01/10/2025
PICATINNY CONNECTS MILITARY CAPABILITIES TO STEM AT MASSIVE NEW JERSEY SCOUTING EVENT
By Timothy Rider
DEVCOM Armaments Center Public Affairs Office
A team of more than 20 Picatinny Soldiers and civilian employees manned military displays and discussed how science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) applied to developing Army warfighting capabilities for thousands of scouts, troop leaders and families attending Scouting America NJ360 at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta on Oct. 26.
Interactive displays included a robotic quadruped, 3D printers, drones, weapon manufacturing, logistics vehicles, an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Bomb Suit, a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) mounted with a Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS), a CROWS trainer, a mortar display and other items.
An estimated two thirds of the 4,000 people attending consisted of kindergarten-to-high school-aged scouts, who came with troop personnel and family members.
“Participating in this science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) event resulted in hundreds of interactions with scouts who became very interested in the technology that the Picatinny employees work on,” said Colin Summerville, an engineer with the Armaments Centers Quality Engineering and Systems Assurance branch.
While Summerville discussed with students how engineering and physics are applied in developing military mortar systems and their shells, he met a scout whose grandfather served in the military as a mortar crew member during the Korean War.
“He was delighted to hear the details of how mortars worked so that he could better understand his grandfather’s role in the war,” said Summerville, who organized the Picatinny contingent for the Picatinny STEM Outreach office.
Summerville was the lead coordinator for the Picatinny personnel who organized the 10 displays divided between indoor and outdoor areas.
Outdoors, scouts got a kid-tailored demonstration of the CROWS system, which can be configured to operate different small-and-large-caliber weapons, and even anti-tank rocket launchers.
For the scouts, Armaments Center engineers Nic Pollio and Tom Brogan outfitted the CROWS with a toy, plastic gun that fired foam-rubber bullets. Scouts were able to control the movement, advanced optics and firing mechanism using CROWS and fire the toy while sitting inside the HMMWV. HMMWV driver Omid Panahi also answered questions about the vehicle.
Three Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technicians, Master Sgt. John Myers, Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Baksay, and Sgt. 1st Class Michael Hagberg, helped scouts try on the exceptionally bulky Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Bomb Suits and discussed the inert ordnance they brought to display.
Remote Weapon Station Division representatives from Program Executive Office Soldier, Maj. Andrew Bradshaw and Maj. Nathaniel LaSorba, shared insight with scouts about military service and leadership while assisting with the vehicle-mounted CROWS display.
David Dekmar, Joseph Juarez, Ken Eng, and John Cummins from the Armaments Center brought a 5-Ton Truck and another HMMWV in a logistics configuration, allowing the scouts to sit inside the vehicles for an up-close view of what it’s like for Soldiers who perform logistics duties.
Inside the Science, Technology, Engineering, Army, and Math (STEAM) Pavilion, one of the biggest attractions was the robotic quadruped. Armaments Center engineers Michael Scalise and Ben Woo discussed the capabilities of the robot to groups of onlooking scouts.
Sagar Patel, from the RWS office brought the CROWS trainer, which included accurate CROWS controls and a computer that allowed scouts to interact with simulated combat scenarios like those used to train Army personnel on the CROWS system.
Andrew D’Onofrio and Anthony Callo, additive manufacturing volunteers, brought a 3D printer and explained the process to 3D print products and how the military uses this type of technology in manufacturing.
Armaments Center engineers Ray Trohanowsky, Scott Lee and Yin Chen brought handheld drones that individual scouts flew in the surrounding area.
A weapon manufacturing volunteer, Alex Smith, spoke to the scouts about the type of work that an engineer does in his field and showed the scouts a mockup M240 medium machinegun.
“Picatinny Arsenal, and more specifically the STEM Outreach Office, have been working to spread STEM awareness in its community and all of New Jersey, said Summerville. “Continuing to work with organizations like Scouting America and local schools, brings professionals in the STEM fields to young, interested students and scouts.”
Colin Summerville contributed to this article
PHOTO CAPTION: For the scouts, the CROWS system was modified with a toy, plastic gun that fired foam-rubber bullets. Scouts were able to control the movement, advanced optics and firing mechanism using CROWS and fire the toy while sitting inside the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV).
