mission.” While on that visit, Kobus learned of the depot’s robust Reserve Training programs and swore to bring his unit back the following year. “I was excited to get my team in a practical setting where they could learn from the employees who keep our equipment running,” he said, adding that many of the Soldiers were especially excited about the opportunity, as they had received support from Tobyhanna personnel while in theater. The annual training paired each Soldier with a depot subject matter expert who could advise on the repair and troubleshooting of radio and night vision equipment. Team members also shared knowledge through hands-on experience, particularly with components not usually accessible to Soldiers. Chief Warrant Officer Michael Fincannon says the trip was more than worthwhile. “Training like this helps each organization – the Soldiers and our civilians – see the bigger picture that their work is a part of.” In addition to the quality of the training experience, Soldiers also praised depot facilities. “The accommodations here are fantastic, and the barracks team provides top-notch support,” said Kobus. Chief Warrant Officer William Hallas agreed. “We’ve been a lot of places – and trust me when I say that Tobyhanna ranks among the best.” Although Kobus expects to retire from service this year, he says the partnership will continue long in the future. “You can’t put a price tag on the hands-on experience we get at Tobyhanna,” Kobus said. “When I ask ‘who wants to go to Tobyhanna,’ the entire unit raises their hands. Needless to say, we’ll be back.” Tobyhanna Army Depot provides over thirty command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C5ISR) training programs for the Joint Warfighter, averaging 1,700 soldier training days per year. The efforts are directly aligned with Tobyhanna’s long-range strategic plan, TOBY2028 – specifically the C5ISR Readiness line of effort, which strives to ensure America’s warfighters are always ready. For information on training with Tobyhanna, contact the depot’s Reserve Training Coordinator at 570-615-6492. Tobyhanna Army Depot is a recognized leader in providing world-class logistics support for C5ISR systems across the Department of Defense. Tobyhanna’s Corporate Philosophy, dedicated work force and electronics expertise ensure the depot is the Joint C5ISR provider of choice for all branches of the Armed Forces and industry partners. Tobyhanna’s unparalleled capabilities include full-spectrum logistics support for sustainment, overhaul and repair, fabrication and manufacturing, engineering design and development, systems integration, post production software support, technology insertion, modification, foreign military sales and global field support to our joint warfighters. About 3,700 personnel are employed at Tobyhanna, which is located in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania. Tobyhanna Army Depot is part of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command. Headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, the command’s mission is to empower the Soldier with winning C5ISR capabilities.
Tobyhanna Army Depot Employees Graduate from Leadership Wilkes-Barre Core Program Employees at Tobyhanna Army Depot are expanding their abilities, thanks to the skills and knowledge earned through Leadership Wilkes-Barre (LWB). Established in 1981, Leadership Wilkes-Barre aims to develop leaders and make Northeastern Pennsylvania a better place. The program has trained more than 3,000 community leaders through its comprehensive offerings, which target current and aspiring leaders from the high school level through senior leadership and beyond. LWB’s flagship endeavor is the Core Program, which runs for nine months. According to the LWB website, the Core Program’s mission is to develop adult professionals who improve themselves, their organizations, and Northeastern Pennsylvania. Each Core Program participant attends a monthly training session and works as part of a cross-functional team to complete a community service project. Christopher Lupole is one of Team Tobyhanna’s three participants in the 2020-2021 LWB Core Program. A Logistics Management Specialist in the Production Management Directorate’s Sustainment Planning Division (SPD), Lupole says he volunteered for the program to grow himself personally and professionally. “LWB has a great reputation, and I believed the Core Program could help me become a better teammate in SPD. I also hoped the experience would allow me to re-engage with community service, something I am passionate about,” adding that the experience more than lived up to his expectations. “This is a great program and the monthly Core Program sessions were truly enlightening,” he said. “However, I feel I learned the most during my community service project.” Lupole and fellow depot employee Katie Brudzinski were members of the “Kirby Crowd” team charged with restoring parts of Wilkes-Barre’s Kirby Park. The team was responsible for all aspects of the effort, from project planning to fundraising to execution. According to Brudzinski, the task was a challenge, albeit a welcome one. “LWB Core projects are ambitious to begin with, and our team had to complete the entire thing during a global pandemic. We were lucky we could get creative with fundraisers like raffles and ticket sales to help us achieve our goals.” She works in the Resource Management Directorate. Brudzinski, Lupole and the rest of the “Kirby Crowd” finished their project last month, making a big impact on the beloved community space. The team repainted structures within the park, procured ten new picnic tables, and facilitated the preservation of a legacy wood carving in the park. In addition, the team researched the history of Kirby Park to create a visual timeline for patrons. While Brudzinski found the team project to be a great learning experience, she noted her biggest “a-ha” moment came through an exercise at the monthly Core Program meetings. “One of our sessions focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. To demonstrate what life is like for others, we participated in a simulated society-type exercise. I was one of the people designated as a ‘minority group,” who had a much harder time doing basic things like renting an apartment for example,” she said. “At the end of the exercise, I realized the hardships experienced by others. That experience has made me more open minded to experiences and perspectives of all people.” Although she retired from federal service last fall, Marilouise Yermal continued to represent Team Tobyhanna in the LWB Core Program. She and her team worked to restore portions of Patriot’s Cove in Noxen. Tobyhanna’s Leadership Development Specialist Tara O’Neil says the organization benefits just as much from the LWB experience as the participants do. “Leadership Wilkes-Barre offers current and emerging TYAD leaders the opportunity to hone their leadership skills with practical applications that benefit our surrounding community. Our strong partnership with various community leadership programs not only allows us to give back to the Northeastern Pennsylvania region, but also enhances our leaders’ strategic thinking and impact-conscious decision making competencies,” adding that the depot expects to have more employees participating in community leadership programs like LWB next year. Connecting with the community is a foundational tenet of Tobyhanna’s long-range strategic plan, TOBY2028. The plan aligns with the depot’s four strategic focus areas: Investing in Our People, C5ISR Readiness, Shape the Future and Strategic Communications and aims to posture the organization for future success. Tobyhanna Army Depot is a recognized leader in providing world-class logistics support for command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C5ISR) systems across the Department of Defense. Tobyhanna’s Corporate Philosophy, dedicated work force and electronics expertise ensure the depot is the Joint C5ISR provider of choice for all branches of the Armed Forces and industry partners. Tobyhanna’s unparalleled capabilities include full-spectrum logistics support for sustainment, overhaul and repair, fabrication and manufacturing, engineering design and development, systems integration, post production software support, technology insertion, modification, foreign military sales and global field support to our joint warfighters. About 3,700 personnel are employed at Tobyhanna, which is located in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania. Tobyhanna Army Depot is part of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command. Headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, the command’s mission is to empower the Soldier with winning C5ISR capabilities.
Tobyhanna Army Depot’s AUSA Chapter Honored by the 109th Infantry Regiment Association Maj. (ret) Mike Jones (left), president of 109th Infantry Regiment Association, presents Sgt. Maj. (ret) Kelvin Spencer, president of Tobyhanna Army Depot’s AUSA chapter, with a plaque of the 109th Infantry Regimental Colors. The plaque represents the association’s recognition of the chapter’s support to the Soldiers and families of the 109th Infantry Regiment throughout the greater Scranton area. The event took place on April 12 at Tobyhanna Army Depot. The Association is based in Scranton. “Tobyhanna’s AUSA chapter has been a valuable partner with the 109th Infantry Regiment Association, which provides support directly to our Gold Star Families, our Wounded Warriors, [and] members and Veterans of the 109th Infantry Battalion,” said Jones. The 109th Infantry Regiment Association’s primary focus is to provide educational assistance in the form of a Legacy Scholarship Program awarded to the children of the 109th Infantry Regiment Gold Star Families. The organization also supports wounded veterans through the Pennsylvania Wounded Warriors Program and support to Camp Freedom. Camp Freedom is a year-round adventure camp for individuals with disabilities, including veterans and first responders, their families, and Gold Star families, which provides quality hunting, shooting sports, fishing, camping, hiking, biking and other year round outdoor activities.
Soldiers Ready to Make Field Repairs Thanks to Tobyhanna Army Depot Tobyhanna Army Depot has renewed a partnership that ensures warfighters can access repair facilities on the battlefield. The depot and Product Manager for Sets, Kits, Outfits and Tools (PdM SKOT) will work together to produce new versions of the Armament Repair Shop Set, dubbed the “ARSS V2.” The workload remains at Tobyhanna after an extremely successful partnership that began with the original ARSS in 2015. The ARSS is a transportable shelter that serves as a place for Soldiers to repair anything from small arms to field artillery. It comes equipped with a generator for mobile power, an environmental control unit (ECU), and a wide variety of tools to keep military equipment battle-ready. Michael Cook, a logistics management specialist in the Production Management Directorate, said the new iteration of the ARSS incorporates several important process improvements. “The asset is no longer mounted on a trailer, and ARSS V2 has eliminated the need for ramps or ramp boxes. In addition, a smaller ECU replaces the larger, more cumbersome unit from ARSS V1.” Research, design and development for the ARSS V2 took several years, according to Brian Thomas, an engineer in the Production Engineering Directorate. Depot personnel worked closely with PdM SKOT as well as representatives from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center to create a prototype based upon Soldier feedback as well as depot “lessons learned.” Depot personnel fast-tracked completion of the prototype shelter over six months in early 2019. Once complete, the prototype was subjected to two months of rigorous transportability testing at the Aberdeen Test Center in Aberdeen, Maryland. Since testing concluded, pre-production planning has continued on the endeavor. Those involved say the new asset will be a big success. “The final ARSS V2 is easier and cheaper to produce – a win for both Tobyhanna and our customer, PdM SKOT,” Thomas said. “In addition, it is more user-friendly for the Soldier.” Donald Vozzi agreed. “We are extremely proud of ARSS V2 – especially because we’ve been able to cut the asset’s production time in half. That means Soldiers in the field are getting the equipment they need quicker.” Vozzi is the chief of the Systems Integration and Support (SIS) Directorate’s Electronic Shelter Systems Branch. David Graham is the Assistant Product Manager for ARSS V1 and V2 at PdM SKOT. He says the partnership has been a great experience. “Tobyhanna has done a great job with ARSS V1 and we are excited to begin building ARSS V2. We are pleased to have a partner in identifying manufacturing efficiencies.” The completed ARSS V2 is the culmination of collaboration across many depot organizations. Necessary cabling is built in SIS’s Strategic Systems Cable Branch, while other SIS artisans fabricate brackets, raceways, and work benches. SIS also supports vital testing operations for the ARSS V2 internal generator and ECU to ensure proper operation as well as refinishing requirements such as metal deburring and painting. Overarching project support comes from the Production Engineering, Production Management and Quality Management Directorates. “Like many projects at Tobyhanna, ARSS V2 is a team effort. We [SIS] couldn’t do it without our teammates,” said Vozzi. The continued partnership between Tobyhanna and PdM SKOT is directly aligned with the depot’s long-range strategic plan, TOBY2028 – specifically the C5ISR Readiness and Shape the Future lines of effort. Heather Fiedler, the overall lead for TOBY2028, says partnerships are key to a successful future for Tobyhanna. “Tobyhanna Army Depot is actively engaged in over 100 current and prospective partnerships, which provide numerous benefits to both parties. These co-operative efforts allow us to best meet mission requirements for America’s warfighters.” The ARSS workload is funded as a multi-million dollar program over the coming years – with growth potential. “PdM SKOT is very happy with our support,” said Therese Paxton, the project manager for ARSS V2. “I believe we will have many opportunities to partner with them in the future in support of warfighter readiness.”
Tobyhanna, L3Harris Technologies Partner to Sustain Air Force MQ9 Reaper Tobyhanna Army Depot has joined forces with defense contractor L3Harris Technologies to repair portions of a critical intelligence collection system for the U.S. Air Force. The depot is scheduled to repair two types of line repairable units (LRUs) for the MQ-9 Reaper ground control station (GCS), part of a lucrative public-private partnership (P3) agreement between the organizations. The Reaper is an armed unmanned aircraft system that performs strike, coordination, and reconnaissance missions. The asset is designed for long-endurance and high-altitude surveillance, with the ability to carry 15 times more ordnance payload than its predecessor. The Reaper is monitored and controlled by an aircrew in the GCS. The acquisition of this new workload is directly aligned with Tobyhanna’s long-range strategic plan, TOBY2028. The plan, which focuses on posturing the depot to be competitive in coming years, has lines of effort dedicated to expanding an already diverse portfolio through securing new workload, as well as connecting with community partners. The mission represents further growth for the depot’s support of assets used by the U.S. Air Force. The workload’s arrival is the culmination of several years of effort, according to Logistics Management Specialist Christopher Volch. Volch works in the Production Management Directorate. “We have been working with L3Harris Technologies since 2016 to transition sustainment responsibility incrementally. This measured approach ensures Tobyhanna is prepared to provide superior support to this program,” he said. The cross-functional transition team included personnel from the C4ISR, Production Engineering and Production Management Directorates. Much of the transition has focused on technical requirements, such as the development of test program sets (TPS). Matthew Rhoades, chief of the Production Engineering Directorate’s Test Engineering Branch, says the TPSs serve an important purpose for the program. “These TPSs will allow Tobyhanna’s electronics personnel to screen the LRU at the beginning of the process to identify where the asset requires repair. Once repair is complete, the asset will be tested to validate the repair, ensuring the warfighter receives a quality product – every time.” Rhoades noted the TPS development was only possible due to the P3’s collaborative working relationship. “It has been a great experience working with L3Harris Technologies. Their personnel have been extremely good communicators and are willing to help however they can.” The transition team has also focused on training to close the capability gap between the contractor and Tobyhanna personnel. A cadre of depot subject matter experts traveled to an L3Harris Technologies facility in Salt Lake City, UT last month for side-by-side training and validation of technical documentation. Attendees praised the experience, citing it as a valuable opportunity to collaborate and learn from subject matter experts. Representatives from L3Harris Technologies say they are pleased with the depot’s efforts to prepare for the new workload. “The entire team has been extremely accommodating. We are very excited for this workload to come to Tobyhanna,” said Steven King, project manager for the Reaper transition. Volch is hopeful that the already fruitful partnership will lead to more work for Team Tobyhanna. “This partnership has been a fantastic experience, and we’ve been able to meet all of their expectations thus far. I believe we are well postured to work together again in the future, “ adding that P3s allow the Department of Defense to leverage unique capabilities available in the private sector to support operational readiness in the most effective and efficient fashion. The depot has entered into nearly 300 partnerships since the program began in 1996.
