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Under Secretary of Defense Signs Groundbreaking DoD Instruction Affecting all Pentagon Offices and Military Departments
The Instruction Aims to Systematically Prevent Corrosion on America’s Vast Array of Military Equipment and Infrastructure
By Cynthia Greenwood
After nearly two years of waiting, materials and maintenance experts who worked to create a clear policy on preventing corrosion on military equipment and infrastructure have achieved a great milestone. A new DoD Instruction—which establishes procedures and responsibilities on corrosion for all military branches—was signed on February 4, 2008, by John J. Young, Jr., Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (A,T& L).
The new instruction, Prevention and Mitigation of Corrosion on DoD Military Equipment and Infrastructure, is unprecedented. Notably, it assigns specific responsibilities to the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps to guarantee that they will manage corrosion programs on all military equipment and infrastructure across the life cycle. It also requires that each of the Services designate a Corrosion Executive who will be responsible for developing and recommending policy and guidance on preventing corrosion throughout their departments.
"This is a fine day for corrosion prevention and the genuine interests of corrosion control professionals through the United States military and industry," said Daniel J. Dunmire, leader of the Pentagon-based DoD Corrosion Policy and Oversight initiative. "This new instruction ensures that corrosion programs and techniques to preserve such assets as our aging aircraft, Navy ships, and Army weapon systems shall be put in place from the moment DoD acquires them."
"For the first time in history, the costs and labor required to maintain our military planes and ships must be systematically considered in the Departmentís acquisition process and not as an afterthought," said Dunmire.
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Air Force Secretary Charges Corrosion Experts to Make Further Inroads in Changing DoD’s Culture
Former Under Secretary of Defense for A, T, & L Delivers Tri-Service Conference Keynote
By Cynthia Greenwood
Corrosion experts who attended the Tri-Service Corrosion Conference banquet at the Denver Hyatt on December 4, 2007, were treated to a rare appearance by a high-level Pentagon official and policymaker. Michael W. Wynne, confirmed as Secretary of the United States Air Force in November 2005, left no doubt before everyone who listened to him over dessert and coffee that he is as technically well versed as any corrosion science practitioner.
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In the view of experts who work behind the scenes to preserve DoD aircraft, ships, and tanks, Sec. Wynne is a refreshing anomaly. A former executive in the private sector, he has also worked for General Dynamics and Martin Marietta. Sec. Wynne has a master’s degree in electrical engineering, so he understands and speaks the language of corrosion scientists and engineers. From 2003-2005, before he took the helm of the Air Force, Wynne served as Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, where he presided over an unusual Congressional mandate to make corrosion prevention a true priority throughout the military, Coast Guard, and NASA.
In the keynote address, researchers and engineers working to preserve weapon systems amid shrinking DoD budgets got more than just general kudos. Sec. Wynne talked in detail about how far DoD has come since it first undertook radical change within a military culture that favors the acquisition of new weapon systems.
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