Tobyhanna Army Depot Forms Partnership with Air Force

A new program at Tobyhanna Army Depot helps Airmen worldwide defend the people and property of the U.S. Air Force.

The depot recently onboarded the Base Defense Operations Center workload (BDOC), a shelterized command and control center that serves as the central hub for Air Force base protection systems. Staffed 24 hours a day, the BDOC’s staff monitors all aspects of installation/location security, including physical security, radio transmission and flight line activity.  The workload was acquired through a collaborative effort with the Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and the Air Force Security Forces Center. 

The acquisition of the new mission is directly aligned with Tobyhanna’s long-range strategic plan, dubbed Toby 2028.  The plan, which focuses on posturing the depot to be competitive in the year 2028, has lines of effort dedicated to expanding an already diverse portfolio as well as securing new workload.  BDOC represents growth for the depot’s enduring support to the U.S. Air Force, which includes a variety of range threat and missile guidance and control programs.

Unlike other depot programs that focus on repairing legacy equipment, BDOC is a cross-organizational new production effort. Assets originate at Berg, an expandable shelter manufacturer in Spokane, WA, then are shipped to Tobyhanna. Depot artisans populate the blank shelter with a host of electronic equipment and required cables, wiring, and hardware. Finally, the BDOC travels to an SAIC facility near Ft. Bliss in Texas, where final integration of the Harris radio suite is completed. Prior to hand-off to the Air Force, SAIC technicians conduct extensive final testing to ensure a quality product.

Donald Vozzi, chief of the Systems Integration and Support (SIS) directorate’s Electronic Shelter Systems Branch, says the workload requires inputs from many members of Team Tobyhanna.

“Getting this system out the door requires inputs from many different SIS organizations.  Items are fabricated in both SIS machine shops, and our co-workers in the System Assembly Branch provide kitting support.  We also couldn’t do it without the fantastic support we received from Production Engineering, Production Management and Quality,” they said.  Project Manager Anthony Capone agreed.

“This team has been doing a great job from the get-go, which is especially impressive because BDOC is like no other program I’ve worked on here at Tobyhanna.”

While the program is currently funded for 24 assets, Project Manager Anthony Capone says he expects the workload will increase in the future.

“Both the Air Force and SAIC are pleased with our work.  We are confident BDOC will be the first step towards many more partnerships allowing Team Tobyhanna to better support the Air Force.” 

Tobyhanna Army Depot is a recognized leader in providing world-class logistics support for command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C5ISR) systems across the Department of Defense. Tobyhanna’s Corporate Philosophy, dedicated work force and electronics expertise ensure the depot is the Joint C5ISR provider of choice for all branches of the Armed Forces and industry partners.

Tobyhanna’s unparalleled capabilities include full-spectrum logistics support for sustainment, overhaul and repair, fabrication and manufacturing, engineering design and development, systems integration, post production software support, technology insertion, modification, foreign military sales and global field support to our joint warfighters. About 4,000 personnel are employed at Tobyhanna, which is located in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania. Tobyhanna Army Depot is part of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command. Headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, the command’s mission is to empower the Soldier with winning C5ISR capabilities.