Contract to Bring 200 Jobs Back to West Point

WEST POINT, Miss. (WCBI) — The Navistar Defense plant at West Point will hire back as many as 2090 contract workers starting at the end of this month to fulfill a new military contract to retrofit its MRAP vehicles.

The contract to upgrade MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicles is part of a $38.4 million contract awarded by the U.S. Army, according to U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.).

This phase of the “vehicle reset” contract would entail the replacement of mandatory parts and repairs to MRAP Maxx Pro Dash vehicles, bringing them to a Condition Code-A, or “like new,” standard. The contract is estimated to be completed in June 2016.

Navistar Defense Communications Director Ellisa Maurer tells WCBI the vehicles will be installed with survivability upgrades, independent suspensions and a slew of other upgrades.

Maurer said workforce expansion will be necessary to accommodate the workload, bringing in some 200 additional contracted positions. Hiring, she said, is expected to begin sometime this month.

Vehicle deliveries to West Point will begin in early 2015 up through the estimated contract completion date in June 2016.

“The production of the MRAPs in Mississippi has helped contribute to the effectiveness of our fighting forces, and this contract would allow our highly capable workforce to continue those efforts,” said Cochran, vice chairman of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

According to the Army, the contract work would entail meeting new configuration of the M1235 Maxx Pro Dash, M1235 A1 Maxx Pro Dash with independent suspension systems, while the M1235 A2 Maxx Pro dash ambulance would also be reconfigured.

The contract derives from FY2014 appropriations approved by Congress for the Department of Defense, including $25.8 million in Army operations and maintenance funding and $12.5 million in procurement funds.

The Senate Appropriations Committee in July approved the FY2015 Defense Appropriations Bill (http://1.usa.gov/1qMrIMl), which includes $165.8 billion in overall base funding for Defense Department operation and maintenance accounts and $91.4 billion for procurement.