Factory Hums Along on Arsenal Island Despite Coronavirus

WVIK, Quad Cities NPR | By Michelle O'Neill

Published March 23, 2020 at 5:46 PM CDT

A JMTC employee works on a Heavy Equipment Transporter (HET) Urban Survivability Kit (HUSK). The HET transports heavy vehicles including a tank with its semitrailer attached. HUSK is the replacement cab which eliminates need for an add-on kit.

More than one-thousand civilians are working on Arsenal Island during the coronavirus pandemic.

Debralee Best is the spokeswoman for the Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center (JMTC) at the Rock Island Arsenal. Its employees make ambulances, forward repair systems, and armored doors for Humvees, plus small arms parts and other items. The center also provides engineering, design, testing, and supply chain services.

Soldiers deployed all over the world continue to need support and parts provided by the JMTC.

JMTC ambulance kit production line (file)

Best and some other JMTC employees are able to "telework," work from home.

But most can't because they're on the production line.

She says one good thing is it's easy to practice social distancing because of the way the lines are set up.

Employees are following CDC guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

And the center has added more sanitation stations where workers can use hand sanitizer, and employees don't take breaks all at the same time.