Lt. Gen. Larry D. Wyche, Army Materiel Command (AMC) deputy commanding general, chaired a panel discussion during the Association of the U.S. Army Global Force Symposium and Exposition at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Titled "Strategic Materiel Readiness," panel members focused on what AMC and its partners and subordinate commands are doing to ensure soldiers remain ready to engage in any situation, at any time, at any place.

"Through our transportation brigades, Foreign Military Sales, and research and development capabilities, we have the right organization to meet the requirements of this complex environment and the needs of the unknown," Wyche said.

The assistance from partners in industry and academia are necessary to meet these goals, Wyche noted.

"In regard to industry and academia, we’ve learned an awful lot about how we see ourselves providing readiness," Wyche said.

Adding, "As you reflect on history, our civilian partners have been there all the way, innovating better partnership with industry."

The partners include household names that work with the public at large and the Department of Defense, as well as civilian and contractor employees who work at the Army’s 23 Organic Industrial Base (OIB) facilities, located throughout the United States.

The OIB includes depots, arsenals and ammunition plants, where personnel manufacture, repair and reset military equipment.

"Our Organic Industrial Bases are our national security insurance policies. We must maintain valuable OIB to sustain decisive actions in the future, in order to enable joint force readiness and meet future surge requirements worldwide in a timely and effective manner," Wyche said.

"We believe we have the right structure in place to support," he added.