U.S. Army Col. Matthew C. Mason is taking on a mission to turn the Pine Bluff Arsenal from an arsenal of yesterday to one of tomorrow, by his own description.
The Arsenal’s commander shared his vision Tuesday during a White Hall Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the city’s Community Center. Some of that vision is underway, especially in the wake of the Army’s Jan. 28 announcement of Hanwha Defense bringing a $1.3-billion munitions campus to the 85-year-old Arsenal. Hanwha Defense, based in South Korea, promises 200 to 300 jobs by Mason’s estimate and is planning to break ground this summer.
“This is very new to us,” he said. “This is very new to the Army, how to do it fully and correctly to make sure everyone is benefiting from it and everyone is gaining what they need to be successful.”
Mason was assigned to his current post seven months ago and has taken on the challenge of finding ways to make the Arsenal more efficient. The agreement with Hanwha Defense was a landmark achievement for a base that just months earlier had faced the possibility of being downsized.
“Seven months ago, we were under orders to look at closure or repurposing our capabilities to another site,” Mason said. “But we were like, no, I think there’s a lot of capability here that a lot didn’t know about, so let’s educate the community. Let’s educate the senior leaders. Let’s educate other OIB (organic industrial base) sites on what we truly have, and let’s have a conversation about, do we really want to close or is this something we really want to enhance?
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“We have stuff the Army really needs, so let’s build on it instead of looking to close it.”
Mason said he hopes the process to select more businesses for the Arsenal to help with its munitions mission will be completed by the end of the year. The Arsenal could potentially land two more industries through an enhanced use lease such as the deal with Hanwha Defense and at least one through a public-private partnership.
Industries that could potentially come to the Arsenal are not as far along in the process as Hanwha is, Mason said.
“They want to come here. They want to come do their business here. They want to support the warfighter, but those timelines have not been addressed yet,” Mason said.
Mason outlined his plan to make the Arsenal a strategic hub by building OIB resilience, driving modernization and providing modernized sustainment through upgrades and service life extension programs. Mason also cited the desire of Arkansas’ U.S. senators to create the state’s defense corridor with Camden to provide a secure local source of critical materials directly to Camden’s industrial base and others, among other goals.
“Let’s be ready right now to fulfill this vision, because you never know when the momentum is going to change,” Mason said. “You never know what the next priority is going to be. Right now, we’re taking full advantage of this while we can, as far as we can.”