Engineering Edge: June 2012

The Engineering Edge

EdgeWood Chemical Biological Center Volume 4, Issue 6 June 2012

Engineering Directorate Supports ECBC’s own Servicemen, Women Messages of support to be sent to RFAST in Afghanistan

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n honor of Military Appreciation Month, the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) Engineering Directorate unveiled a Military Appreciation Recognition Wall on 8 May. Employees from across ECBC and Aberdeen Proving Ground gathered in the A lobby of the Berger Building to watch the unveiling of the wall, which came in the form of a patriotically decorated vinyl banner.

“We are here to pay our respects to the Warfighter. We want to let them know that we appreciate and respect their sacrifice, and they have our full support,” said Alvin “AJay” Thornton, Director of Engineering.

The banner will be available at various ECBC buildings throughout the month of May for all to express their gratitude and appreciation to the Nation’s Warfighters. At the end of the month, the banner will be shipped to the Research, Development and Engineering Command’s Field Assistance in Science and Technology (RFAST) in Afghanistan, where members of the ECBC workforce are currently deployed as engineers and technicians, working to assist the Warfighter.

“We are here to pay our respects to the Warfighter,” said Alvin “AJay”

Chika Nzelibe, Senior Chemical Engineer, spoke about his appreciation for the work ECBC does on protective masks at the 8 May Military Appreciation Month celebration.

Thornton, Director of Engineering, to open the event. “We want to let them know that we appreciate and respect their sacrifice, and they have our full support.”

COL Daniel McCormick, the Joint Project Manager (JPM) for Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Contamination Avoidance (NBC CA); COL (Ret.) Humberto Galarraga, ECBC Detection and Decontamination Division Chief; Chika Nzelibe, Senior Chemical Engineer; and Dr. James Baker, Associate Director of ECBC Continues on Page 8

Engineering’s ADM Cuts Costs for Warfighter Training The Advanced Design and Manufacturing Division (ADM) embarked on a small training project a year and a half ago that has since expanded and amounted to dollars saved for the U.S. Army and the possibility of a new certification for the Warfighter.

It started when ADM was tasked by the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization’s (JIEDDO) training arm, Joint Center of Excellence (JCOE) in January 2012 to provide a solution to a recurring issue: what is a cost-effective approach to training Warfighters on expensive equipment, eliminating the risk of damaging the equipment during training?

The issue came to a head during Husky Mounted Detection System (HMDS) training. The damage caused to the system during the training period had become more expensive than the cost to build the original system.

The HMDS is a kit that attaches to the Husky vehicle, and has four Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) panels, each costing $40,000. The panels detect metallic and nonmetallic explosive hazards, pressure plates, and antitank mines.

These panels were often damaged during training periods. The total system with the four panels initially cost $500,000 per upgrade to the base vehicle.

Continues on Page 7

Through collaboration and innovation, branches within the Advanced Design and Manufacturing Division were able to expand a task to create an inexpensive training solution that could save the Army thousands of dollars.

To access the electronic version of this newsletter, visit: http://www.ecbc.army.mil/news/ENG/ APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Inside This Month’s Issue:

Congratulations to ECBC Engineering’s Excellence in Federal Career Award winners!

pg.1,8|Engineering Directorate Support ECBC’s own Servicemen and Women: Message of support to be sent to RFAST in Afghanistan pg.1,7|Engineering’s ADM Cuts Costs for Warfighter Training pg.3|At Your Service. . .

Engineering’s Rod Fry Provides Nine Tenets of Customer Service pg.4-5| ECBC Safety Month 2012 pg.4|A Message from George Collins, the ECBC Safety Director pg.5|ECBC Engineering Recognizes Two of its Own as Safety in Excellence Finalists pg.6|Engineering’s Stephen Harper: Serving at Home and Abroad

Corey Piepenburg, Randy Kuchta, and Kevin Washok received awards at the Excellence in Federal Career Awards ceremony.

Corey Piepenburg, Kevin Washok and Randy Kuchta were all recognized with Excellence in Federal Career Awards by the Baltimore Federal Executive Board on 4 May. Piepenburg received a Bronze Medal in Outstanding Professional (non-supervisory) - Technical, Scientific and Program Support.

Washok received a Bronze Medal for Outstanding Para-Professional (non-supervisory) - Technical, Scientific and Program Support and Kuchta received the silver medal for Outstanding Trades and Crafts Employee (non-supervisory).

ECBC Engineering Directorate HR Tip: Social Security Statement Online Social Security statements are now available online. The online statement provides estimates for disability and survivors’ benefits, making the statement an important financial planning tool. Everyone should get in the habit of checking their online statement each year, around their birthday.

The link to obtain your statement is: http://www.socialsecurity.gov/mystatement.

This newsletter was published through the Balanced Scorecard.

For article suggestions, questions or comments please contact Ed Bowen at ed.bowen8.civ@mail.mil.

For information about ECBC HR policies, please contact Sabre Harper at sabre.d.harper.civ@mail.mil.

Ask a Tech Tip: Borax!

Mike Kauzlarich, of the Pyrotechnics and Explosives Branch, reveals how the techniques and lessons learned in labs can help you solve your household problems. Submit a question to him at usarmy.APG.ecbc.mbx.engineering-directorate@mail.mil.

Do you remember 20 Mule Team Borax? Your Mom must have used it...

Front loading washing machines, which use less water, have increased in popularity in recent years.

They save energy and are good for the environment, but the front loaders pose a problem that the manufacturers are wrestling to solve. How do you get rid of the odor of mold? Leaving the door to the washer open, when not in use, will provide ventilation and help to eliminate odors.

Start adding Borax to your wash loads –you don’t need to use much. Mold will not grow in the presence of borates. Borax is also a great natural way to condition the wash water, and it is very gentle on clothes. Use it regularly to eliminate odors.

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The Engineering Edge|June 2012| 3

At Your Service … Engineering Edge Guest Contributor Rod Fry The Nine Tenets of Customer Service hen I think of Customer Service Tips customer service,

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I generally think of how I expect to be treated when I am shopping at a retail store, staying in a nice hotel, or eating out at an expensive restaurant. It is critical that the proprietors of these businesses treat customer service as a top priority. Without good customer service, how could they possibly expect to have return customers and receive positive word-of-mouth recommendations?

It may be easy to forget that as employees of the Federal Government, we are also in the customer service industry.

It may be easy to forget that as employees of the Federal Government, we are also in the customer service industry. No matter who you are, or what you are working on, you have a customer that depends on you. Whether that customer is a Joint Project Manager (JPM)-rep, a Joint Science and Technology Office Science and Technology manager, a private company, or a customer internal to ECBC, our customers depend on us. Without good customer service, our customers are not able to do their jobs well. Let’s not forget that we all share one common customer – the Warfighter.

With that said, I would like to list some of the tenets of good customer service, and while reading this, we should ask ourselves, “Is this an area I could improve on in my daily work?”

1. Keep the lines of communication open. Imagine that you are at a restaurant and you order the steak dinner. How would you feel if after 25 minutes your waiter delivers you the chicken and shrimp, with no explanation? You would be livid. But, what if the waiter immediately came back to your table after you ordered the steak, and said “I’m so sorry, but we ran out of the steak special. May I recommend our chicken and shrimp platter – It’s amazing!” In this situation, you may be perfectly happy to receive something different than what you had originally hoped to purchase. Open lines of communication can make all the difference.

2. Anticipate the needs of your customer.

3. Ask your customer what they need from you in order to do their job well.

4. Listen to your customers.

5. Do not make promises unless you will keep them.

6. Deal with complaints. Customers do not expect you to be perfect, but they do expect you to fix things when mistakes are made.

7. Be helpful - even if there is no obvious benefit to you. You never know if someone asking for help will provide the lead for your next funded project.

8. Go the extra mile to make certain you deliver more than is expected of you.

9. ECBC is greater than 90 percent customer-funded. As such, it is important to remember that we need to work hard at providing the best customer service to our clients. Much of what we come to expect in our personal dealings with customer service outside of work, we should expect of ourselves in working to deliver the best products and services to ECBC’s customers!

New Hire Brown Bag Forum: Leadership Development Opportunities Sponsored by: Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC), Engineering Directorate’s Balanced Scorecard New Hire Orientation Initiative

The development of strong upcoming leaders will be essential for our Center’s future success! Wondering what leadership development opportunities exist for you?

Join us 13 June 2012 • Location: E3330, Room 34 Time: 1130-1230 Open to: Engineering civilian employees hired within the last 3 years Grab your lunch and join members of the workforce who have participated in ECBC leadership opportunities. Individuals with experience in the Center’s leadership opportunities will be available 13 June to share their experiences. The Workforce Management Office will also have answers to your questions and provide information about future opportunities.

For more information, contact Mary Martinez: 410-436-3243 or mary.b.martinez.civ@mail.mil.

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A Message from George Collins, the ECBC Safety Director

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une is National Safety Month, and as an Army laboratory, the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) works hard to ensure that the work we do at the Center is safe.

ECBC has been defending the nation from chemical and biological threats since 1917. Since then, we have seen an evolution in the Center’s mission from responding to immediate chemical threats in the First World War to the elimination of weapons in the 1990s and more recently to the vital role ECBC plays in defending the nation against emerging threats.

Along with the growth of ECBC’s technical mission, the safety culture has also evolved.

We are very proud of the safety culture at ECBC in 2012; in many key areas, ECBC is considered the gold standard for working safely with highly hazardous materials. In every discipline, we see “hands-on” operators collaborating with the risk management community to develop new policies and safe practices.

When I first came to Edgewood in the 1980s, risk management was seen as a watchdog staff function that was out to “catch you” if you did something wrong. That kind of environment was not effective in reducing accidents or preventing injuries because it did not include input from the individuals performing hazardous operations. During this period, we experienced quite a few mishaps and outside agencies repeatedly found significant problems with how we managed risk. Over the next two decades, the Center’s philosophy of managing risk was influenced by industry best practices and a realization that a culture change could not happen unless scientists, engineers and technicians had a voice in risk management policy development.

We are very proud of the safety culture at ECBC in 2012; in many key areas, ECBC is considered the gold standard for working safely with highly hazardous materials. In every discipline, we see “hands-on” operators collaborating with the risk management community to develop new policies and safe practices. Successes such as the Non-traditional Agent Safety Committee and the BioSafety Committee clearly show that scientists, engineers and technicians do have a voice in how we conduct hazardous operations and in the development of new policies.

The collaborative nature of our safety program today is also visible in our low accident rate; in the favorable results of external inspections; in the organizational safety awards we have won; and in the strong participation of ECBC personnel in safety committees, hazard analysis meetings, and facility construction and modification meetings.

Without the support of all Center employees, the success we have seen thus far would not be possible. As we move forward, it is my hope that all ECBC employees continue to support a positive safety culture across the Center. Together we can achieve the ultimate goal of a workplace free of injuries.

For more information about the safety at ECBC, please contact the ECBC Safety and Health Office at 410-436-4411.

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The Engineering Edge|June 2012| 5

ECBC Engineering Recognizes Two of its Own as Safety in Excellence Finalists

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The Engineering Directorate had two finalists for the ECBC Excellence in Safety Award this year - the Protective Equipment Test (PET) Branch within the Engineering Test Division, and Tom Hughes, a chemist with the Applied Detection Technology (ADT) Branch. This year’s award went to a researcher from the Research and Technology Directorate.

The Safety ProAct Committee received 13 nominations for the 2012 ECBC Excellence in Safety Award program, which is in its second year.

“The two Engineering finalists have made significant contributions to promote and improve a culture where safety is a core value,” said Debra Cantemiry, who coordinated the Safety Award through the ProAct Committee.

The Protective Equipment Test Branch’s improvements to the safety of the workforce have included creating a practical visitor safety briefing as well as an employee safety briefing packet for all new employees. The branch has also instituted a Safety Suggestion Program.

The Protective Equipment Test Branch was a finalist in the 2012 ECBC Excellence in Safety Award.

PET has been commended for ensuring Building E5100 is a safe place to work.

“The Protective Equipment Test Branch success and recognition as a center leader in assuring a safe work environment can be attributed to its leadership, culture of safety, and most importantly the dedication and professionalism of the diverse staff of specialists, technicians, engineers, and scientists,” Ron Pojunas, Associate Director of Joint and Interagency Activities, wrote in the nomination form for PET. Hughes was recognized for increasing worker safety by reducing the risks of direct contact with chemical agent. Hughes designed a needle system for the Neat Aerosol Generator (NAG), which requires chemical agent containers be opened only once instead of multiple times, reducing the primary contact hazard by more than 90 percent.

Additionally, Hughes integrated Toxic Industrial Chemicals (TIC) cylinder regulator systems into a laboratory to create a safer working environment. The cross purge regulator system allows nitrogen to be sent to a chlorine regulator at the end of the day, reducing the amount of gas used while increasing cost savings. The system also provides a visual indicator if a leak occurs.

Hughes is ambitious in his strive for safety and surety. “In addition to his position responsibilities, he is engaged in researching and improving all safety aspects of laboratory operations for ADT,” Sally Edler and Eugene Vickers, of the Engineering Test Division, wrote of Hughes in his nomination.

Tom Hughes of the Applied Detection Technology Branch was a finalist in the ECBC Excellence in Safety Awards this year.

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Engineering’s Stephen Harper: Serving at Home and Abroad Applied Detection Technology physical scientist and safety lead Stephen Harper discusses how he juggles being a scientist at ECBC, as well as an active Black Hawk Pilot with the National Guard.

Engineering Edge (EE): How did you get your start in your current ECBC position and in the National Guard?

Stephen Harper (SH): I started at ECBC as a contractor in the early 2000s working in the Lab Building Research Systems. As a contractor I did work with the different teams. I started to really like my work and my co-workers at ECBC, so I became an official ECBC employee with the Applied Detection Technology Branch in 2005.

I joined the National Guard prior to working for ECBC. While at ECBC, I took a leave of absence to attend the U.S Army Helicopter Flight School in Fort Rucker, Alabama during the late 1990s. My first deployment happened while I was with ECBC in 2003 when I went to Mosul, Iraq. Between my first deployment and when I got back, I took another break from ECBC to become a U.S. Marshall in Washington, D.C. Then I came back to ECBC in 2008 and had my second deployment to Basrah, Iraq in 2009.

Although I am back at ECBC, I am still active with the National Guard, and deployments can still happen. When they do, I take leave from my work at ECBC, go where I need to go, then come back and pick up where I left off. It might get hectic, but in addition to just loving the feeling of flying a helicopter, I know I am getting a unique experience through my deployments. Not many teams have people who can say they have seen a piece of equipment working downrange in theater. I see what works, I see what does not, and more than that, it allows me to take the work we do here at ECBC very seriously. Lives depend on what we do. That is huge, and that is important.

EE: What are your favorite duties as a scientist and in the Service?

SH: I do a lot of testing that allows me to come up with creative solutions. For example, it might seem like I am doing standard testing with chemical agent, but my challenge might be to find a quick and inexpensive way to keep a chemical at a low temperature. From there, I see what I can do with an off-the-shelf cooler, or with any other

solution I can think of. It’s a mix of ingenuity and science. I also love the people I work with. There are some great characters around here that make the job such a joy every day.

As for my job as a pilot, I love the excitement of flying. Sometimes friends ask why I never got into computer or video games and my response is always because I do the real thing. I can receive a phone call from a senior officer that needs to test Night Vision Goggles (NVG), and I get to go to my second job to fly a helicopter with NVGs. To me, nothing could be better. Not only am I having fun, but I am honing my skills so that if they are needed for a real mission I am ready and proficient in my skill.

EE: What project are you currently working on, or have you worked on in the past that you learned the most from or that you found particularly exciting?

SH: I really do find all my projects exciting. Right now we are testing several chemicals for different customers, and that is exciting.

In the military, I am slotted to attend an instructor pilot course, and that job keeps evolving and stays interesting. There is much to learn still in all of my areas and that keeps me motivated about the work I do.

EE: What skill do you use in your job that you initially did not think you would need?

SH: The skill that I most need is paying attention to detail and having the ability to put things into larger context. This skill is applicable to being a scientist and a pilot. A lot of people ask me, “what is the link between science and flying helicopters?” To me, the answer is simple: the results are dire if you do not pay attention to detail. It is not just one test, or one flight. It is realizing that if I do not conduct this one test to the best of my ability, or fly this one mission with alertness and precision, the results could be fatal not just to myself, but to others as well.

Engineering 2012 Awards Ceremony The Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) Engineering Directorate held its annual awards ceremony on 17 May in the Berger Auditorium to honor those members of the Engineering workforce celebrating career milestones and special achievements.

“People are the most valuable resource here at ECBC,” Director of Engineering Alvin D.Thornton said to kick off the ceremony. “If not for the people, we would not be the organization that we are.”

Thornton went on to thank the workforce for their support when he spent time as the Acting Technical Director in late 2011. “I always gave Mr. Wienand a hard time, but now I have great respect for him in that position; it is not easy. I want to thank you all for being supportive.”

Thornton presented each award with humor, and personal praises of those awarded, including Do Ngyuen, Branch Chief of the Test, Reliability & Evaluation Branch, who along with four other members of his branch, earned the Army Certificate of Achievement for their dedicated customer service to the Project Manager.

Nancy Waltman, retired Packaging Branch Chief, returned to receive the Department of the Army Meritorious Civilian Award for delivering the highest level of sustainment support to CBRN missions.

Twenty five individuals were honored with awards, including two United States Patents.

10 Years Certificate • Dawn Folck 25 Years Certificate • Debbie Brooks-Harris 30 Years Certificate • Jim Genovese • Louis Kanaras • Stephen Marshall • Raymond Miller, Jr. • Mark Schlein

Certificate of Promotion • Sean Monahan (promoted to GS09 Computer Scientist) • Jarrell Johnshon (promoted to GS09 Computer Scientist) • Griffith Asplundh (promoted to GS11 Mechanical Engineer) • Akanksha Raja (promoted to GS11 Chemical Engineer) • Myat Win (promoted to GS12 Mechanical Engineer) • Carolyn Wyatt (promoted to DE-03 Supervising Finance Management) Packaging Excellence Award-Team Award • Debbie Brooks-Harris • Dexter Jennings • David Vincitore • Mary Peck • Nancy Waltman • Jason Cundiff • Karyn Rafferty • Randy Weber • Dean Hansen APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

Certificate of Achievement –Jess A. Scarbrough, BG • Do Nguyen • Stephen Marshall • Angel Cruz • Hongnhan Le • Amanda Mihok United States Patents • Jim Genovese 1. Sampling Device for Low Volatility Hazardous Chemicals 2. Detecting Nerve Agents and Determining Thereofs

The Engineering Edge|June 2012| 7

Engineering’s ADM Cuts Costs for Warfighter Training Continued From Page 1 “Warfighters would train with these systems and since they were new to them, a lot of damage would get incurred to the detector in the training process,” said Peter Bryant, a Project Specialist working in ADM’s Technology and Systems Integration Branch. Student drivers were doing roughly $2 million worth of damage per month learning to operate the HMDS. “It just was not a reasonable option, so we were tasked to create a training system that would not total as much in repairs.”

Bryant, along with others from across ADM were able to create the Husky Mounted Detection System Surrogate (HMDSS), a trainer that was created with Aluminum panels and plastic nose cones, and used radio waves to simulate detecting an item. A buried ‘tag’ indicates the threat type of the material found.

The system cost is one quarter that of the original. The panels only cost $1000 for a complete replacement, but generally, only the nose cones suffer damage, which total $100 to replace.

“We were asked to just create and test a potential training product. We did and that turned out to be a success,” said Kevin Wallace, Technology and Systems Integration Branch Chief. “From there we ended up building 26 systems for JIEDDO, currently we are building 29 systems and we’ve been tasked to build more, so it’s certainly taken off.”

Since the initial 26 HMDSS Kits were shipped to JIEDDO in January 2011, the ECBC engineers have continued to work on enhancements to the systems, such as a timing mode, Global Positioning System (GPS) mode, and a buried mode which uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags to simulate events that play images of real threats.

“The initial direction was pretty narrow, but as the project has evolved, we have been asked to add more and more elements that the real system has,” said Mark Colgan, an engineer in the Electronic Design and Integration Branch. “Next we are adding additional targets to the HMDSS. Now the HMDSS looks more like the HMDS and has the same functions.”

“The end goal now is not to just have a training item that can be kicked around during practice, but to actually create a training item that Warfighters can become certified in before they go to theater. That is a very different end goal than the initial one,” Bryant said.

Wallace said as this project started to grow, the initial group needed to enlist the help of all the branches within ADM as well as some from outside the Division.

“From helping us gather tech data, to technical writers and the Chemical Biological Applications & Risk Reduction Division over in the Directorate of Program Integration, it has been a team effort,” Wallace said.

The group expects to be involved with this project even after the additional HMDSS are fielded through, providing logistics support as well as any additional enhancements. Additional partners for the HMDSS include the Letterkenny and Tobyhanna Army Depots. “This was certainly a collaborative effort not only to create the initial product, but also to improve and sustain it in the future,” Wallace said. “I would call this a Division-wide effort, but we have also had help from others within ECBC, several conglomerates and industry partners.”

So far, the HMDSS is already fielded at 17 different locations, including three locations outside of the Continental United States, with the current project to go to 11 others.

In addition to creating the physical training detector for the vehicle, the project was taken a step further with the development of an iPad application. The application brings all the same features of driving with the HMDSS to the iPad screen. The user simulates driving a vehicle and receiving alerts of potential threats. From there, the driver must

The HMDSS is an ADM-created trainer of the HMDS, a Husky attachment that allows Warfighters to detect possible Improvised Explosives Device threats. The trainer costs a quarter of the amount to create an original, and could possibly be used to certify Warfighters.

determine a course of action to ensure safety. Additionally, the HMDSS application allows the user to go on virtual route clearance missions, and includes a full user manual for the vehicle. The iPad application enlisted the help of ADM’s Conceptual Modeling and Animation Branch as well as the Electronic Drawing and Development Branch.

The iPad application will include an installation manual as well as simulations that are based on events that could actually happen.

The manual allows Warfighters to have something light and easy to carry and refer to for questions while in theater as well as having the ability to do refresher training on their own time on an iPad. In addition to the HMDSS iPad interactive installation guide the group is also working with Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, & Instrumentation (PEO STRI) to add the threat detection simulation software to the Virtual Clearance Training System (VCTS), which is an interactive trailer where Warfighters rotate in to do interactive training. This potential addition could expand the HMDSS training to the surrogate system, and possibly two interactive training systems.

The story doesn’t stop there, visit http://edgewoodchembio.blogspot.com to read more!

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Engineering Directorate Supports ECBC’s own Servicemen, Women Messages of support to be sent to RFAST in Afghanistan

Holding the banner, from left to right: Chika Nzelibe, senior chemical engineer; COL (Ret.) Humberto Galarraga, ECBC Detection and Decontamination Division Chief; COL Daniel McCormick, the Joint Project Manager (JPM) for Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Contamination Avoidance (NBC CA) and Dr. James Baker, Associate Director of ECBC, gave remarks at the unveiling of ECBC’s Recognition Wall.

“I want to give a huge thank you to military men and women for their service, and express my deepest gratitude,” Galarraga said.

Chika Nzelibe, senior chemical engineer in Engineering’s Advanced Design and Manufacturing Division and current Research and Technology Directorate Executive Officer, recalled one of his first days in National Guard basic training where he sat in a gas chamber with a cold. After answering questions about his name, age and address in the chamber while wearing a protective mask, Nzelibe said that he was asked to perform the same tasks without the mask. It was then he said he truly realized how important the equipment, and those who are behind the scenes making such equipment, truly are.

Continued From Page 1

“The guys would run in to see what came in and spent all night reading the cards and messages. Don’t underestimate how much these words can mean,” said COL Daniel McCormick, the Joint Project Manager (JPM) for Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Contamination Avoidance (NBC CA). all shared memories of their days in the U.S. Military and expressed gratitude to those who are currently in the Military before unveiling the banner.

“This banner is a symbol of what makes our country great and reflects our profound gratitude to the Warfighter,” Galarraga said. He went on to share how the resilience and strength of the American people, shown in new symbols such as the Freedom Tower, can be attributed to having strong heroes leading the nation.

“I only had the mask off for a little while in training, but to be exposed to worse [chemical agent] without a mask is unthinkable.

I experienced firsthand the benefits of the work done at ECBC,” Nzelibe said.

Dr. Baker shared the story of his first day at Edgewood back in 1969. Although, he said he was “a lab Warfighter,” Dr. Baker told the audience that his work in the Army meant everything, from meeting his wife to giving him a professional family at ECBC. COL McCormick, JPM of JPM NBC CA’s message was simple: although it may just seem like signing a small banner, the reward the Warfighter gets from knowing that they have support at home and are still in people’s thoughts is huge. COL McCormick, who did a tour in Afghanistan this past year, said the looks on his colleagues’ faces when packages came in resembled children’s on Christmas day.

“The guys would run in to see what came in and spent all night reading the cards and messages,” COL McCormick said. “Do not underestimate how much these words can mean.”

The Military Appreciation Recognition Wall unveiling ceremony is sponsored by the Directorate’s Balanced Scorecard Strategy.

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