TRENTON –
Understanding the jobs American manufacturers do on a daily basis allows Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support Clothing and Textiles employees to appreciate the work the companies do, a C&T intern said.
Madison Maynard was one of 23 employees to visit Switlik Inc. in Trenton, New Jersey last month to learn how the company makes life-saving equipment that DLA procures for its military customers.
“This perspective is essential to allowing us to understand what type of problems manufacturers can be faced with when producing the equipment we use to help support the warfighter,” Maynard said.
John Lee is also a C&T intern and said that after the visit, he had a better appreciation of the company’s efforts.
“As an intern, it can be difficult to apprehend how hard the manufacturers’ job truly is when you are behind the computer screen just looking at and expecting stock,” Lee said. “The truth is, problems always occur and the fact remains that the people producing the items we help provide to the warfighter are the best at their jobs.”
Both Maynard and Lee have been working at DLA Troop Support for approximately four weeks within C&T’s customer operations directorate.
The visit to Switlik was sponsored by C&T’s culture improvement team as part of the supply chain’s efforts to provide employees first-hand exposure to the industrial base, CIT lead Robin Kirkland-Gonzales said.
C&T currently procures anti-gravity suits, anti-exposure flyer's coveralls and anti-exposure socks from Switlik. The family-owned business has made inflatable safety and survival products since 1920, according to its website.