AMC puts people first in 2020

Photo By Samantha Tyler | Gen. Ed Daly and Command Sgt. Maj. Alberto Delgado, the command team of Army Materiel Command, visit barracks at Fort Hood, Texas, to see quality of life improvements Dec. 2. AMC is responsible for four of the five quality of life priority initiatives set by the Chief of Staff of the Army: housing, child care, spouse employment and permanent change of station moves. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kelvin Ringold)  

REDSTONE ARSENAL, AL, UNITED STATES

12.11.2020

Story by Samantha Tyler 

U.S. Army Materiel Command   

In a year shaped by a worldwide pandemic, Army Materiel Command has put people first by contributing to the whole-of-government COVID-19 response, supporting the warfighter and improving quality of life for Soldiers, civilians and families.

Since April 2020, AMC has leveraged the full force of the materiel enterprise in the fight against COVID-19. AMC supported through contracting, communications, storage and movement of Personal Protective Equipment and deployment support for medical units and personnel, among other functions. Organic Industrial Base facilities produced, repaired and repurposed equipment to augment the supply of PPE and other potentially life-saving medical equipment.

AMC Commander Gen. Ed Daly said the AMC workforce adjusted well to operating in the COVID environment, anticipating needs and staying ahead of the learning curve in many areas.

“AMC is making huge readiness impacts for the Army. Our people understand the mission and are getting after it,” Daly said during the AMC Commander’s Forum.

While supporting COVID-19 efforts, AMC continued its missions supporting the warfighter. AMC supported DEFENDER-Europe 20, an exercise testing the U.S. military’s ability to mobilize and deploy forces, sustaining them in a crisis and redeploying them when their mission is complete. Although the exercise was scaled back due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command personnel successfully moved more than 3,000 pieces of equipment through multiple seaports from the U.S. to Europe.

AMC also fielded equipment for the Army Combat Fitness Test, Army’s new fitness test of record. Tank-automotive and Armaments Command had overall responsibility of delivering more than 36,000 lanes of new Army Combat Fitness Test equipment to 1 million active-duty, Reserve and National Guard Soldiers at more than 1,000 Army units around the world.

Despite challenges presented by COVID-19, AMC closed out fiscal year 2020 with more than 156,000 contracting actions valued at more than $87 billion.

While working on new and ongoing missions, AMC underwent many leadership changes. Gen. Gus Perna, relinquished command to Daly July 2.

“We will continue to deliver logistics support, sustainment and materiel readiness from the Strategic Support Area to the tactical point of need in a multi-domain environment anywhere in the world,” he said. “We will continue the irreversible momentum in critically impacting our Army Soldiers and their families, as well as the joint force from fort, depot and arsenal to the foxhole on any battlefield in any region.”

Also on July 2, Lt. Gen. Donnie Walker received his third star and became AMC’s deputy commanding general. Weeks later, Command Sgt. Maj. Rodger Mansker passed the colors to Command Sgt. Maj. Alberto Delgado during a change of responsibility ceremony July 23. Mansker was Army Materiel Command’s 16th command sergeant major. Installation Management Command, Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, Joint Munitions Command, Army Sustainment Command, Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command and the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command also had leadership changes.

AMC’s structure also changed from 11 to 10 major subordinate commands. Army Medical Logistics Command, which is responsible for projecting and sustaining medical materiel capabilities and data, realigned under Communications-Electronics Command, which better enables AMLC to focus on the life cycle management of medical equipment and supplies, and supports Army readiness.

In a year full of changes, AMC consistently worked to improve quality of life for Soldiers, civilians, retirees and families. In October, Secretary of the Army Ryan D. McCarthy and Daly met with private housing companies, financial investors and institutions, and bond rating agencies to discuss increasing investments in Army privatized housing. As part of the discussions, private housing companies are on track to invest up to an additional $2.8 billion for Army housing over the next five years. These investments will result in 3,800 new homes and nearly 18,000 renovations of homes at Army installations.

Installation access also improved in 2020. As of January 2020, the new survivor’s access policy allowed qualified survivors to get through gate security more easily and travel on post without an escort to attend events, view memorials and receive services using their survivor’s access card, or long-term installation access pass at overseas locations.

For everyone with installation access, the Army provided a new tool for finding information about services, business hours and other resources. In a partnership with the Army & Air Force Exchange Service, the Digital Garrison mobile app was created to securely deliver information and facilitate access to a full range of installation quality-of-life services.

Throughout the year and looking forward, AMC supported the People First priority, through quality of life initiatives and Project Inclusion. Daly empowered leaders to develop action plans to deliver diversity and inclusion programs that encourage leader awareness and commitment, provide education and training, and communicate principles of diversity and inclusion among the workforce.

“Our primary responsibility as Army leaders is to take care of our Soldiers, civilians and families,” said Daly. “I fully support Project Inclusion and I strongly believe that our Army only benefits from having a wide range of backgrounds, talents and perspectives all working together to accomplish our common mission.”

• Date Taken: 12.11.2020
• Date Posted: 12.11.2020 12:13
• Story ID: 384781
• Location: REDSTONE ARSENAL, AL, US