Kathy-Lynn Evangelos, NSRDEC (front right), speaks to attendees at Soldier Systems Day on May 11.

The U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center (SSC) of Natick, Massachusetts, and the Program Executive Office (PEO) of Fort Belvoir, Virginia, recently showcased current and upcoming equipment for soldiers at the Massachusetts State House in Boston.

State Representative Karen Spilka, who co-hosted the May event, said this was an opportunity to show not only how critical the work accomplished at the SSC is for Natick, but for the entire country. Brig. Gen. R. Mark Brown, commanding general of the SSC and PEO, and another host of the event, said that the support of New England is important to the work that is being performed. Some of the benefits of being located in this area include the intellectual capital, the institutes of higher learning, and the teaching hospitals. "The result is the most capable soldier in the world today," he said. "SSC is one of the only places in the Army where the technology touches the life of every soldier everywhere, every day."

Some of the items displayed included Future Force Warrior, Navy uniforms, unmanned aerial vehicles, microclimate cooling, an advanced combat helmet, enhanced night vision goggles, and field feeding items, which the display-goers could taste.

James Leary, chief of staff and general counsel for the lieutenant governor, said that it has been great to have had the SSC in Massachusetts for the past 53 years, and the state is looking forward to the next 50 or 100 years. "What you do is critical to the country," he said. "It is hard to imagine this center anywhere else."

Massachusetts Undersecretary for Business Development Bob Coughlin said that the state wants to maintain its partnership with SSC in order for the good work that is done in Natick to continue. "It's the natural place for what you do," he remarked. He closed by saying, "God bless our troops. They are the most important thing." Other state representatives who sponsored this event were Senator Scott Brown and Representatives David Linsky and Alice Peisch.

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