LIMESTONE - Workers with the Maine Military Authority had the
chance to show off their facility when a four-star general paid the
vehicle-rebuilding center a visit Tuesday afternoon at the invitation
of the state's congressional delegation.

Army Gen. Benjamin Griffin, head of the Army Materiel Command, which
oversees work done at the Maine Military Authority, said Tuesday that
he accepted the invitation for two reasons: to see firsthand a facility
he's heard so much about and to thank the workers who "have helped
us during a very critical time."

"I'm very impressed," Griffin said part way through the tour of the
Maine Readiness Sustainment Maintenance Center. "But I was very
impressed [with this facility] before I came here."

Griffin's evaluation of the facility is attributable, in part, to its statistics for rebuilding and refurbishing vehicles. According to several officials who attended the event, including Sen. Susan Collins, the facility completes work in about 100 hours less time and for about $10,000 less per vehicle than similar sites. Though the maintenance center is the Army's third top source for refurbished military vehicles, it is the most cost-effective and time-saving site, officials said.

The center started out in 1997 rebuilding mostly Humvees for the National Guard Bureau, but last year the facility garnered two Army projects: a one-year contract to rebuild vehicles, called RECAP; and another to bring vehicles back up to Army standards, called RESET. The projects allowed for the hiring of about 160 workers, bringing numbers up to about 540 at the facility.

Speaking before the tour, Collins thanked the general for his help in keeping those jobs in place by securing a "bridge" for the MMA on its one-year contracts with the Army. The bridge will allow work there to continue uninterrupted until the Army has a new contract in place for the RECAP and RESET projects by about March of next year. While MMA officials are confident they will win that contract, the bridge means work can continue past the one-year contract date so no layoffs will be made during December.

Officials were hoping the visit would help to bring the facility more good news.

Tim Corbett, deputy commissioner of the Maine Department of Defense,
Veterans and Emergency Management, pointed out that "this general controls
the throttle" at the Army Materiel Command. The AMC, headquartered in Fort
Belvoir, Va., has a work force of about 50,000 and does everything from
developing weapons systems to providing food and vehicles. The basic rule,
according to an AMC fact sheet, is that "If a soldier shoots it, drives it, flies it,
wears it, or eats it, AMC provides it."

"[Griffin is] responsible for maintaining the repair and refurbishment of military
vehicles worldwide," Corbett said Tuesday. "He can control where the work gets
done and where the projects get put out to bid."

Arthur Cleaves, director of the Maine Emergency Management Agency, which is
a bureau of the Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management,
said Tuesday that officials have three goals in mind as a result of the visit: They
hope to fix a long-range plan for the local area's future, to help the Army's war
effort, and to save money at the federal level.

"We're hoping to extend the Army contracts, by having him [Griffin] visit and see
the quality and efficiency of the work done here, and to be able to take on more
types of vehicles," he said.

While Griffin did not indicate whether the facility would see more bids, he did say
he was glad for the chance to view the facility himself.

"I'm always looking for new opportunities," he said.