watervliet arsenal newsletter: salvo 31 october 2013

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S ALVO Watervliet Arsenal ... 1813-2013 Vol. 13, No. 10 U.S. Army Watervliet Arsenal Oct. 31, 2013 Sending FY 2013 off ... 200th Year Complete Story on page 3 Photo by John B. Snyder

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This is a gathering of news and information that pertains to the Watervliet Arsenal for the month of October 2013

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Page 1: Watervliet Arsenal Newsletter:  Salvo 31 October 2013

SALVOWatervliet Arsenal ... 1813-2013

Vol. 13, No. 10 U.S. Army Watervliet Arsenal Oct. 31, 2013

Sending FY 2013 off ...200th Year Complete

Story on page 3Photo by John B. Snyder

Page 2: Watervliet Arsenal Newsletter:  Salvo 31 October 2013

Page 2 Salvo Oct. 31, 2013

The Arsenal Salvo is an authorized monthly publication for members of the Department of Defense. Contents of the Salvo are not necessarily the official views of, or an endorse-ment by the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense, the Department of the Army, or the Watervliet Arsenal. News may be submitted for publication by sending articles to Public Affairs Officer, 1 Buffington Street, Bldg. 10, Watervliet, NY 12189, or stop by office #102, Bldg. 10, Watervliet Arsenal. The editor may also be reached at (518) 266-5055 or by e-mail: [email protected]. The editor reserves the right to edit all information submitted for publication.

Commander, Col. Lee H. Schiller Jr.Public Affairs Officer, John B. SnyderEditor, John B. SnyderPhotographer: John B. Snyder

Arsenal Facebook Page @http://on.fb.me/sq3LEm

Albany County’s Veterans’ Day Parade11 November

11 a.m.You have a chance to join us this November as we honor our Nation’s Veterans by marching in this year’s Albany County Veterans’ Day Parade. In addition to two Arsenal/Benét Labs floats, we plan to field several of our emer-gency service vehicles and several historic military vehicles from the Hudson-Mohawk Military Vehicle Club.

So, please gather your family members and march with us as we pay proper recognition to our Veterans, as well as to showcase the Arsenal to the commu-nity. If you have any questions, give John Snyder a call @ 266-5055.

SAVE THE DATE

Nov. 11, 2013

Veterans Day Parade

Page 3: Watervliet Arsenal Newsletter:  Salvo 31 October 2013

Page 3 Salvo Oct. 31, 2013

Operating through adversity, workforce prevails in FY 2013

Col. Lee H. Schiller Jr.Commanding

As I close out my first 90 days in command, I am very busy working with arsenal leaders and their staffs to determine the full effects of our efforts for fiscal year 2013. And what I have seen so far, speaks volumes about the pride and professionalism of our workforce.

This past year has been one wild ride for us as we had to maintain tight delivery schedules while working through something called sequestration and its direct effects that have furloughed you, reduced your budget, and has limited your ability to get overtime and COMP time.

Despite all that, we came through and delivered a very successful manufacturing year for the arsenal and for our military.

We closed out fiscal year 2013 having achieved more that $96 million in revenue from the sale of our products, while maintaining on-time delivery rate above 96 percent. And we did this while reducing our operating expenses by $8.7 million, a nearly 10 percent reduction from what we had planned.

Just to give you a sense of the amount of workflow that we achieved in 2013, we shipped: nearly 200 105mm and 155mm tubes and cannon systems; more than 1,100 major and minor components; nearly 1,400 mortar barrel assemblies; more than 2,600 mortar base plates; and 902 60mm mortar systems

to the Afghanistan National Army. And these are just the highlights and do not reflect everything we manufactured and shipped.

This success wouldn’t be so great if we didn’t do it safely, and we did.

We exceeded general industry goals for safety, reduced contact injuries by 30 percent, increased near-

miss reporting by 25 percent, and we came under the AMC goal for loss time. This success is shared by everyone because it took all of us working as a team to get each shipment out.

We also had great success engaging the community last year. We conducted nearly 70 community engagements that ranged from parades to a concert at the Alive-at-Five location to our 200th Anniversary Covenant Ceremony involving four local mayors. Our next major engagement is the City of Albany Veterans’ Day Parade on Monday, November 11. So,

please join us as we march through the center of the Albany in honor of our Veterans.

Before I close, I thank everyone for their participation in the recent command climate survey. As soon as the results are tabulated, I will share the results with the entire workforce.

I wish you the very best for a great holiday season…you have certainly earned it. Please be safe over the holidays by taking an extra second to consider each potentially unsafe or high risk activity before you engage it.

Page 4: Watervliet Arsenal Newsletter:  Salvo 31 October 2013

manufacturing artisans during that same time frame. So, competition is tough to find an individual today who not only has a natural ability to use their hands to build things, but also the intelligence to translate highly technical drawings that are used in today’s military weapons manu-facturing. As tough as it is to find a true artisan, it is not

impossible as evidence by the recent graduation of the arse-nal’s apprentice class. Dylan Kusaywa, a 23-year-old machinist, graduated last August from the arsenal’s four-year apprentice program with not only honors, but also with a reputation for machining excel-lence. Dylan said he knew in high school that office work wasn’t for him because he enjoyed building and repairing things around the house. “I just had a natural ability and interest to fix things such as dirt bikes,” Dylan said. “I kind of got ahead of myself in high school, because I tried to leverage my interest in me-chanical engineering by apply-ing for an arsenal apprentice-ship in my senior year of high school.” Dylan never quit on the arsenal and neither did the ar-senal quit on Dylan. One year later, with his freshman year at college behind him, Dylan applied again for the arsenal’s

apprenticeship program and was accepted. John Zayhowski, who is the apprenticeship program supervisor, said Dylan’s strong work ethic and natural ma-chining ability was a great fit in every department he was assigned during his four years of hands-on training.

Page 4 Salvo Oct. 31, 2013

Arsenal’s Face of Strengthis also its Face of the Future

This is some of the behind the scenes beauty at the arsenal as a supervisor John Zayhowski, left, mentors first-year machinist Dylan Kusaywa. Dylan graduated from the arsenal’s four-year apprentice program last August and today, he is working on prototype production.

By John B. Snyder

Photo by John B. Snyder

Since 1813, when the first foundation of the Watervliet Arsenal was laid, this small Army post in upstate New York has had the uncanny ability to select and retain the very best skilled workers in America. As the ink was drying on the deed that was signed on July 14, 1813, just across the Hud-son River was a flurry of activ-ity in the Village of Troy as it prepared for a potential attack from the British as the War of 1812 entered its second year. Troy was the center of the American Industrial Revolution in the early 1800s, which made it a critical hub for logistical support for the war effort. Al-though not a large city at the time, it was rich with manu-facturing artisans who worked in the village’s cotton factory, paper mill, firearms factory, and popular for that time period, a distillery. It would be those skilled artisans who in 1813 crossed the Hudson and began to put in place the first bricks and mortar of a future Army arsenal and soon, were working side-by-side with ordnance Soldiers to manufacture critical war items. The arsenal, as well as America, was founded on those who have had the natural ability to use their hands to build homes, towns, and to shape raw stock material into finished products. But unlike the early 1800s, there are few today who have that ability. The decline of manufacturing in the United States has been well documented. The Alliance for American Manufacturing states that well over five million American manufacturing jobs were eliminated from 2000 to 2009. New York has shared in that dramatic decline as it has lost 41 percent of its skilled Story continues on page 5, Machinist

Page 5: Watervliet Arsenal Newsletter:  Salvo 31 October 2013

Page 5 Salvo Oct. 31, 2013

Instantly, Dylan began to dem-onstrate the skills and traits that a true artisan-machinist possesses. Apprentices are required to put in 8,000 hours of hands-on train-ing at the arsenal as part of the program. During those long, hard hours an apprentice rotates through every manufacturing operation at the arsenal. Dylan quickly built a reputation as someone who has an exceptional work ethic and who has a skill that has made America great ̶ a natural ability to build things with his hands. During Dylan’s third year as an apprentice, he was selected to travel to a machine manufacturer to prove out a very accurate, state-of-the-art machine. Once this ma-chine was delivered, Dylan set up the machine, produced a good part,

and then trained senior machinists. This task is typically left to the arsenal’s most skilled and seasoned machinists, certainly not for ap-prentices. But Dylan was not a typical apprentice. Now having two months of experience as a journeyman ma-chinist under his belt, most might think that Dylan would be working on the most basic of machining operations to gain experience be-fore he moved on to more complex machining. But Dylan’s leader-ship refused to let his potential be restricted and threw him a tremen-dous challenge. Dylan is now part of the arse-nal’s prototype development team. This team takes new weapons de-signs from Army research labs and turns them into working, testable prototypes. Prototype development has historically been supported by senior machinists who have a special talent to turn a concept into reality.

Although Dylan is an example of the high quality of individu-als the arsenal selects and retains through its apprenticeship program, he is but one example of the great talent coming from that program. In Dylan’s graduating class, two of his apprentice counterparts, Rob-ert Fournier and Peter Northup, maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA dur-ing their four years of classroom instruction. Dylan Kusaywa is a fine ex-ample of the great machining tal-ent the arsenal has been fortunate to discover for 200 years and he is also a great representative of the quality class of apprentices the ar-senal has been rewarded with since the program began in 1905. For what Dylan has achieved, where he is today in the critical process of prototype development, and his potential to soon being a master machinist, he is selected as this month’s arsenal Face of Strength.

The Watervliet Arsenal announced this month that it has been recertified to the ISO 9001:2008 International Quality Standard. This was the arsenal's sixth consecutive three-year certification since becoming the Army's first installation to achieve ISO recognition in 1998.

In supplier and customer relationships, conformance to quality standards is a given. ISO registration continues to be the global benchmark for the Watervliet Arsenal to demonstrate its commitment to quality and to its cus-tomers.

The International Organization for Standardization or ISO is the world's number one publisher of Quality Main-tenance Standards. In 1998, the Watervliet Arsenal became the first U.S. Army installation to be ISO certified.

The impact of being ISO certified means the arsenal manufactures products to specifications that are internation-ally accepted. But also important to note, the certification truly speaks to the arsenal's commitment to providing world-class quality products and services to the Department of Defense and to foreign militaries.

Arsenal maintains critical international certification

Machinist Cont.

Page 6: Watervliet Arsenal Newsletter:  Salvo 31 October 2013

Page 6 Salvo Oct. 31, 2013

Arsenal’s newest “Top Guns” were recognized by Commander Col. Lee H. Schiller Jr. Sgt. Andrew Preville, center, and Cpl. Eric Garvansites, right, received an award and a trophy due to their having a perfect score at their recent weapons qualification. Preville and Garvansites are part of the Arse-nal’s Law Enforcement team.

Photo by John B. Snyder

Top Guns? Where was Maverick

& Cougar?By John B. Snyder

Photo provided by Wikipedia

F14-A Tomcat

When I heard that we had a “Top Gun” at the arsenal, I immediately thought that an F-14A Tomcat was on display with U.S. Naval Aviator Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) standing by for a photo op. I rushed down to emergency services, tripping over my camera bag, for this scoop knowing that none of the local media had yet to report on this piece of news. When I arrived at the security desk, I was told that there were actually two Top Guns for me to take photos of. I thought ‘oh great!’ because Maverick’s wingman, “Cougar” (John Stockwell), must also be here. My glee was almost as uncontrollable like a teen at a Justin Bieber concert. But I should have known something was up when Al Columbus, the arsenal’s chief of Law Enforcement, simply smiled, no he actually smirked at me, when I asked where Tom Cruise was. “I guess we didn’t give you the background information about Top Gun,” Columbus said. I asked, “Is Tom Cruise not here…what about Cougar?” Columbus’ smirk turned to one of almost disgust. “Cruise, Cougar, what are you talking about, we have Garvansites and Preville.” Columbus said. “Garvansites and Preville? I don’t recall them being in the movie,” I said. Columbus just shook his head and told me to wait for the commander. When Col. Lee H. Schiller Jr. arrived a flow of law

enforcement officers flowed out of the woodwork and stood all around me. “Was I set up,” I thought, now feeling a little uncomfortable. Schiller started talking about a weapons qualification award program that was brought back to life by Columbus called the Top Gun Competition. Evidently, years ago the arsenal challenged its law enforcement officers on the pistol range and whoever had the highest score was awarded a Top Gun award.

For one reason or another, this competition fell by the wayside until now. At a recent 9mm weapons certification, two officers, Sgt. Andrew Preville and Cpl. Eric Garvansites, achieved the awesome score of hitting 50 targets out of 50 shots. Yes, a perfect score. Given that Preville has had more than 20 years experience in the Army National Guard and Garvansites’ eight years as a Marine, some might believe this was not much of an

accomplishment for them. But when one must fire from six different tables, ranging from 35 meters to 7 meters, and using both hands, nothing was easy. After a few words of praise, Schiller awarded Preville and Garvansites a certificate and a trophy for their superlative performance on the qualification course. As I walked back to my office, I was a little sad given that I didn’t meet Tom Cruise or John Stockwell. Nor did I get to sit in the cockpit of an F-14. But on the other hand, I felt pretty good about the arsenal’s security because we have two outstanding law enforcement officers who I know that when needed they can be counted on to stop a deadly threat.

Page 7: Watervliet Arsenal Newsletter:  Salvo 31 October 2013

Page 7 Salvo Oct. 31, 2013

Can you use history as a job reference?

Photo by John B. Snyder

Legion visit finds 92-year-old former arsenal apprentice

During a recent visit to the Albany County American Legion commander’s meeting, Arsenal Commander Col. Lee H. Schiller Jr. met a former arsenal apprentice by the name of Al Hofaker. Al attended the apprentice program from 1939 to 1943. He left the arsenal in 1943, to join the Army. Al, now 92, is the current acting com-mander of American Legion Post 1040 in Del-mar.

Blood Drive Thanks

Photo by John B. Snyder

Watervliet Hosts Fall Blood DriveBy Paula Martinez, WVA Blood Drive Chairperson

The American Red Cross was on post October 1 and 2 to conduct a blood drive. More than 125 people do-nated 121 units of whole blood and 7 units of double-red cell. When added up, this blood drive has the potential to save 387 lives. Great job! Thanks to all who partici-pated by giving blood and to the wonderful volunteers at the reception desk: Jackie Ackerman, Trish Senecal, Debbie Moody, Faith Cuilla and Stacey Marhafer. The next blood drive is scheduled for February 2014.

Photo by John B. Snyder

The Arsenal supported Veterans this month at the Albany VA Medical Center’s Job Fair. Ian Hart, right, brought what may be the most interesting of job references to Arsenal Person-nel Specialists James Ehman and Jodi Roy … an Arsenal history book with his photo on page 168 (page 263 in today’s history book).

This was a heavily-attended event as James and Jody talked to more than 40 Veterans in the first three hours.

Page 8: Watervliet Arsenal Newsletter:  Salvo 31 October 2013

Eighty years ago, Albert Ein-stein arrived in United States as a refugee from Nazi Germany, the U.S. Army’s disciplinary barracks on Alcatraz Island turned into a federal prison, and a power substa-tion at the Watervliet Arsenal was installed. Although Einstein has since passed and the Alcatraz federal prison closed, the arsenal sub-station has continued to support critical infrastructure at the arse-nal since 1933. That is, until this month. After more than 700,000 hours of continuous ser-vice, the arsenal’s electrical engineer shut off power to this relay station this month, while sending power through a new $669,000 substation. “If the last substation could last for 80 years, I have no doubt that this state-of-the-art substation will last 100 years,” said Benjamin Dedjoe, the arsenal’s electrical engineer who designed and supervised the electrical requirements for the project. This was no easy task as the project took two years to complete, Dedjoe said. The new station will provide power to more facili-ties, in larger quantities than the 1933 model, and will do so more safely. This new substation is computer-ized and has its control panels in a hardened shelter. “The old substation required us to work outside, often in harsh weather conditions, to service it or to do routine maintenance,” Dedjoe said. “With this month’s transfer of power through a new substation, we now have a safer, dryer area from which to con-duct maintenance or to respond to a circuit breaker that has been triggered.” This electrical upgrade is just one part of a two-year, multimillion-dollar program the arsenal has un-dertaken to increase the arsenal’s capability to provide continuous power to critical operations and infrastruc-

ture. Last November, the largest electrical upgrade the Arsenal had experienced in 30 years, a $1.7 million project for a new electrical substation that feeds pow-er to one of the most critical manufacturing processes called the rotary forge, was put into operation. More recently, a $750,000 electrical project put in place a fire alarm system in one of the most critical manufacturing buildings on the arsenal. These were no small tasks for the Arsenal’s electri-cal engineer and Jim Uram, an arsenal electrical spe-cialist, who assisted Dedjoe. Uram said the hardest part of any electrical up-grade is the synchronization of turning off and turning on power while manufacturing operations are running. “It may take us more than eight hours to transition from one power source to another,” Uram said. “The key to success is to make that transition as seamless as possible without any interruption to the machining of products for our troops.” Dedjoe said he didn’t yet know what he was go-ing to do with the 1933 substation. But seeing as it looks like it came out of an old Frankenstein movie, he may just keep it as an historical artifact to put into the arsenal’s museum activity when it reopens in 2015 or 2016.

Page 8 Salvo Oct. 31, 2013

Powering past 1933

Top: Arsenal Electrical Specialist Jim Uram, r, working with the Emil Streeter, the project’s manager to install the finishing touches. Left: Arsenal Electrical Engi-neer Benjamin Dedjoe checking out the control panel.

By John B. Snyder

Photos by John B. Snyder

Page 9: Watervliet Arsenal Newsletter:  Salvo 31 October 2013

Page 9 Salvo Oct. 31, 2013

Combined Federal Campaign back on track with extended

solicitation period

Photo by Billy Martin

Due to the recent 16-day government shutdown many scheduled Combine Fed-eral Campaign events were placed on hold or even cancelled according Elaine Kaplan, acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management. The original end date of De-cember 15 is now extended to January 15. Paula Weglarz, the arsenal’s CFC pro-gram coordinator, kicked off the arsenal’s program on October 29 by hosting several local charities and the CFC Campaign Director for the North and New England Regions to discuss the program and chari-ties with arsenal canvassers. New for this year is the “My Pay” op-tion for donating, Weglarz said. This is a great option that will allow for CFC contri-butions to be made online.

The arsenal kicked off its Combined Federal Campaign October 29 during a luncheon that provided canvassers the opportunity to receive the com-mander’s intent, as well as to learn more about the program they will sup-port between now and January 15.

It is that time of year when you need to ensure that all of your employees have scheduled their "use or lose" annual leave to avoid losing it at the end of the current leave year. Managers and supervisors are responsible for ensuring that their employees’ leave is properly scheduled and approved in advance, and used in a timely manner before the current leave year ends on Jan. 11, 2014 (see: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/leave-administration/fact-sheets/leave-year-beginning-and-ending-dates/). Generally, the maximum amount of annual leave an employee may carry over into the next leave year is 240 hours. Hours in excess of this amount will be forfeited unless such leave is approved for restoration.

For restoration of annual leave forfeited, the annual leave must have been scheduled and approved in writing before the third biweekly pay period prior to the end of the 2013 leave year (NLT 30 November 2013), and was lost due to an administrative error when the error caused a loss of annual leave; an exigency of the public busi-ness when the annual leave was scheduled in advance; or sickness of the employee when the annual leave was scheduled in advance. The responsibility for the approving annual leave restoration requests resides with the Commander.

Employees with “use or lose” who do not expect to use it before the end of the leave year may wish to con-sider donating it to other employees who are approved leave recipients under the Voluntary Leave Transfer Program (VLTP). The VLTP allows federal civilian employees to transfer annual leave to other federal civilian employees who need such leave because of a medical emergency. There are limitations and restrictions on the amount of, and circumstances supporting such leave transfers, so for assistance regarding the VLTP program, please contact Jennifer Pusatere, CPAC VLTP POC, at 266-4066 or [email protected] for addi-tional information concerning this program.

Before you know it, you might lose it

Page 10: Watervliet Arsenal Newsletter:  Salvo 31 October 2013

Page 10 Salvo Oct. 31, 2013

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As the leader of an Army organization that is 96 percent civilian, the commanding general of the Army Ma-teriel Command, Gen. Dennis L. Via, shared his unique perspective at the Association of the United States Army Civilian Professional Development Seminar here Oct. 23. "Wherever you find Soldiers, you'll find Army civilians nearby," Via told the audience at the association's annual meeting before a breakout into panel discussions that included AMC Executive Deputy to the Commanding General John B. Nerger. Via said that's the reason visitors to AMC headquarters in Redstone Arsenal, Ala., see two things upon their entrance: the Soldiers Creed and the Civilian Creed. "We want everyone at AMC and everyone who visits, to know our Soldiers and civilians share the same values, the same mission, and that they serve shoulder to shoulder wherever and whenever the nation calls," Via said. The general said he has had the privilege of seeing Army civilians in action across the country in factories, laboratories and even on the battlefield. "I've always been impressed by their professionalism, skills and experience, their commitment, their patriotism and most of all their willingness to serve." Via mentioned several AMC employees by name, applauding their efforts and contributions to the warfighter. During a visit to Watervliet Arsenal, N.Y., the sole producer of cannon tubes for the entire military, Via met machinist Ryan Putnam. "Ryan is so skilled that he can straighten the cannon tubes by listening to the sound they make when pressed with up to 900-tons of pressure," Via said. "That level of experience is nearly irreplaceable." Civilians also make sacrifices to the war effort and 15 Army civilians have paid the ultimate price in the wars in Iraq and Afghani-stan. Via recalled the sacrifice of Linda J. Villar, an AMC employee who volunteered to deploy to Iraq in 2005. Villar, who served as the chief of the 3rd Infantry Division's Logistics Support Element, was killed in a mortar attack June 3, 2005. "These are your Army civilians," Via said. "Simply put, our Army and our entire joint force couldn't accomplish its mission without them, without you." The past year has been challenging for our Army, and especially our Army civilians. Via said as the number of Soldiers decrease, so will the number of support personnel. He encouraged the audience to look at this as a challenge and an opportunity to responsibly shape the Army for 2020. "We have to be creative; we have to be innovative; we have to be bold and visionary," he said. "We must offer those innovative solutions that in the past met with resistance." Via mentioned several examples, such as increasing Voluntary Separation Incentive payments, removing impediments to part-time labor, developing multi-functional position descriptions, improving our intern and fellowship programs and incorporating programs to better take care of employees. He said the solutions will come from the civilian corps. "We've been through times like these before. Great periods of transformation have always been challenging," he said. "Every time, our Army and our nation emerged stronger than before."

AMC commander praises Army CiviliansBy AMC Public Affairs

Gen. Dennis L. Via, Army Materiel Command's Commanding General, makes opening comments at the 2013 AUSA Civilian Professional Development Seminar. Photo provided by AUSA.

Page 11: Watervliet Arsenal Newsletter:  Salvo 31 October 2013

Page 11 Salvo Oct. 31, 2013

CPAC - Civilian Personnel Advisory Center

BENEFITS OPEN SEASON IS APPROACHING

On November 11, the annual Benefits Open Season will begin and it will run through midnight on December 9. During the open season, you may enroll, change your enrollment, or cancel your enrollment in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program and the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Pro-gram (FEDVIP). In addition, you can enroll in a Flexible Spending Account (FSA).

Open season is an excellent opportunity to review the information for your current benefits. Even if you are not going to change your current enrollment during this open season, it is a good idea to check out the premiums and also determine if there are going to be any changes in your benefits or coverage for next year. The 2014 premiums and benefits guides can be found at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) web-site at: http://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance

If you enroll in FEHB or change your enrollment during open season, your change will be effective Jan. 12, 2014.

There are a couple of ways for you to make an FEHB open season change. The most popular way to make a change is by utilizing the Employee Benefits Information System (EBIS). You may access EBIS through the ABC-C website, https://www.abc.army.mil, which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Once you are in EBIS, you will click on the “Transactions” button to make your FEHB open season change.

You may also contact the ABC-C at 1-877-276-9287, and have a benefits counselor provide assistance to you. Counselors are available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

In addition, CPAC is always available to assist you with making a FEHB election/ change. The CPAC office is located in the north end of Building 10, 1st floor and CPAC representatives are available from 6:30 am to 5:00 p.m. (remember to bring your CAC since EBIS is CAC-enabled). You may also set up an appointment with a CPAC representative by contacting X-4058 or X-4053.

For questions regarding premiums or enrollment in FEDVIP, you may contact BENEFEDS at 1-877-888-3337, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. To enroll, change, or cancel your enrollment in FED-VIP during this open season, visit the BENEFEDS website: https://www.BENEFEDS.com.

If you want to participate in FSA for 2014, you must enroll during this open season. You may enroll in an FSA online at: http://www.fsafeds.com or telephone by calling 1-877-372-3337. FSAFEDS Benefits Coun-selors are available 9 a.m to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday.

We understand that the benefits process may be confusing so please feel free to contact the CPAC on X-4058 or X-4053, if you have any problems or questions.

Page 12: Watervliet Arsenal Newsletter:  Salvo 31 October 2013

The Watervliet Arsenal Announces the Safety Star Point Program!

The arsenal Safety Office and VPP programs proudly announce the institution of the Safety Star Point Program. In an effort to increase the amount of employee involvement in safety, the Star Point Program identifies a safety representative for each of the build-ings on the installation. Their goal is to serve as an asset for safety issues employees may come across throughout their every day lives on the installation.

This program is geared to give each worker a more emphatic voice when it comes to the safety at the arsenal. We need to know about issues regarding your health and safety and then work together to mitigate them. Only with your help can we make the arsenal a safer place and achieve our VPP Star! So again, this program is designed to give you another avenue to voice safety issues/concerns so please take advantage of it.

Remember that Safety gets old…but so do those who practice it!

Any Questions? The POC is Matt Church (ext. 5635)

Buildings Star Point of Contact

15, 17, 126 Dan Belk20, 25, 36 Bob Dobbs35, 35 East, 130 Tim Fontaine110, 135 Fred Willet10, 40, 44 Greg Moore 115, 120, 136 Mike Dennin

Page 12 Salvo Oct. 31, 2013