RRAD eyes new missions

Senator pursues maintenance work for depot as layoffs loom

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s office would like to know why work that should be going to Red River Army Depot is going elsewhere.

“Language has been put into the National Defense Authorization Act for FY19 to investigate this and figure out why missions are going other places than where they are supposed to,” a Cruz spokesman said. “This will take time, but steps will be taken to figure out what is going on in the Army’s logistics chain.”

Red River Army Depot will lay off about 300 temporary and contract workers shortly in response to a decrease in workload. Early this year, 600 layoffs of a similar nature were announcned.

“There are no more layoffs expected for FY2018,” depot officials said through the public information office. “We will continue to monitor and balance workload to workload.”

The federal fiscal year ends Sept. 30. Cruz’s spokesman said the depot is seeking nontraditional missions outside its regular active Army customer, like work from the National Guard, Marine Corps and Border Patrol.

A press statement by congressional representatives, including Cruz, was released last week confirming RRAD’s contending to receive the maintenance mission for the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle, a vehicle intended to replace the family of M113 vehicles that have been in service since the Vietnam War. According to Cruz’s office, a decision could be made on the AMPV and the maintenance mission later this year.

Red River Army Depot handles the maintenance mission for the M113.

According to the press release, the mission has a high probability of coming to RRAD, given that the depot has the Bradley maintenance mission and the AMPV has similar maintenance requirements.

RRAD is also seeking the maintenance mission for the Rough Terrain Container Handler mission, a vehicle designed for handling cargo containers.

Meanwhile, displaced workers are getting help from the Transition Support Center and the

Arkansas and Texas workforce commissions. The center also offers workers tuition assistance and resume-writing help.

Two workers have been hired by Defense Logistics Agency at the depot, an RRAD spokesperson said.

On Friday, the Machinists Union objected to the layoffs in a news release. They said the 305 jobs due to be gone by Aug. 31 will greatly affect the local economy and the ability of RRAD to accomplish its mission.

Mark Harvey, president of IAMAW Local Lodge 1243, cited a study from the University of Arkansas on the potential impact of the layoffs.

“I expect it to have a much greater impact than we even know. We have already lost countless number of people that have had to pick up and move their families to different places just so they can make a living. But then you also have people that can’t afford to pick up and move because they have loved ones in their families with special needs and their support system is here. The study shows that the financial impact on the area will be substantial,” he said.

Harvey said he realizes the workload is down and the command has to make decisions. Yet, once skilled labor is gone, it can be difficult to regain it, he said. but in the skill base. Once they lose skilled labor, they can be difficult to get back when needed.

However, should RRAD acquire new missions, the union stands ready to do the job.

“We will build it as our lives depend on it, as the motto goes,” Harvey said.