ARMY AND NATIONAL GUARD LEADERS PRAISE WORK AT MAINE MILITARY AUTHORITY IN LIMESTONE

Top Army and National Guard leaders today praised the work currently being performed at Maine Military Authority (MMA), and they pledged to Senator Susan Collins that they are already looking for new opportunities to sustain the workload at the Limestone facility.

“Our effort here is to be a good steward of the taxpayer dollar, and what we get from the MMA is absolutely a top product for a very good price,” Major General Raymond Carpenter, Acting Director of the National Guard said today as he testified before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veteran Affairs, of which Senator Collins is a member.  “It only makes sense for us, to the extent that we can, to utilize that particular effort up there and to maximize the capacity.”

At Senator Collins’ request, Major General Carpenter, along with nearly a dozen other top military officials, toured MMA’s facilities last week.  Carpenter said today that it was an honor to see, first-hand, the professional capabilities of MMA, which, for 13 years, has developed a good reputation for performing cost-effective work refurbishing Humvees and other vehicles.

Also testifying at today’s hearing was Brigadier General James Boozer, Director of Operations, Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff, Installation Management (U.S. Army), who told Senator Collins that he was impressed with the feedback he received from his Installation Management team that accompanied her during last week’s visit. 

Senator Collins asked BG Boozer if the Army is working to identify opportunities where MMA might be able to assist the Army in its need.

He responded that the Army is in discussions with MMA about a potential to compete in its wheel assembly program and “it looks like there may be a possibility of funneling some of our non-tactical fleet to the MMA—specifically our firefighting equipment that’s in dire need of refurbishment,” he said.

“It is clear that both the National Guard and the Army recognize that MMA has proven that it can provide well-respected, quality, and dependable service to its customers,” said Senator Collins.  “I am delighted that Major General Carpenter and the team he brought to Limestone last week were able to see this first-hand, and I would welcome a visit from Brigadier General Boozer in the future.  I am confident that we can work together to identify opportunities to sustain work at MMA, and I am hopeful that this will help sustain the good jobs at this important industrial facility.”