CAMDEN — Congratulations to a key member of the Camden industrial and business community on a milestone as well as embarking on a fresh start to a formerly-produced system.
A May 17 ceremony marked 1 million operation hours of Lockheed Martin's High Mobility Artillery Rocket System.
The magnitude of the HIMARS performance record was pointed out by Colin Sterling, Camden Operations director of Lockheed Martin Missile and Fire Control. "A million is 114 years," Sterling said. "It was accomplished by the 420-some-odd vehicles that have been up and running for the combined equivalent of 114 years. I think about what means from a production standpoint, from a design standpoint, and it just blows me away. Truly amazing."
Yes, it is amazing. But we and the U.S. military have come to expect "amazing" from Lockheed's Camden operations and its outstanding employees. Lockheed amassed the record of HIMARS performance, doing it with a readiness rate of 99 percent, in about a 10-year span.
Such workmanship and efficiency earned Lockheed Martin the Department of Defense's System Level Performance Based Logistics of the Year Award in 2006 and 2009.
The talent, dedication and workmanship of the local operations was saluted by Frank St. John, vice president of Tactical Missiles and Combat Maneuvers at Lockheed Martin's facility in Orlando, Fla. "The million hour operational milestone is a testament to the Camden workplace that produces these reliable systems and the many field service reps that serve our customers around the globe. Your dedication to quality and workmanship enables the performance of HIMARS," St. John said.
That high level of local production skill inspired Lockheed Martin officials to choose the Camden Operations to restart production of a system that had ceased at Horizon City, Texas, due to slowed demand at the time. When it came time to restart production of its Tactical Missile System, the company selected the facility and workers here.
"I know I speak for the entire corporate leadership team when I say that Camden is one of LM's premier production sites," St. John said.
So Lockheed Martin's local production brings not only high praise for what it has accomplished, it has also earned the opportunity to embark on a new endeavor.
Again we congratulate the local folks for their outstanding work and recognition.
And we thank the local organization for its many contributions to the local community through public service work and thousands of volunteer hours donated by employees. Camden is a much stronger community with Lockheed Martin in it and we are very proud and grateful and for all they do.