ACC meets with Pentagon officials, lawmakers

  • Published
  • By Kathy Gattis
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. --  The Arnold Community Council made their annual trip to meet with lawmakers and Pentagon officials last month to discuss AEDC.

Retired Air Force Major Gen. Mike Wiedemer, ACC president during the trip, said, "The ACC visits the Pentagon each year to ensure the most senior military leadership in the country is aware of AEDC's enduring importance to the nation; maintain dialogue on the needs and issues affecting the Department of Defense; and keep the needs and issues affecting AEDC on the minds of Pentagon leaders."

The trip began with visits to the Pentagon and some key appointments with the director of Air Force Test and Evaluation; assistant secretary of Air Force Acquisition; the principal deputy director of the Test Resource Management Center and the principal deputy assistant secretary for Installations, Environment and Energy.

"As with members of the U.S. Congress, the leadership of the Pentagon must be informed, stay informed and act informed in order to be effective," said Wiedemer. "

"The ACC takes advantage of our visits to Washington, D.C., each year by providing the latest information on aerospace and defense matters from an AEDC perspective and providing suggested policy guidance."

After the meetings at the Pentagon, the team gathered for an evening meeting to plan their strategy for the next few days. Sixteen people divided into four teams would visit 30 offices of elected officials during a three-day timeframe.

Each team included an ATA expert along with an ACC member who had previously gone on this trip and a couple of new members.

ATA Deputy General Manager Jeff Haars has participated in the last two. The trip costs are not reimbursed by the government, and the company sends between five and seven team members each year.

"ATA sponsored several members of our leadership team to support the ACC trip because we feel it is important for AEDC," said Haars. "This trip is a unique opportunity for ATA subject matter experts to help the ACC promote the Complex.

Supporting the ACC community leaders with our technical experts enables the team to address the full breadth of issues important to the workforce at AEDC. While our folks assist the ACC, they also learn a great deal on this trip. I sincerely appreciate all of the community leaders who put so much time and effort into this trip; they keep our elected officials and their staffers reminded of the vital role AEDC and its people play in developing the nation's weapons systems."

The teams were also armed with an information packet detailing several initiatives (available at www.arnoldcommunitycouncil.com).

The three-day event requires much coordination and planning. Mike Niederhauser, who chairs the ACC Legislative Affairs Committee, is in charge of pulling all those details for the visits together.

"We could not have done this trip without the assistance we received from Congressman Diane Black's staff," said Niederhauser. "Charles Snyder and Jon Toomey reviewed our white papers (ACC booklet) and made sure our visits were focused and on point. Representative Black's staff also helped us secure a joint letter of introduction for our visits with Representative Tulsi Gabbard, a co-chair with Black on the Congressional Range and Test Center Caucus (https://rangeandtestingcaucus-black.house.gov/)."

This was the first time the Manchester Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Terri Hudson worked with the ACC on this trip, and she said she was impressed.

"I was honored to accompany some of the best engineering minds in the country to meet with legislators about the uniqueness of Arnold Engineering Development Complex," she said. "Our message was well-received and every congressman we met with was very supportive."

ACC President Jim Herron was unable to make the trip, but he traveled with Eglin's support council, the Defense Support Initiative, the month prior.

"The ACC makes a difference when we educate about the critical importance of testing," said Herron. "I have noticed how easy it is to be misinformed about various research and development components. Testing needs to be a priority for both the safety and the effectiveness of our warfighters. We all know someone who serves, and the ACC wants to make sure they have the best tools, so they have a greater opportunity to come home."

"These visits are good because ACC also has the opportunity to learn from those visited about the needs of the nation and how AEDC initiatives can be synergized with those needs," said Wiedemer.

ACC members made their first visit to D.C. in 2005.