Letterkenny Army Depot

Letterkenny Army Depot recently celebrated its Aviation Ground Power Unit with a ribbon cutting for its build-to-assemble and first-article testing programs. The depot commander, Col. Cheri A. Provancha, was joined by representatives from Headquarters Aviation, Aviation Ground Support Equipment, and Aviation Field Maintenance Division. Provancha provided a brief history of the Aviation Ground Power Unit program, which began in December 2005 when the depot was tasked by U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command to induct assets into a service life extension program.

State and local leaders are bracing for another possible fight to protect military bases, including Letterkenny Army Depot in Chambersburg. The U.S. Department of Defensewill request that Congress appoint a commission to study the future of military bases around the country, possibly in 2013 and 2015, Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. Melinda Morgan said Wednesday. “We're in the process of making those requests,” she said. The Base Realignment and Closure Commission would identify military installations to be closed or changed in size.

Letterkenny Army Depot is looking for former female employees from the 1940s through the early 1970s to participate in a group panel discussion in recognition of Women's History Month. The Federal Women's Program Committee of Letterkenny is hosting the discussion focusing on a woman's perspective of working at Letterkenny Army Depot and the changes that occurred throughout their careers. “Whether you were a wage-grade employee working in the shops, or a general schedule in an office environment, we would like to hear from you,” the Federal Women's Program Committee said in its announcement.

Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., will hold a jobs and economy town hall meeting at 9 a.m. Friday at Letterkenny Army Depot in Chambersburg. Attendees must present photo identification to gain entrance to the depot. Visitors should use Advantage Avenue to access the gate at the intersection with Wisconsin Avenue. The town hall meeting will be held in the depot's building No. 10 at 1 Overcash Road.

Letterkenny Army Depot and Franklin County officials celebrated a milestone Thursday that they say will ensure that between 300 and 400 jobs stay in Chambersburg through 2013. Depot commander Col. Cheri A. Provancha recognized the men and women at Letterkenny for completing two separate systems - a Patriot Launcher and a Patriot Guidance Enhancement Missile, or GEM-T, during two ribbon-cutting ceremonies at the depot. Provancha said the two programs are not creating new jobs, but will maintain job security.

Gold shovels symbolically struck the snowy, saturated ground next to Letterkenny Chapel on Monday morning to mark the spot where a Sept. 11, 2001, memorial will be erected. A community group secured two steel beam sections from Ground Zero, and those artifacts will serve as the main feature of a memorial with a walkway, granite and informational kiosks. The Rev. William Harter of Chambersburg, who spearheaded the artifacts' preservation, thanked political leaders, Letterkenny Army Depot, the Letterkenny Chapel committee and emergency responders for their work on the memorial.

When an armored vehicle escorting a military convoy clears out a roadside bomb or a soldier wipes his feet as he enters a tent to eat, sleep or relax, there's a good chance that the equipment came from Letterkenny Army Depot north of Chambersburg. A sprawling campus of more than 18,000 acres, the depot is the equivalent of a $1.4 billion business, said Mark Sheffield, deputy to the commander. That's almost five times the value - $298 million - of its programs in fiscal 2004. Much of the growth is due to Letterkenny's missions, which changed dramatically following  the Sept.

Letterkenny Army Depot announced Thursday it has been awarded its seventh Shingo medallion for excellence in manufacturing and business practices.The bronze medallion recognizes the Aviation Ground Power Unit rebuild program, according to a news release from the depot.Letterkenny's commander, Col. Cheri Provancha, visited several buildings across the depot to thank employees.“You guys did it; you pulled it off. ... The one thing they (Shingo auditors)...

Two new government contracts won by AECOM Technology Corp. will preserve 420 jobs at Letterkenny Army Depot as the company begins to handle technical support services at the depot. The affected employees, who were working under an existing contract, will move to the contracts awarded by the U.S. General Services Administration to AECOM, a Letterkenny spokeswoman said. The two concurrent contracts total $72 million over three years, an AECOM news release stated. AECOM will work with production engineering, electronic support, manufacturing and fabrication, mechanical equipment, and paint.

Saturday was Armed Forces Day, and Letterkenny Army Depot pulled out all of the stops to make the day educational and fun. Letterkenny employee Ed Sallie and his wife, Christie, of Chambersburg were content to take some of the tours around Letterkenny, but their children, Rachael, 12, and Andrew, 8, had other ideas. “I’m retired Air Force, so we went on the cemetery tour to see the history of the place, and that was incredibly boring for them, so we promised them the bouncy house,” Ed Sallie said.