[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 147 (Tuesday, September 16, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1795]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING THE JOINT MANUFACTURING AND TECHNOLOGY CENTER AT ROCK ISLAND 
                                ARSENAL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BRUCE L. BRALEY

                                of iowa

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 16, 2008

  Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. Madam Speaker, I rise today to thank and 
congratulate Colonel Craig Cotter and the dedicated working men and 
women at the Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center located at the 
Rock Island Arsenal federal campus.
  Since 1862 the Rock Island Arsenal has been providing the supplies 
and equipment American soldiers need to protect this country. Today the 
Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center (JMTC)--under the command of 
the Army Materiel Command--continues that proud tradition of meeting 
the needs of our Armed Forces.
  JMTC's technological and manufacturing expertise has been essential 
to protecting our nation in the 21st Century. At no time was this fact 
more evident than when insurgents in Iraq began using improvised 
explosive devices to attack Humvees and other military vehicles. The 
Army needed an immediate solution and JMTC was the only manufacturing 
center ready and able to provide it. JMTC used their rapid-response 
design and manufacturing capacity to produce dozens of ``up-armor 
kits'' before final engineering was even complete. In a matter of days 
the first armor kits were designed, produced, and on their way to Iraq. 
To date, JMTC has produced thousands of armor kits and is poised to 
expand their armaments development into new titanium and lightweight 
composite materials.
  JMTC is truly a center of industrial and technological excellence. In 
2006 and 2007 they earned the Shingo Prize Public Sector Gold Medallion 
for the Forward Repair System, making JMTC the Army's only two time 
winner of this prestigious award. JMTC has also met high work standards 
with the M119 Towed Howitzer, gunner protection armor kit, shop 
equipment contact maintenance vehicle, and small arms parts program.
  Madam Speaker, the women and men at JMTC are indispensable to our 
long-term national security. This facility is poised to develop the 
materials and technologies we will need to protect the United States 
for decades to come.

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