AMCOM, CCAD, LEAD showcase depot capabilities at AUSA

The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command showcased future capabilities of its organic industrial base Oct. 12-14 during the Association of the U.S. Army Annual Meeting and Exposition through a joint kiosk with its two depots, Corpus Christi Army Depot and Letterkenny Army Depot.

The theme of the combined exhibit was "From Depot to Tactical Edge: How Technology Innovation and Artificial Intelligence are Delivering New Ways to Sustain an Expeditionary Global Force." The display demonstrated how the organizations use advanced manufacturing, digital scanning and data-driven systems to modernize Army organic sustainment support for an expeditionary, globally deployed force.

Exhibition technologies focused on modernizing the Army's Organic Industrial Base to extend depot-level technical capability directly to forward-deployed units. Featured capabilities included blue-light optical scanning for digital component inspection, advanced manufacturing and 3D printing for urgent and obsolete parts, nondestructive inspection techniques to detect structural defects early, and artificial intelligence-driven analytics dashboards to accelerate maintenance decision-making.

"The Organic Industrial Base is a strategic bedrock of warfighter readiness," said Ric Rincon, an AMCOM representative. "Integrating technologies like those exhibited at AUSA bridges the distance between industrial production and tactical units. We are reducing maintenance turnaround time, getting vital aviation and missile defense assets back into the fight faster."

Col. Caleb Lewis, commander of Letterkenny Army Depot, stressed that integrating technology into expeditionary operations is vital to contested logistics and sustained operational readiness.

"Modernizing our industrial base is about transforming how the military generates and sustains combat power," Lewis said. "As an example, the Dragon Fly (Cold Spray) on display at the kiosk allows for the expeditionary sustainment of critical Army and joint force systems, serving to minimize equipment downtime, reduce asset retrograde rates and preserve Army buying power."

The exhibition team included leadership and subject-matter experts from across AMCOM, CCAD and LEAD: Rincon; Josh Wigley, Lori Bonincontri and Mike Bonincontri of CCAD; and Lewis, Jessica Irving and Junie Arcega of LEAD. Together, they presented organic industrial base integrated sustainment solutions to military leaders, industry partners and allied defense representatives.