Assemblywoman Aura Dunn Lauds Feds' Picatinny Visit

by TapInto

Picatinny Arsenal isn’t just Morris County’s third-largest employer, but the military’s premier research, development, and manufacturing hub for next-generation warfare. So when the Pentagon’s calls for its restructuring surfaced earlier this year, potentially leading to massive local economic losses and national security risks, Assemblywoman Aura Dunn pushed back. In July, she issued the invitation to the Feds: come see the work at Picatinny Arsenal for yourselves.

Last week, they accepted. According to reports, U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll visited to witness the arsenal’s latest advancements in drone defense technology and other weapons systems.

“I hope he walked away from that visit agreeing with me, that the work being done here is too important to dismantle and scatter,” Dunn (R-Morris), a member of the New Jersey Military Skills Council, said. “Its value can’t be reduced to a numbers game.”

The Pentagon’s plan to streamline military operations, unveiled this past April, threatens to shift 1,000 jobs and more than $1.5 billion in funding away from Picatinny to other locations outside New Jersey. The arsenal, established in 1880, currently supports 6,000 military, civilian, and private-sector employees, with small and mid-sized New Jersey firms strengthening the supply chain. It contributes $367 million annually in workforce labor to the state and $163 million directly to Morris County.

“Secretary Driscoll saw firsthand the talent and innovation happening at Picatinny that makes and keeps our military the best in the world,” Dunn said. “I trust he now sees that New Jersey is the place to keep this important work going.”