Army news service (Jan. 18, 2005): Cody thanks workers at Red River Army Depot.

TEXARKANA, Texas -- Red River Army Depot is one of six sites producing armor survivability kits for high-mobility, multi-wheeled vehicles, and the Army's vice chief visited there Jan. 14 to thank employees.

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The depot also recycles Humvees in a process called recapitalization, refurbishes heavy expanded mobility tactical trucks and is the Center of Industrial and Technical Excellence for tactical wheeled vehicles, small emplacement excavators. Bradley tanks, Patriot missile recertification, and rubber products in support of U.S. and allied forces.

With the war on terrorism and the demand for more, better-made vehicles, the employees at this depot work around the clock to meet the demands of commanders in theater.

"I want to thank this generation of workers," said Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard A. Cody to the media during his visit to the depot Jan. 14. "[At the Pentagon] you can't see the production rate without seeing the faces of these people working three shifts to get the job done. They have the right priorities and are producing high-quality products."

He shared stories from his November trip to Camp Arifjian, Kuwait.

"I saw the look on troops' faces as they got the add-on armor kits," Cody said. "It came from Red River Depot and they know that Red River cares about them."

While touring the facility, Cody met Joe Clayborn, who has put in seven years of service at the depot. Clayborn, a Vietnam War veteran, has a son in the 502nd Regiment at Fort Campbell, Ky., who recently returned from a deployment to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"[Clayborn] knows his son is safe," Cody told the employees of Red River Army Depot. "But he also knows that there are soldiers still on the line depending on him and all of you to produce the best products."

Sean Perry, another Army veteran who works at the depot as a grade eight mechanic, agrees with Cody.

"Everything we do here affects the soldier when in war and when not in war," Perry said. "What we do here makes [the soldiers] do their job properly."

The Red River Army Depot is the Army's only road wheel and track-shoe rebuild and manufacture facility, and it's the Defense Department's only facility to recertify Patriot and Hawk missile systems.

"The most important thing for combat commanders in the fight is not to stop," said depot commander Col. Michael Cervone. "With reliable equipment in the field, the commander won't have to stop. There is no greater risk than faulty equipment."

Teams from Red River Army Depot set up a mini depot in Kuwait when Operation Iraqi Freedom began, giving soldiers a quick turn-around in repairs.

"It's more than a paycheck for these workers," Cody told the media in a press conference at the depot. "They know every minute counts. They know that everything they're building here is saving lives."

Staff Sgt. Reeba Critser, USA

Crister is assigned to the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs. Red River Army Depot, Texarkana, Texas.