AFSC News

Air Force leader looks to unify bases, find efficiencies

  • Published
  • By Kevin Jackson
  • Army Materiel Command
McALESTER, Okla. --  Reaching out to develop relationships with military installations across Oklahoma, the senior active military leader in the state paid a visit to the largest producer of Air Force munitions, Jan. 11.

Lt. Gen. Lee K. Levy II, commander, U.S. Air Force Sustainment Center at Tinker Air Force Base, visited McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, or MCAAP, here, to talk about leveraging opportunities to lower costs or increase services, and sharing the plant's key messages with senior Defense Department and Oklahoma congressional leaders.

"We should be reaching out [to the other installations] to get efficiencies where possible and synchronize efforts with our congressional leaders," Levy said in his opening remarks to MCAAP's senior staff members gathered for the command briefing.

"There are absolutely some synergies to be gained by working together," Col. Sean M. Herron, MCAAP commander, replied about talking with fellow leaders at Fort Sill, Altus Air Force Base and Vance Air Force Base in the state.

As the commander of the AFSC, Levy oversees 19 facilities and is the equivalent of a Corps commander in the Army. He's worked as an ordnance officer and has been involved with depot business since he was a lieutenant colonel.

Levy's visit to MCAAP began with a traditional command brief connecting the plant to its headquarters, Joint Munitions Command, and the Army Materiel Command. It also covered the plant's core capabilities -- ammunition production, ammunition and missile maintenance, ammunition demilitarization, logistics operations, and off-site rail maintenance.

The majority of the time was devoted to a tour of bomb preparation and explosive mix facilities, where Levy and Chief Master Sgt. Jason France each filled one BLU-111 500-pound, general purpose bomb. They also visited the newest explosive mix facility, which produces Air Force bombs, the plant's largest outload pad, and the CBU-105 Sensor Fuzed Weapon integration facility.

An avid outdoorsman, Levy's last stop was to the Land Management Office where he received an impromptu briefing about the plant's award-winning natural resources conservation program. He also admired a large collection of deer antlers found on plant property and photographs of Pope and Young Club bucks harvested during hunting seasons.

"This is excellent," Levy said at the end of the MCAAP visit. "I didn't know all of this was going on here."

Before returning to Oklahoma City, the two leaders talked about an employee recognition program that would allow top performers to visit each other's military installations to learn about their capabilities. Levy has already planned a conference for senior Oklahoma commanders at Tinker AFB in February.

"We had a great visit with Lt. Gen. Levy," Herron said following the tour. "There are some opportunities for us to share or use each other's organic capabilities to cut costs and gain efficiencies. I look forward to working with Gen. Levy and the other commanders from Oklahoma to maximize efficiencies in our operations, wherever possible."

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