ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. -- An ammunition
community of both military and civilians welcomed one
commander while saying good-bye to another.
The Joint Munitions Command held its change
of command ceremony Aug. 1 between outgoing JMC commanding
general Brig. Gen. James E. Rogers and incoming commander
Col. (promotable) Larry D. Wyche.
Wyche became the fourth commander of JMC.
His previous assignment was as the director, logistics,
strategy and integration, Office of the Deputy Chief of
Staff, Logistics, at the Pentagon.
Gen. Benjamin S. Griffin, commanding
general, Army Materiel Command, officiated at the ceremony
and spoke enthusiastically on both Rogers’s and Wyche’s
leadership, and the importance of JMC’s mission.
“Ammo will remain a top priority not
just in Iraq and Afghanistan, but wherever the military is
in the world,” he said. “And today we’re saying goodbye to a
great command team and saying hello to another great command
team.”
Griffin read a list of JMC accomplishments
under Rogers’s leadership:
“(Brig. Gen.) Rogers implemented the Lean Six Sigma program
here and within two years it is self-sustaining in that it
has master black belts mentoring green belts and black
belts. JMC has completed 276 projects and saved $34.8
million. This represents 43 percent of all projects in AMC
and 21 percent of all projects in the Army.”
Griffin said JMC has been vital in the
support of the nation’s mission in Southwest Asia.
“Through the LCMC, Rogers has presided over
the shipments of 87,000 tons of conventional ammunition in
support of the Global War on Terror," he said.
“The command supported 42 logistics
ammunition representatives deployed around the world.
Additionally, (Rogers) sent an ammunition assessment team
into theater for 99 days to visit 26 forward operating bases
and assessed 250 battalion-sized units to assist commanders
in their ammo operations.
“JMC installations are represented by the
commanders here today. Under Rogers’s leadership Radford
Army Ammunition Plant won the prestigious Secretary of the
Army environmental award as a result of their new TNT
process that eliminates environment risks. Pine Bluff
Arsenal and Crane Army Ammunition Activity worked together
closely to reduce a backlog of the 60 mm and 81 mm mortar
production program. Blue Grass Army Depot is one of three
depots selected to produce the Mine Resistance Ambush
Protection (MRAP) vehicle. McAlester Army Ammunition Plant
completed the first assembly of Excalibur, a global
positioning systemguided 155 mm extended range artillery
round three months ahead of schedule. That is so critical to
the warfighter. Just simply an outstanding job. ”
Griffin spoke of Wyche continuing the
tradition of leading JMC.
“You have a great team here. I’ve served
with both of these gentlemen over the years. I know the
quality of the leadership. I don’t have to tell you to take
care of the Soldiers,” he said. “The civilians you have on
staff here are second to none. (Wyche) knows he’s getting
one of the finest commands in the Army.”
Rogers thanked all of JMC for their support
to the warfighters around the world.
“Thank you to the JMC staff here and those
that are working, thank you for a job so well done. You are
the reason JMC is successful. You are the reason we’re an
integral part of the JM&L LCMC, and you are the reason our
Soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines don’t go without
quality ammunition every single day.”
Rogers took pride in the JMC Lean Six Sigma
team leading the way to self improvement. “(JMC’s) Lean Six
Sigma program is the best in DoD, and we have the data to
prove it and that is what Lean Six Sigma is all about,” he
said.
Rogers also thanked the commanders on the
ground at the JMC installations for keeping the production
of ammunition going.
“To the commanders, the race continues for
improvement of our facilities, our processes, and our safety
programs to ship ammunition despite ice storms and record
floods to keep that ammunition where it needs to be in the
hands of our Soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines.”
Also in attendance at the ceremony were
Brig. Gen. William N. Phillips, commanding general, Joint
Munitions and Lethality Life Cycle Management Command.
In
August 2004, The Assistant Secretary of the Army for
Acquisition, Logistics and Technology and the
Commander, U.S. Army Materiel Command (AMC), agreed
to formalize the Army’s Life Cycle Management
initiative in order to get products to the Soldier
faster, make good products better and minimize life
cycle cost. The key to this Life Cycle Management
initiative was the integration of significant
elements of acquisition, logistics and technology
leadership to bring a closer relationship between
AMC, the Major Subordinate Commands (MSC) and the
Program Executive Officers (PEO). This
collaboration was enabled by the establishment of
Life Cycle Management Commands (LCMC), aligning AMC
system oriented MSCs with the PEOs they already
supported. The Aviation and Missile LCMC,
Communications-Electronics LCMC and TACOM LCMC are
operational; marking the stand-up of the Joint
Munitions & Lethality (JM&L) LCMC. The JM&L LCMC is
drawn from the “Ammunition Enterprise” of the PEO
Ammunition, the Joint Munitions Command and the
Armament Research, Development and Engineering
Center, and will integrate the people,
organizations, infrastructure, and processes
necessary for the effective life cycle management of
conventional munitions for the Warfighter. The
overarching objective of the JM&L LCMC is to have
the best munitions in the right place, at the right
time, at the right cost.
