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Center Important for Indian Head, Local Economy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, October 12, 2006
LA PLATA, MD – Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) applauded the opening of a new Energetics Facility in La Plata today. Hoyer was unable to join national, state and local leaders to dedicate the new Energetics Technology Center (ETC) as scheduled due to a funeral.
Congressman Hoyer helped secure $5 million in the FY07 Department of Defense Appropriations Bill for the Energetics Science & Technology Workforce Revitalization Initiative, of which ETC is a critical part.
“For the past 116 years, the Navy has been developing energetics products at Indian Head to protect our nation,” said Hoyer today. “During times of conflict, workers here have worked around the clock to help defeat our adversaries and solve challenges facing our troops out in the field. Today, that mission continues.
“We have successfully come through 5 rounds of base closings but the Defense Department is already hinting that another round is needed again and that we should periodically review our bases for their relevance. As everyone here knows, some of those previous rounds have been ‘nail biters.’ However, we survived with a strong public/private partnership, and by working with John Bloom and the Navy Alliance,” added Hoyer.
“As a result, the BRAC process certified Indian Head as the DoD’s Center of Excellence for Energetics. Our stock and reputation is rising all the time within the Pentagon because no one has the concentration of energetics expertise that we have assembled here. We are stronger today than we’ve ever been and play a very significant role in protecting our servicemen and women.
“So it is critical that we work to protect this very specialized and highly skilled talent base. That’s where the ETC comes in. They have reached out to leverage the private sector and the state and local governments to augment the investment being made by the federal government here.
What we are doing today is smart business. This is a world class center that will become a model for assembling and nurturing a critical workforce,” concluded Hoyer.
The ETC is a spin-off of the Center for Energetics Concepts Development (CECD) at the University of Maryland in College Park, which is involved in energetics research and education and supports the University of Maryland’s graduate programs. Work at ETC will focus primarily on development and prototyping of products that use energetics materials, in addition to workforce development. For more information, visit Congressman Hoyer’s website.
Participants included Sen. Paul Sarbanes, Sen. Barbara Mikulski, Del. Sally Jameson, Wayne Cooper, President Of County Commissioners, John Bloom, Indian Head Defense Alliance, and Dr. Richard Nadolink, Energetics Technology Center Executive Director.
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