Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Army general enlightens R.I. military contractors ()

By Ryan McBride (http://uber.newfangled.com/contentmgr/showdetails.php/id/114888) , Staff Writer

It was a rare opportunity. Rhode Island defense contractors were able to listen to and pick the brain of the U.S. Army’s commanding general of research and development during his trip to the state on Nov. 10.

() Maj. Gen. Roger A. Nadeau, a Rhode Island native, kicked off his visit with a two-hour talk at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, where he explained to defense contractors, large and small, how the U.S. Army Research, Development & Engineering Command (RDECOM) spends its $3.5-billion budget.

RDECOM, based at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, consists of eight research facilities scattered across the country. It works internally and with private industry to develop the instruments of warfare that soldiers will eventually take to the battlefield. Nadeau provided his audience with contact numbers in his department and Web addresses, where they could learn how to land a defense contract.

After his presentation, Nadeau met with some of the smaller defense contractors in the state – Applied Radar, of North Kingstown; Middletown companies Advanced Solutions for Tomorrow, KVH Industries, Marine Acoustics and Rite Solutions; Warren’s TPI Composites; and Aspen Aerogels, a Massachusetts-based company renovating a manufacturing facility in East Providence.

“When we bring these groups together there are a lot of things that can happen, because there is a lot of capability in Rhode Island,” said John Riendeau, who manages defense industry relations for the R.I. Economic Development Corporation, which coordinated the major general’s visit to the state.

As home to a U.S. Navy base, Rhode Island is largely thought of as host to naval defense contractors such as submarine maker Electric Boat. Yet companies like KVH Industries, which developed a navigation system for the Army’s Bradley tanks, are changing that profile.

Riendeau said that as the military’s communications systems become more integrated across its main branches, “there are a lot of similarities in what these defense companies are doing for the Navy that can relate to the Army’s needs.”

Though representatives from Electric Boat and Raytheon were present for Nadeau’s morning presentation, the EDC scheduled the rest of the general’s time for face-to-face meetings with the state’s lesser-known military contractors.

“In this (state), there is some unique R&D that is happening in small- to medium-sized businesses that we thought should be showcased,” Riendeau said. “When we can showcase the smaller group and get them the face-to-face (meetings) that they can’t usually get, then it’s a leg up for them.”

Rhode Island defense contractors agreed.

“I think it gives people a perspective that is difficult to get if you don’t come to a presentation,” said Michael A. Deaett, consulting engineer for Applied Radar.

Applied Radar was scheduled to have a personal meeting with the major general after his presentation, and planned to familiarize him with the company’s ability to help modernize the military’s radar technology, which is years behind cell phone technology, Deaett said. “This opportunity to talk to a high-level person who has a lot of political influence is useful,” he added.

The genesis of Nadeau’s trip to the state came during a Sept. 11 commemoration event at the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, where the EDC’s Riendeau said he met Lt. Gen. Joseph L. Yakovac Jr., the Army commander of procurement and Nadeau’s boss.

A conversation about the state’s defense industry continued after the event in the form of e-mails between Riendeau and the lieutenant general, who put the state official in touch with Nadeau. After learning from Riendeau about the technology under development in Rhode Island, Nadeau said he wanted to see the state’s progress firsthand, Riendeau said.

Only later did Riendeau learn that the major general hailed from the Ocean State.

In fact, Nadeau, 53, is a 1974 graduate of the University of Rhode Island, where he majored in agriculture and received a commission from the Reserve Officer’s Training Corps program.

Nadeau, who grew up in Coventry and later Cumberland, said he still has two sisters and a grandmother living in the state.

However, he said his latest trip to his home state didn’t leave time for visiting family. It was intended to inform the state’s defense industry about RDECOM and how it does business.

“The more contacts we can have, the willingness for open communications, and getting the right person to talk to (businesses) is exactly why we spent the time” to come here, Nadeau said.

Published 11/19/2005
Army general enlightens R.I. military contractors http://pbn.com/contentmgr/showdetails.php/id/117967
11/30/2005 4:49 PM
Issue 20-32

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