sending us what we needed. Whenever we needed something, they were always available to support—even on the week- end. Tey’d ship it FedEx, and we had it within a week,” said Whitmore.
“If the TOC goes down, the mission is compromised as well as their safety, and that’s priority,” said Pleta. “Tat’s why it’s so important to me to do it right the first time.”
“One of our responsibilities was to field new generator sets or Advanced Medium Mobile Power Sources” (AMMPS), a system for which CERDEC was involved in building initial program plans, he said. Te new generators use up to 21 percent less fuel than older generators across the fleet.
But do they really work?
“We saw a decrease in fuel consumption with AMMPS that in turn has a signifi- cant
impact on the unit. Especially for
the remote COPs that require fuel to be flown in, the generators and right-sizing decreased refueling needs,” said Whitmore.
And that’s not the only payoff. For the first time, units can log consumption, record maintenance and track trends, which helps in developing future efforts.
For these two CERDEC engineers with family ties to military service, the experi- ence had a big impact on how they see their future roles.
“It’s been the highlight of my career to make a difference in a Soldier’s life,” said Pleta, an engineer recruited from indus- try who had a hand in developing the first CT scan. “As a member of the Army Acquisition Workforce, the experience gives a new perspective on the life cycle of these systems,” he added.
For Whitmore, who has been an Army engineer for five years, the deployment enriched her perspective of what needs to be considered in the lab.
“[Deploying] is a completely different
experience, to see where [equipment is] fielded and how it impacts the Soldiers’
lives. … [W]e need to make sure the equipment is user-friendly and easy to operate,” she said.
Just three months after her return to the States, Whitmore is working on new equipment to do just that: a microgrid, or system of generators, that can turn on automatically depending on load.
But the engineers’ mission doesn’t end with them. Pleta and Whitmore trained other engineers who are providing the same support to Soldiers in Afghanistan and will be there through the end of the year.
To fellow civilians considering a deploy- ment, Whitmore offered this advice:
“Bring your sleeping bag! When you’re traveling, you never know if you’ll have a comfortable place to sleep.”
“AS A MEMBER OF THE ARMY ACQUISITION WORKFORCE, THE EXPERIENCE GIVES A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON THE LIFE CYCLE OF THESE SYSTEMS.”
—MS. TARA A. CLEMENTS
ON-THE-GROUND UNDERSTANDING Deploying to Afghanistan greatly enriched Whitmore’s perspective of what needs to be considered in the lab, reinforcing the need to make sure that equipment is user-friendly and easy to operate, she said. Here, Whitmore is on the move to yet another forward-deployed unit.
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