Army

CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea – Soldiers, family members and civilians across U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys marched with holiday spirit and heavy rucksacks as they delivered presents to children during the Toy Ruck March, Dec. 6, 2024.

The event, hosted by the Eighth Army Chaplains Directorate, provided an opportunity for the Camp Humphreys community to brighten the holiday season for military and South Korean children while fostering stronger relationships between the U.S. military and local communities. Members of the Camp Humphreys community adopted the ornaments and purchased gifts tailored to the children’s ages and interests.

“Soldiers and family members used teamwork to support the needs of the children,” said Col. (Chaplain) Sun “Charlie” Lee, Eighth Army command chaplain. “And this is a great thing to do, especially during the holiday season.”

Preparations for the Toy Ruck March began weeks earlier when the chaplains directorate set up holiday trees at four chapels across the installation. Units from Camp Humphreys submitted names, ages, and genders of children to create angel ornaments for the trees. By late November, 250 angel ornaments adorned the trees, each representing a child in need of a present.

Donated gifts from the Eighth Army community were picked up and packed into ruck sacks and backpacks at the Downtown Plaza and then carried for 3.9 miles. The finish line was at the Camp Humphreys holiday tree, which held its initial tree-lighting that evening.

“The Toy Ruck March not only symbolizes the unified, empathetic generosity of the community during the holiday season, but it also embodies the bonified camaraderie amongst the entire workforce (Soldiers, Family Members, and DoD Civilians),” said Lucinda Ward, Eighth Army Family Programs Manager/ Master Resilience Trainer, Directorate of Prevention and Resilience, the overall coordinator for the ruck march.

Steve Roscovius, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District residential engineer currently serving as the USACE Task Force water team leader in North Carolina, provides a site overview of the North Fork turbidity reduction system near Asheville, North Carolina, Dec. 7.

USACE is working with the city of Asheville and Buncombe County to provide safe drinking water to the community by reducing the amount of turbidity, or sediment, within the reservoir.

The Corps of Engineers is working in partnership with local, state and federal agencies, to include the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in response to the historic flooding from Hurricane Helene. Current efforts include removing debris from the cities of Asheville, Lake Lure and Chimney Rock, North Carolina; Buncombe, Polk and McDowell counties; as well as Lake Lure, North Carolina Arboretum and the Highlands Recreation Area in Macon County. In addition to removing debris. USACE is also working with the city of Asheville and Buncombe County to provide safe drinking water.

FORT GREGG-ADAMS, Va. — Soldiers, families and community members cheered as a new Christmas tree was lit during the Grand Illumination Ceremony Thursday at the Fort Gregg-Adams Club.

The Grand Illumination is an annual tree lighting ceremony hosted on the lawn of the Fort Gregg-Adams Club where community members, Soldiers and their families are warmly welcomed to enjoy live entertainment, a meet and greet with Santa Claus and a variety of food from local vendors.

“This year the garrison went on the hunt for the perfect Christmas tree and found the beautiful 32-foot tree wrapped in warm white lights you see here tonight,” said Dan Gauvin, Chief of Family and Morale, Welfare, and Recreation.

The Directorate of Public Works team came together to put up the artificial tree in front of the Fort Gregg-Adams club, he added.

“On behalf of the entire garrison team and CASCOM team, we’d all like to wish you and your families a happy holiday,” said Col. Richard Bendelewski, U.S. Army Fort Gregg-Adams garrison commander.

Bendelewski thanked those in attendance for braving the cold to come out and enjoy the festivities that the garrison team worked hard to put together.

While awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus, students from Child and Youth Services along with the local Girl Scout troops performed holiday classics on stage.

As the evening went on, children could be seen enjoying cookies and hot cocoa, dropping their letters off to Santa and riding the Candy Express Train through the winter wonderland.

Tables were setup throughout the club’s lawn with volunteers ready to spread holiday cheer to guests. Volunteers included the Red Cross providing hot cocoa for the evening, First Command handing out cookies, and other various freebies being provided to guests by the Hampton Roads United Service Organization and the FMWR.

“I personally believe that bringing holiday spirit and cheer to everyone is really important, and a huge part of bringing that to our community here comes from our volunteers,” said Sgt. First Class Jamie Ramsdale, Fort Gregg-Adams Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers president.

B.O.S.S. volunteers were seen supporting the event dressed as the Grinch, Cindy Lou Who, a Christmas tree, a snowman and various other characters creating a magical atmosphere for those in attendance.

Once the tree was lit, Gold Star family members, Girl Scouts and children from CYS made their way to the tree to each don their special ornaments. Gold Star family members donned gold ornaments dedicated to their fallen service members. The local Girl Scout troops and CYS donned ornaments made from bird seed for the local birds to enjoy this winter season.

The 208th Army Reserve Band, from the 81st Readiness Division at Fort Jackson, continued the musical entertainment, and guests danced along keeping their spirits high while trying to stay warm.

The tree wasn’t the only new element helping kick off this year’s holiday season.

“This year the FMWR team put on a giveaway contest on their Facebook where followers could participate by commenting on our post in order to win a free Christmas tree,” Gauvin said.

The FMWR had a pickup area for the winners of the contest to pick up their trees. A total of 99 trees were given out to those who participated.

“This is the first time we have held this contest, and it was a hit,” he said.

The yearly tradition of the Grand Illumination Ceremony marks the beginning of the holiday festivities for residents and the community on Fort Gregg-Adams.

To see upcoming holiday events on Fort Gregg-Adams, you can visit our calendar here by copying and pasting this link: https://home.army.mil/greggadams/about/event-calendar

To visit the FMWR’s Facebook for upcoming contests, you can copy and paste this link: https://www.facebook.com/fortgreggadamsfmwr/

To see upcoming FMWR events, you can copy and paste this link: https://gregg-adams.armymwr.com/

[This article was first published in Army Sustainment Professional Bulletin, which was then called Army Logistician, volume 1, number 2 (November–December 1969), pages 12–15, 28–29.]

The U.S. Army OH-6A Cayuse helicopter, since its first appearance in the skies over Vietnam in 1967, has made impressive and enviable records. Combat reports on the performance of the Cayuse reflecting 416,000 combat hours including more than three-quarters of a million sorties substantiate that the aircraft can absorb heavy punishment and still return to base.

Certainly most of the accomplishments related to the Cayuse can be attributed to its inherent capabilities and the skill and dedication of the personnel who man and maintain it in the field.

Less well known but equally important, is the vital support provided by the U.S. Government in the form of plant cognizance activities performed at the manufacturing site.

Contract Administration Services

Plant cognizance activities include all contract administration services performed in or near a contractor’s plant for the benefit of the Government which are necessary to the performance of a contract or in support of the buying organization. The more significant plant cognizance activities are quality assurance, contract administration (including contract terminations, plant security clearances, disposal, and property administration), production, industrial resources, transportation, and industrial security.

Responsibility for plant cognizance at a contractor site is subject to review and change by the Department of Defense, depending upon the status of particular contracts or their military importance.

Award of a contract for production of the Cayuse to the Hughes Tool Company’s Aircraft Division, Culver City, California, in addition to other Army procurements from the same company, made the Army the major dollar contractor with Hughes. Additionally, the requirement for close technical control and timely delivery of this helicopter was of the utmost importance to the Army. Therefore, on September 1, 1967, the responsibility of plant cognizance was transferred from the U.S. Air Force to the U.S. Army. Having one Government focal point, onsite with the contractor, through which all Government direction is passed and monitored, significantly reduces improper or confusing directives.

Procurement Organization

The vertical organization for military procurement begins at the Department of Defense level. The majority of procurement actions are performed by the Defense Supply Agency and the three military departments. Within the Army, procurement responsibility is assigned to the U.S. Army Materiel Command (USAMC), which in turn accomplishes its procurement functions through its subordinate commodity commands such as the U.S. Army Aviation Systems Command (USAAVSCOM) and several regional procurement activities.

Within the USAAVSCOM Acquisition Activity, and on the “frontline” of procurement functions, are its plant cognizance activities such as that onsite at the Hughes Tool Company’s Aircraft Division.

There are approximately 100 contractor sites with Government plant cognizance activities throughout the United States—5 are assigned to the Army, 19 to the Navy, 20 to the Air Force, and the remainder to the Defense Contract Administration Services (DCAS).

Mission

The Army’s Hughes Plant Cognizance Activity performs onsite administration of Government contracts awarded to the Hughes Tool Company’s Aircraft Division and provides contract administration services to each of several procuring contracting offices and to the contractor. Services include preaward surveys, quality assurance, acceptance, production administration, contract administration, price/cost analysis, Government property administration, contract terminations, engineering, shipping, expediting and processing, and numerous lesser responsibilities. The Army’s Hughes Plant Cognizance Activity is organized in a similar functional manner as other plant activities. The plant cognizance activity is not a buying activity. It conducts preaward surveys and provides services to all Government agencies after a contract has been awarded.

Individual staffing of a plant cognizance activity is dependent upon the products or services provided by the contractor and by his geographical dispersion. Since the Hughes Tool Company’s Aircraft Division is aircraft and ordnance oriented, this requires that the Army Hughes Plant Cognizance Activity be staffed with engineering and quality control specialists. Further, the contractor is dispersed in four major locations and five minor ones over an area of 120 miles which generates certain communications problems and increases the staffing requirements.

Hughes Contracts

Knowledge of the contractor’s major programs and products allows for better understanding of the Army’s Hughes Plant Cognizance Activity’s organization. Hughes is currently producing the OH-6A Cayuse light observation helicopter and the TH-55A Osage primary trainer helicopter. In production also is the XM-27E1 “minigun,” the weapon installed on the Cayuse. ln addition, there are associated support contracts or spare parts, product improvement programs, component overhaul, and crash-damage rebuild. Another area of aircraft interest which the contractor is pursuing is the Heavy Lift Helicopter System.

Other contractor research and development efforts involve 40mm airborne and ground weapon system and caseless ammunition. For the U.S. Navy, the contractor has produced and is supporting an aerial 20mm weapon system. A variety of 85 other Government contracts are also held, amounting to more than $200 million in total face value. Other Government agencies may procure common items through USAAVSCOM by using Military Interdepartmental Purchase Requests (MIPRs) or contract directly with Hughes when no similar procurement procedure exists. At such times, non-USAAVSCOM contracts are direct contracts from other Government procuring activities, such as the Navy, Air Force, or U.S. Army Materiel Command. In this way the plant cognizance activity operates much as a DCAS Office; however, it has increased responsibilities, especially in the area of providing engineering services.

Administrative Organization

The Army’s Hughes Plant Cognizance Activity is commanded by an Army officer-aviator who is responsible for all plant cognizance activities. He is assisted by the normal administrative support personnel and several operating divisions.

Contractor Assistance

Unlike the other plant activities, the Army’s Hughes Plant Cognizance Activity centralizes its production/industrial functions in a single division which monitors contract delivery schedules, reports contractor progress, and expedites timely delivery of the product. This division is the focal point for timely production information for all Government agencies.

It monitors the use of Government property furnished to the contractor to assist him in manufacturing or assembling the end product. This equipment may include a wide variety of minor items, special test equipment, or large, complex machines, jigs, or fixtures. In each case its use, security and maintenance must be insured, and rental charges or other pricing requirements accounted for. The other major category of Governmental property consists of those items or material which become part of the contractor’s product. Examples are critical raw materials, radios, instruments, or any other item which the Government desires to standardize or procure in economical quantities. Introduction of this property into a contractor’s product obligates the Government for its quality and delivery schedule. Therefore, the Government must insure the timely receipt of this property to prevent an excusable delay. The division further assists the contractor in justifying and procuring defense material having priority ratings.

Transportation and freight traffic services are another important division function. Additionally, the division keeps its finger on the pulse of the contractor’s labor-management relationship and advises procuring agencies of imminent or actual work stoppage. Personnel of this division conduct preaward surveys and facility capability surveys. These are major factors in determining ability of the contractor to meet any contract’s specifications and requirements prior to the award of a contract.

”Single Face” To Industry

The Government’s objective of presenting a “single fact” to industry is achieved by the onsite Administrative Contracting Officer (ACO). As Chief of the Contract Services Division, the ACO administers all assigned contracts in accordance with contract terms and applicable regulations and directives. The ACO authority may be regulated by directives from the individual Procuring Contracting Officer (PCO) who may withhold certain functions and responsibilities or delegate additional authorities. There are, however, many regularly assigned functions best fulfilled onsite with the contractor.

Minor negotiations are usually delegated to the ACO although more substantial negotiations may also be delegated. The Contract Services Division monitors the contractor’s accounting, estimating, and purchasing systems. The ACO evaluates contractor proposals and furnishes comments and recommendations on any pricing to the PCO. (Other functions of this division include approval of) contractor’s request for progress payments, approving wage and salary schedules, determining applicability of overtime, administering the master bailment agreement, and assuring the contractor’s timely submission of reports and verifying their accuracy.

Major, complex items require considerable engineering effort in both in their development and during and subsequent to their production. This is one of the major reasons for establishing a plant cognizance activity. During the acquisition and employment phases, complex items are subject to continuing improvements. These are categorized into two major divisions, Class I and Class II Engineering Change Proposals (ECP’s). Class I ECP’s are those of a major nature which affect form, fit, function, weight, and price. Class II ECP’s constitute the majority of actions. These are minor in scope or dimensions.

The authority to approve Class I ECP’s is generally retained by assigned project managers or the procuring activities. Review and approval of Class II ECP changes are normal functions of the Army’s Plant Cognizance Activity’s Engineering Division.

The Engineering Division provides overall surveillance of the contractor’s design, development, and production engineering efforts. It is responsible for reviewing engineering studies and proposals and making appropriate recommendations to the procuring authorities. An important part of this function is the analysis and evaluation of contractor-provided data used in pricing products or services.

Normally the division is responsible for determining the acceptability of nonconforming material. In coordination with the Quality Control Division, the Engineering Division insures prompt action to prevent recurring production of nonconforming material.

Other Engineering Division functions include monitoring the contractor’s program on configuration management, value engineering, corrosion control, interchangeability, replaceability, reliability and maintainability. The division also evaluates reports of trouble identified by Equipment Improvement Reports (EIR’s) or other means, which involve design deficiencies and maintains followup to insure that the contractor takes prompt preventive or corrective action. Finally, the Engineering Division assists the Quality Control Division in identifying critical or mandatory inspection characteristics.

Quality Assured

The Quality Control Division performs the overall review and evaluation of the contractor, quality control and the Army Plant Cognizance Activity’s quality assurance programs. It formulates instructions and guidelines for verifying preservation, packaging, packing, and marking of supplies procured by the Government, and for special processes such as radiographic, magnetic particle inspections, welding, and chemical coatings. It accomplishes formal acceptance of the contractor’s products.

It also performs in-process and acceptance inspections to insure proper quality of the procured items. This includes preparing written Government inspection plans, classifying defects, and establishing acceptable quality levels. In-process inspections are a heavy requirement due to the complexity of the major end items (aircraft). They are conducted on a mandatory, 100 percent basis for critical items or areas, and on a sample basis for noncritical areas.

Flight Testing

All aircraft are flight tested before formal acceptance by the Government. This is a prime responsibility of the Army Plant Cognizance Activity’s Flight Test Division. The Government, for reasons of economy, prefers to self-insure for itself and for Government contractors engaged in flight operations. A standard flight and ground risk clause is inserted into applicable contracts which protects a contractor except for acts of negligence. Because of this assumption of risk by the Government, close surveillance is a necessity. The division also monitors all contractor’s flight operations to include production acceptance testing and developmental testing using bailed aircraft. Other functions include surveillance of the contractor’s flight safety program, generating management data from production acceptance flights, and internal transitioning, training, and maintenance of flight records. Frequently, the Government contracts with commercial firms for ferrying the accepted aircraft from the producer to selected designations.

Summary

The overriding mission of a plant cognizance activity is to act as a catalyst to accelerate and integrate a Government and industrial production effort. In the case of procured end items or services which are not assigned to a project manager (and even sometimes when they are) the plant cognizance activity has an obligation to pinpoint responsibilities for specific problems or delays and request appropriate corrective action. One aspect of this is the statement of, or support of, a contractor’s position whenever Government actions appear to adversely affect the procurement, the contractor, or the contractor’s right to a reasonable profit. By being positioned on the “frontline” of the Government procurement function the plant cognizance activity has the ability to measure the immediate impact of Government action or inaction, and the obligation to report such situations appropriately. Acting in the role of ”devil’s advocate,” the plant cognizance activity’s commander can recommend appropriate relief, or corrective action, necessary to insure the best equipment on time and at a price level equitable to both the contractor and the Government.