TOBYHANNA, Pa. – U.S. Army Medical Logistics Command is reinforcing its commitment to developing the future medical maintenance workforce, recently completing two outreach engagements in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Spearheaded by AMLC’s Medical Maintenance Operations Division at Tobyhanna Army Depot, known as MMOD-PA, these efforts successfully boosted awareness among local high school students and solidified ties with a premier regional biomedical equipment technology, or BMET, training program.
The outreach initiative kicked off April 14 at a two-day career exploration event hosted by Junior Achievement of Northeastern Pennsylvania, held at Mohegan Pennsylvania near Wilkes-Barre. MMOD-PA technicians Ann Thomas, Hannah Acevedo and Dean Edwards represented AMLC, engaging with nearly 3,800 students from 35-plus school districts.
Standing alongside over 80 regional employers, the MMOD-PA exhibit introduced students to the critical, yet often unfamiliar, BMET career field. The team utilized an interactive display, featuring a portable ventilator, infusion pump and a patient monitor with defibrillator paired with a training dummy, to highlight the essential role of medical maintenance in supporting overall Army readiness.
“The simulation allowed students to understand how a defibrillator delivers controlled electrical shock to a patient’s heart,” said George Takacs, MMOD-PA’s chief of operations. “The team’s display emphasized patient safety procedures and the critical role of biomedical equipment technicians in field environments and patient transport.”
Feedback from the visit was positive, as event staff praised the group for its displays and overall interest. Students echoed the sentiment, expressing newfound interest in specialized technical roles and potential opportunities at Tobyhanna.
Following the success of that event, MMOD-PA Director William Wall visited Johnson College in Scranton on April 20. Engaging directly with students enrolled in the college's BMET program, Wall discussed AMLC’s mission and the diverse range of civilian BMET career pathways available within the Army medical maintenance enterprise.
With only a small number of accredited two-year BMET programs nationwide, educational pathways in the U.S. remain limited despite growing industry demand. This scarcity makes partnerships with specialized institutions like Johnson College vital for MMOD-PA's long-term success, Wall said.
“Many of the organization’s current BMETs are Johnson College graduates,” he said. “Maintaining this strong relationship not only increases student awareness of federal service opportunities but also ensures a reliable, skilled talent pipeline to sustain long-term workforce readiness across the medical maintenance community.”
Wall said the two engagements underscore AMLC’s ongoing strategy to expand awareness of the BMET profession, support regional workforce development and build a robust bench of future medical maintenance professionals.
MMOD-PA is one of three stateside medical maintenance divisions under AMLC, the Army’s Class VIII medical materiel command. Headquartered at Fort Detrick, Maryland, AMLC is a major subordinate command to U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command.