Morgan Griffith on the Radford Arsenal and Holston Defense Plant

From U.S. Representative Morgan Griffith (R-VA-9):

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The Radford Arsenal: A Vital Mission
The men and women who serve in the U.S. Armed Forces are among the finest our nation has to offer. It is essential that we provide them with the best equipment and supplies available.
In Shakespeare’s Richard III, the king famously laments, “A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!” He loses a battle, his realm, and his life because he lacks a horse at the pivotal moment. We cannot allow our liberties to be lost because of a similar lack of quality supplies when they count the most.
Southwest Virginia makes a critical contribution to this effort. The Radford Army Ammunition Plant is the primary manufacturer of propellant for the Department of Defense. So as our warfighters battled ISIS in the Middle East, Radford’s products propelled their munitions toward their targets.
The Radford arsenal has its origins in World War II, when it employed as many as 23,000 workers. In the decades since, it has remained a key provider for the military and an important employer in our area. Current staffing consists of a small garrison of Army personnel and a larger civilian workforce managed by BAE Systems. Additionally, other businesses, such as Northrop Grumman, maintain an on-site presence as well.
Recently, the arsenal celebrated its 78^th birthday. To mark the occasion, Secretary of the Army Dr. Mark T. Esper toured the facility as part of a swing through Southwest Virginia. He is the first sitting Army Secretary to visit the plant. His itinerary also included a visit to Virginia Tech, where he met with administrators and the Corps of Cadets. In fact, Virginia Tech is one of only six institutions apart from the service academies designated as a senior military college.
I accompanied Secretary Esper on his visit to Radford. We saw all that the arsenal does for our servicemen and -women and the pride its employees take in their work. We also learned more about the projects that fulfill its aim to be a good neighbor and part of our surrounding community.
Radford is not just the primary supplier for some products, but the only supplier. Among the products the Radford arsenal makes is nitrocellulose, a propellant that produces less smoke than alternative propellants. It is the only North American manufacturer and supplier of the substance.
As an aside, it is notable that while Radford supplies the propellant, many of the explosives that are propelled are made close to the Ninth District as well, at the Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Kingsport.
While impressed by the importance of the Radford arsenal to our military supply chain, I am also encouraged by the steps its leadership and the Department of Defense have taken to improve the environment in our communities.
The manufacturing activities occurring at the site, including the burning of waste products, inevitably produce pollution. Recognizing these ills, the Department of Defense has taken important steps in recent years to minimize emissions. From 2017 to 2018, a 47 percent reduction in waste destroyed by open burning occurred. The base’s current commander, Lieutenant Colonel James Scott, set as a goal a 50 percent reduction in this waste by 2021, so the progress has been impressive.
Significant upgrades to the facility have already taken place. Perhaps the most important, the installation of a new incinerator that captures most of the emissions, is scheduled for completion in 2023.
These actions will benefit the environment and contribute to a more harmonious relationship with residents of the surrounding jurisdictions.
While we were at the arsenal, Secretary Esper and I recognized Shirley Turner, an employee celebrating 50 years of work at the facility. This milestone event indicates the long-standing importance of the Radford arsenal as an employer in the New River Valley. The facility maintains a health and wellness program for employees, another signal that it takes its obligations as a major employer seriously.
I am glad that Secretary Esper had a chance to see the important work done at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant, and proud that through the facility, Southwest Virginia continues to make a vital offering to the nation’s defense.
If you have questions, concerns, or comments, feel free to contact my office. You can call my Abingdon office at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at 540-381-5671. To reach my office via email, please visit my website at www.morgangriffith.house.gov. Also on my website is the latest material from my office, including information on votes recently taken on the floor of the House of Representatives.
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Care Packages

It's been a while since the e-mail has shown any great decline in Americans' willingness to pack Care Packages for our troops overseas. This morning it did.

Gentle Readers, the correspondent claims our young people are undersupplied with

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beef sticks, hygiene products, sunflower seeds, corn nuts, and laundry products
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and

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blankets and hand warmers
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for those in Afghanistan, where altitude can keep March weather bitterly cold.

Hmm. Amazon almost never has the best prices on most of these items, but it's time for an Amazon link-a-rama anyway. Here are some images to keep in mind on your next trip to the dime store:













...or the next time you knit or crochet!

Tim Kaine on NDAA

More computers for the schools, he says? What about our contractual obligation to provide a decent choice of health care, including home health care, for disabled veterans? From U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA):

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In case you missed it, I wanted to share some good news with you: We were able to include key wins for Virginia — including my reforms to help reduce military spouse unemployment — in the annual defense bill (the National Defense Authorization Act) that we wrote and passed out of the Senate Armed Services Committee last week.

Over the past year, I met with military spouses to listen to their concerns about the difficulty of getting and keeping jobs because of their families’ frequent moves and transfers. I’m so glad my colleagues agreed that we need to tackle this issue in the defense bill by including my provisions to improve military spouses’ access to jobs and childcare. These changes will strengthen military families’ financial security and help ensure our servicemembers are able to do their jobs.

In addition to supporting military spouses, the bill will also support shipbuilding, fund a pay raise for servicemembers, authorize over $266 million for 14 critical military construction projects throughout Virginia, and more. In addition, the bill continues my years-long effort to expand access to cyber education in Virginia, encouraging the Secretary of Defense to establish new cyber institutes at schools with ROTC programs.

Read more about the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) here >>

This bipartisan legislation will advance our security, support our defense community, and provide our troops with resources they need to keep our country safe. Please know I’ll keep working to support Virginia’s shipbuilding industry, defense community, servicemembers, military spouses, and their families.

Sincerely,

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