[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Pages 10234-10235]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL'S 150TH ANNIVERSARY

  Mr. DURBIN. I rise today to celebrate a major milestone for Illinois 
and the nation. One hundred and fifty years ago on July 11, 1862, 
Illinois' own President Lincoln signed an Act of Congress that 
established the Rock Island Arsenal.
  Rock Island started out during the Civil War as a small Union 
prisoner of war camp which also held and distributed supplies. It has 
grown into a critical manufacturer of 21st century supplies for our 
troops in the field. And in doing so, it also serves as the lifeblood 
of the Quad Cities region that hosts it.
  In celebration of its 150th anniversary, I would like to highlight 
Rock Island Arsenal's impressive history and the impact it has had on 
the community and the nation.
  Rock Island has a long history of producing supplies for our 
military. It was rifle cartridges and siege howitzers in the Spanish-
American War of 1898. In World War I, it was rifles and a variety of 
personal equipment. By World War II, the Arsenal's emphasis had shifted 
to artillery production, and workers increased production from 75 
artillery cartridges a year to 600 a month during the war. This ability 
to rise to the challenge for our servicemembers is a theme at Rock 
Island.
  Products weren't the only thing changing at the Arsenal. So were 
demographics. Everyone is familiar with the image of Rosie the Riveter, 
as women stepped into the workforce. The Arsenal was no different--32 
percent of the workforce was female during World War II.
  Yet some of the workers were only teenagers. Squeezing in 40 hours of 
work while going to school, students were picked up after class and 
bused to the island. They worked Saturdays too. In a not uncommon 
story, Arsenal worker Anna Mae said her wartime effort was a family 
affair. ``My mom worked on one side of the island, my stepdad on the 
other and I was in the middle.''
  Years after the war ended, Anna Mae returned to work at the Arsenal 
until retirement. When she learned that her war efforts contributed to 
her pension, she articulated the selflessness of so many when she said, 
``I never would have thought (about) that--we were just trying to win a 
war.''
  In the Korean War/Conflict, the sense of urgency on the island 
returned. Crews worked 10-hour days, 6 days a week, and sometimes on 
Sunday to get weapons and equipment shipped out. For Vietnam, the 
Arsenal created new products designed to counteract the Viet Cong's 
guerilla ``hit and run'' tactics, such as the M102 lightweight 
howitzer. The Arsenal continued to contribute to systems that meant 
life or death for the soldiers for the 1991 Gulf War--and then adapted 
as the military went through a drawdown after the war ended.
  But as we all know, that peace did not last long. A little more than 
10 years ago, the attacks of September 11th changed our world--and the 
nation again found itself at war. Again to their credit, the Arsenal 
workforce went into overdrive to provide our troops what they needed. 
Machinist Jeff Roberts recalled, ``Everyone's mentality is it's one 
collaborative effort to get the soldiers what they need as fast as you 
can.''
  They did--in a unique way. The Arsenal has the Department of 
Defense's only vertically integrated metal manufacturing capability. It 
has the only remaining foundry in the U.S. Army. It means that raw 
materials can go in one side and come out the other as very intricate 
finished products. It does this with a number of materials, including 
stainless steel, carbon steels, and titanium. The result--new equipment 
to better protect our troops, especially on short notice.
  We all know how devastating improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were 
to U.S. troops in Iraq and continue to be to servicemembers in 
Afghanistan. In 2006 and 2007, our nation had fallen short in armor 
kits for Humvees and other ground vehicles to protect our troops. I 
urged then-Secretary Gates to use Rock Island's production capability 
to get these kits to our troops faster. Secretary Gates agreed. Rock 
Island became the single largest producer of these armor kits. Talk 
about saving lives.
  Lieutenant General Raymond Mason, Army's Deputy Chief of Staff for 
Logistics, recently noted, ``It was critical that we had (the organic 
industrial base), along with our manufacturing capabilities at our 
arsenals at Watervliet, Rock Island and Pine Bluff. This allowed us to 
expand for wartime demand . . . `` He also added, ``By ensuring we 
maintain a core level of work, we then retain expandability 
capabilities if something else happens in the world.''
  As I look to the future, I would say that is exactly what we are 
doing at Rock Island. Earlier this year, I introduced the Army Arsenal 
Strategic Workload Enhancement Act of 2012, with the support of Senator 
Mark Kirk, Senator Grassley, Senator Harkin, and the Senators from New 
York and Arkansas.
  The bill does just what General Mason was describing. It would create 
a strategic plan to ensure arsenals receive the workload they need to 
keep workers' skills sharp for whatever the future may hold.
  We worked with Senator Levin and Senator McCain on this. I was 
pleased that major portions of our bill were included in the report 
accompanying the National Defense Authorization Act, which was voted 
out of the Armed Services Committee last month.
  But the Arsenal isn't complacent. They are partnering with private 
industry interested in working with titanium and other lightweight 
metals at the Quad-City Manufacturing Lab

[[Page 10235]]

which opened in 2010. In these times of tough budget decisions, these 
partnerships enable Rock Island to sustain itself at no cost to the 
government through a Working Capital Fund. Just like the private 
sector, the Arsenal is out there competing for work--and winning it. 
They have signed agreements with Sivyer Steel, Mack Defense and others.
  But Rock Island is about more than just production--it is also the 
bedrock of the Quad-City region as the area's largest employer. One 
example of family commitment to the Arsenal is Jeff Roberts, a 
machinist at Rock Island. His great-great-great-great grandfather was a 
master carpenter at Rock Island in the 1860s and helped build the 
island's iconic Clock Tower. Working at the Arsenal for our men and 
women in uniform gave Jeff a clear understanding of, as he described 
it, ``what you're doing and why you're doing it.'' He added, ``I've 
never had the job satisfaction I have now until I came here.''
  Jeff's experience is replicated all across the Arsenal. The island 
has more than 70 military and private sector organizations as tenants. 
Over the years, the Arsenal has welcomed the Army Corps of Engineers, 
Army Sustainment Command, Joint Munitions Command, and Army Contracting 
Command, among others. Most recently, Rock Island welcomed the 
headquarters for First Army, which is in charge of mobilizing, training 
and deploying our Army Reservists. It may not always have the glitz of 
a front-page story. But their collective dedication shows how central 
Rock Island is to the support of our military, every day.
  Rock Island Arsenal is a large and vibrant installation, with a rich 
history and an impressive array of ongoing activities. Rock Island 
Arsenal has made remarkable contributions over the past 150 years. It 
has served us through our difficult times and will continue to do so in 
the future.
  I thank those who serve at the Arsenal today and those who have 
served in the past. And also to those who have join me in honoring Rock 
Island Arsenal in its 150-year anniversary celebration.

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