Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Building Iowa’s Defense Technology and Food Safety
I started off my day by touring the Mechdyne Technical Facility in Marshalltown to learn about a project receiving federal appropriations called Shared Vision. I visited with several employees of Mechdyne including the President and CEO Chris Clover, VP of Operations Jim Gruening and Shared Vision Project Manager Mark Ferneau.
Shared Vision provides soldiers in the field with the ability to improve their mission planning capabilities, allowing them to be more accurate in a shorter period of time compared to current methods. I learned from the Mechdyne team that their next steps integrate the project onto the tactical network in theater while providing additional capabilities for mission planning/briefing, situational awareness and after action reviews. This project will provide the ability to resolve any issues related to interoperability with other fielded Army Battle Command Systems so that fewer troops and civilians will be injured while out on patrols. I am thrilled to help Mechdyne move Shared Vision from a research and development effort to a tool ready for field-testing and evaluation.
As I heard about the project details and put on my 3D goggles to view the demonstration Chris and his team had put together, I was so proud to be involved with this group of individuals. Mechdyne is a company that is expanding its business in Marshalltown with plans for even further growth. They are in a high tech field that enables the state to hold on to the young men and women who have been leaving for other destinations because we lacked the type of jobs they were seeking. This project is a perfect example of government and private business partnering together to boost our national security, protect our troops on the ground and create good high-paying jobs that retain a young, educated workforce from our world class universities and colleges.
After my Mechdyne meeting, I headed back to Des Moines for a meeting with the Des Moines Register editorial board on health reform and then a forum on food safety hosted by the Pew Charitable Trusts and Drake University. The University, its President David Maxwell, and everyone on staff there were so welcoming and helpful today and I thank them for their hospitality. I have worked with Pew for so many years on so many issues, and I can tell you that this organization is a true resource.
At the event, we heard heart-wrenching stories of Iowa families who have lost loved ones because of food borne illnesses. These deaths could have been prevented through better food safety procedures and are a stark reminder of the importance of enacting federal food safety reform. This is an issue I have focused on for some time now and I plan to continue to make a priority - it is time to fix our nation’s food safety system.
After the forum I was able to catch up with many of my good friends who work in agriculture and food safety, including newly appointed USDA Rural Development State Director Bill Menner and USDA Farm Service Agency State Director John Whitaker, who are both doing an incredible job so far.
