Tobyhanna Army Depot, PA —
Data collected at Tobyhanna Army Depot will help improve specialty uniforms for U.S. Army Soldiers and Marines.
The depot hosted four government entities in late January in support of an ongoing study to assess the effectiveness of military overwhite uniforms. Also called “snow camouflage,” the attire is designed to conceal soldiers from an array of sensors in different snow environments.
Tobyhanna was selected as a data collection site after analysis by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers found that the depot’s terrain resembled potential combat environments in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. Other sites included in the study were Camp Dawson in West Virginia and Fort Drum in New York.
The study team was comprised of representatives from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD), Product Manager Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment (PM-SCIE) and Program Executive Office (PEO) Soldier. Those involved commended Team Tobyhanna’s hospitality.
“Tobyhanna’s support was phenomenal. Everything went right – the weather conditions were perfect and we captured the exact data we needed. The Tobyhanna team went above and beyond,” said Clay Williamson, the future programs officer at PEO Soldier.
The study’s mission was to capture imagery of the uniforms in locales that were similar to areas where future battles may occur. The imagery will then be used in an experiment to determine success of the uniforms’ “signature mitigation properties”. Called a “probability of detection study,” the test is similar to a scientific version of ‘Where’s Waldo?” according to technical lead Jacob Quartuccio, PhD. Hundreds of Soldiers will view the imagery taken at the three locations and indicate if they can “find” the person wearing the overwhite uniform. Results from the study will be used for future product development and procurement.
Depot personnel say they were happy to accommodate such an important mission.
“Team Tobyhanna is ready, willing and able to support Soldier requirements of all kinds. We’re here when the Soldier needs us,” said Edward Kovaleski, an architect in the Installation Services Directorate.
Tobyhanna Army Depot is a recognized leader in providing world-class logistics support for command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C5ISR) systems across the Department of Defense. Tobyhanna’s Corporate Philosophy, dedicated work force and electronics expertise ensure the depot is the Joint C5ISR provider of choice for all branches of the Armed Forces and industry partners.
Tobyhanna’s unparalleled capabilities include full-spectrum logistics support for sustainment, overhaul and repair, fabrication and manufacturing, engineering design and development, systems integration, post production software support, technology insertion, modification, foreign military sales and global field support to our joint warfighters.
About 4,000 personnel are employed at Tobyhanna, which is located in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania. Tobyhanna Army Depot is part of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command. Headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, the command’s mission is to empower the Soldier with winning C5ISR capabilities.
By Ms. Danielle E. Weinschenk
