Defense Alliance Visits Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville

Huntsville, Alabama - 24-25 August 2009:  The Defense Alliance conducted a group visit to the Redstone Army Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama this week.  The goal was to introduce the Defense Alliance to the Arsenal by showcasing members companies to the many key Army and NASA acquisition commands that reside on the installation.  The Huntsville area has seen a sizable economic development boom in high technology and innovation, thanks principally to Department of Defense dollars that are flowing there following decisions made during the U.S. Congress Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process.  Those decisions included the move by several major Army procurement commands to Huntsville, such as the Army Material Command. 

The 14 members of the Defense Alliance, representing 10 companies and insititutions from Minnesota and North Dakota visited several commands and offices over two days, including:  the Marshall Space Flight Center of NASA; Army Aviation and Missile Command; Program Executive Office (PEO) Aviation; PEO Missiles; and the Army\'s successful Product Integration Facility (PIF) that has brought rapid-turn, innovative solutions to the Soldier in part through partnerships with small business.  The visit also included a brief by the Huntsville Area Chamber of Commerce which highlighted the breadth of growth in the area by government agencies and private companies.

The Defense Alliance visit to Huntsville is the third in a series of out-of-state group trips - previous visits include the U.S. Army\'s Picatinny Arsenal and the Crane Naval Depot.