PANDEMIC RESPONSE
UNEXPECTED, BUT NOT UNREADY JMC produces masks and sanitizer in bat tle against COVID-19. by JoEtta I. Fisher I
n January 2020, the World Health Organization and the U.S. secretary of health and human services declared public health emergencies in response to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Te
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eventu- ally issued a list of precautions, which included washing hands frequently, using hand sanitizer and wearing cloth masks to cover the nose and mouth. In April, the U.S. secretary of defense ordered all people on military prop- erty to wear such masks. Tis order raised immediate issues, with the United States facing a nationwide short- age of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Joint Munitions Command’s (JMC) solution was simple: task its government-owned, government-operated facili- ties with a new mission, making PPE. JMC installations immediately began manufacturing cloth masks and hand sanitizer for military personnel, civilian employees and contractors within JMC, Army Materiel Command and DOD, thereby reducing the need to acquire these PPE items from the already restricted open market.
“To lay the groundwork to execute the mission, head- quarters JMC assembled a team with experience in all needed areas and worked with counterparts at Pine Bluff Arsenal [Arkansas], Crane Army Ammunition Activ- ity [Indiana], and McAlester Army Ammunition Plant [Oklahoma],” explained Caleb Conley, lead industrial specialist in JMC’s government-owned, contractor-oper- ated Directorate Facility Investments Division. “Te
installations rose to the occasion. Tey developed ways to meet regulatory requirements, and worked with head- quarters JMC to develop a final plan.”
REMOTELY TOGETHER Assembling the team with urgency during a pandemic presented unique difficulties. Te team included eight members drawn from various departments at headquar- ters JMC, including facilities, finance, quality assurance and logistics. Because of the pandemic, the team worked remotely, coordinating with on-site personnel at Crane, Pine Bluff and McAlester to set up production lines, secure needed materials for each site and arrange ship- ment of the final products.
Within two days of the secretary of defense’s April order, Pine Bluff started designing, testing and producing face masks by adapting an existing mission that produced chemical patient protective wrap (to prevent exposure to contamination), integrated footwear (a protective sock system worn under normal combat footwear), and neck dams (a chemical and biological defense garment with impregnated carbon material). Using the equipment on hand, the Pine Bluff team rapidly acquired the needed material and started production.
“I am reminded daily that Pine Bluff has a superb team of employees that accomplishes its mission effectively,” said Col. Patrick Daulton, commander of Pine Bluff Arsenal. “Tis expertise was on display as team Pine Bluff
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