for the News-Tribune
WASHINGTON — Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) has announced Senate passage of the FY 2010 Department of Defense Appropriations bill which includes $113 million in funding for projects and programs that are implemented in West Virginia.
Among those receiving appropriations are Allegany Ballistics Laboratory and the National Interest Security Company LLC, formerly Information Manufacturing Corporation, both in Rocket Center.
Byrd is the senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.
“This funding keeps West Virginians on the job, our country’s defenses strong, and our economic engine humming,” said Byrd.
“Much of this work being conducted throughout the state of West Virginia is cutting
edge technology that will have spillover effects for the private sector and I am pleased that we have been able to once again support these efforts in these tough economic times.”
At Rocket Center, $10 million will be provided to the U.S. Department of the Navy to initiate the replacement of the aging steam plant at the 1700-employee government-owned ABL facility.
The Rocket Center facility focuses on the production of tactical missile propulsion systems, conventional warheads, laser initiation systems, and metal and composite structures for the Department of Defense.
The current steam plant houses two 35-year old oil-fired boilers and a 15-year old coal-fired boiler, and is unreliable, in constant need of costly maintenance, and not compliant with air emission requirements. The new multi-use coal/gas replacement plant would provide a 33 percent increase in steam production to dependably meet current and projected energy requirements.
In addition, $8 million will be provided for Supply Chain Capability development at the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory.
This funding will allow for the continued development of reusable shipping containers and an associated shipping system that can track the transportation, disposition, and exact whereabouts of a multitude of weapons produced at the ABL.
The implementation of this system will support the Navy-owned ABL and military operational readiness by tracking the location and condition of components for DOD weapons for use by the war fighter in a more timely and cost-effective manner.
Officials of Greenpak, Inc., are competing to win a contract to perform this work at its facilities in Parkersburg and at ABL.
Approximately $6.5 million will go to the National Interest Security Company to continue to fund a program that was competitively awarded to the Information Manufacturing Corporation to digitize, integrate, and provide analyst access to the investigative files of the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
Much of the investigative materials are buried in archives and not readily accessible to analysts.
This system provides the Navy with a highly secure system where digital data can be analyzed and evaluated by NCIS agents stationed throughout the world in a more timely and efficient manner.
Other projects to receive funding include:
Joint Interagency Training & Education Center at Camp Dawson in Preston County: $10 million for the West Virginia National Guard to support the continued operations of the Joint Interagency Training and Education Center (JITEC) and the Center for National Response (near Standard, WV).
Designated by the National Guard Bureau in 2004, the JITEC provides comprehensive antiterrorism, counterterrorism and homeland security training for National Guardsmen, Department of Defense units, federal and state government entities, and civilian responders, and supports 105 National Guard personnel.
Lightweight Mobile Surveillance and Reconnaissance Packages: $ 5 million will allow the military to support the identification, modification, testing, evaluation, and deployment of lightweight mobile surveillance and reconnaissance packages (cameras, radars, sensors, wireless communication, software, and power integration) to provide early detection and warning to U.S. Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan who are deployed to more remote unsecured areas.
Officials of STS would intend to compete for this program and perform the work from its facility in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia.
In addition to the funding Byrd obtained for the various DOD-related projects in West Virginia, Byrd joined in a successful effort, with Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), to include $12 million in the bill to conduct “peer-reviewed” Gulf War Illness research.
The complex of symptoms commonly known as “Gulf War Illnesses (GWI)” - widespread pain, cognitive impairment, and persistent fatigue in conjunction with diverse other symptoms and abnormalities - are associated with service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations in the early 1990s during the Persian Gulf War.
“Recent research has demonstrated that an alarming number of Gulf War veterans continue to suffer serious ailments as a result of exposure to toxic materials during the Persian Gulf War,” said Byrd, who has supported this effort for more than a decade.
“It is our moral responsibility to help those who are suffering as a result of illnesses contracted while serving our nation. We can and must do more to find treatments and cures for these serious ailments. This funding will continue the efforts being made to address these illnesses.”
CHARLESTON, W.Va. —
