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Government

Army Secretary Visits Rock Island Arsenal

Kevin Fleming
/
ASC Public Affairs
Dr. Mark Esper, Secretary of the Army, holds up a 3D-printed trigger as he makes a point about the need for increased material modernization throughout the Army during a tour through the Rock Island Arsenal Joint Manufacturing & Technology Center

The Secretary of the Army says the Rock Island Arsenal will help the military with readiness, modernization, and reform. Today in the Quad Cities, Mark Esper toured the Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center, and met with officials of the Army Sustainment Command, Joint Munitions Command, and First Army.

Esper says one of the technology center's strengths is additive manufacturing, or 3-D printing. He says it will help the Army fight what he calls "peer adversaries," such as Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. It'll also help prevent war.

Esper is leading the Army's creation of a new Futures Command in Austin, Texas. His goal is to cut through the military's organizational lethargy to help the Army change much more quickly. And he says that includes innovations in manufacturing, such as 3-D printing, and working closely with the private sector.

General Gus Perna, commander of the Army Materiel Command, and Major General Erik Peterson, the acting commander of First Army, joined Esper during his tour of Arsenal Island.

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