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It’s all about soldier readiness and safety at Natick Soldier Systems Center (aka Natick Army Labs)

May 4, 2021 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

We’d always been curious about the Natick Soldier Systems Center, often referred to around town as the Natick Army Labs, so when the opportunity came up to attend a Zoom meeting to learn more about the only active Army installation in New England, we jumped at the chance. Hosted by the Natick Historical Society, NHS director Niki Lefebvre introduced Col. Frank Moore of DEVCOM Soldier Center, one of Natick Lab’s research and technology collaborators. Lefebvre welcomed Moore and asked the occasional clarifying question as he led over 70 participants through a fascinating Power Point presentation about the 174-acre site that includes 459k square feet of lab space and 75 family housing units for active military personnel.

Moore provided an overview of the 15 tenant organizations operating at the Systems Center, all of which are dedicated to one goal: working together to optimize soldier readiness and safety. About 1,500 people are employed at the facility including 1,188 civilians, 90 military personnel, and 220 contractors. The Systems Center takes great pride in the brainpower concentrated in that small corner of Natick—it’s a smart bunch that collectively holds over 1,231 college and university degrees.

A large part of what happens at the Systems Center involves clothing. Both the US Navy and the Coast Guard run research and development on clothing design and textiles. Some other partner organizations work on soldier protective equipment including combat equipment and weaponry systems.

natick army labs soldier systems center

The conversation focused on the Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center (DEVCOM), where Moore works. The stated mission of DEVCOM, the national and international leader in warfighter science and technology development, is to “provide the Army with innovative science and technology solutions to optimize the performance of our soldiers” by “ensuring dominance through superior scientific and engineering expertise.”

That group’s 903 employees, made up of a combination of military and civilians, work on parachute design and parachutist safety; military nutrition; fiber and textile science such as camouflage concealment and ballistic protection; optimizing and enhancing soldier performance; soldier protection through enhanced equipment design, environmental protection; chemical biological protection; and Army training tech that includes live training exercises.

Moore says DEVCOM is known as “the soldier’s research center”, meaning that everything done there focuses on keeping soldiers safe and optimizing their performance.

Durning the Q & A period, several residents fondly remembered back when the Army Labs opened up to the pubic for tours and asked if that would be repeated in the future. Moore said due to COVID that’s not possible for now, but hoped that is something that could happen in the future.

Moore did seem confident that a ribbon-cutting ceremony could take place in 2023, when an under-construction $50 million dollar 4-story facility is slated to be completed. This new building will house the Soldier and Squad Performance Research Institute, a research lab the Army says is,  “designed to inform and optimize soldier and squad lethality and combat readiness.”

Until then, Moore said the Systems Center is always looking for qualified candidates to fill a host of jobs. A quick google search showed they are in search of a textile technologist; a general engineer; an architect; a warehouse/inventory control specialist; and more.

Watch Col. Moore’s presentation on youtube at this link.

Next up on the Natick Historical Society’s calendar: a presentation by Boston University American Studies PhD candidate Mariah Gruner titled, Ten Thousand Digital Absurdities: the Power of the Needlework in 19th Century America.

DATE: Tuesday, May 4, 2021
TIME:
7pm-8pm


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Filed Under: Community, Education, Natick Historical Society, Neighbors, Veterans

Natick invited to Race Amity Zoom presentation

January 26, 2021 by Admin Leave a Comment

Natick Race Amity

The Natick Historical Society and the Bacon Free Library will co-host a Zoom presentation of WGBH’s powerful documentary series American Stories: Race Amity and The Other Tradition on Tue., Feb. 2, 6:30pm – 8pm. This presentation will include a brief introduction to the film by Dr. William H. Smith (creator, executive producer, and writer of the series), a reading from the book Race Amity: A Primer on America’s Other Tradition, a viewing of the film Race Amity: America’s Other Tradition, a commentary by Dr. Smith, and a Q&A Session.

WHS Media Productions LLC created this documentary for the promotion of cross-racial and cross-cultural understanding.

This event is FREE and open to the public. Advanced registration is required to access the Zoom link. Please register using the link here, and allow 3-5 days for a confirmation email with the link from the Natick Historical Society.

Filed Under: Bacon Free Library, Community, Education, Embracing diversity, History, Natick Historical Society

Natick Historical Society & Bacon Free Library upcoming events

January 8, 2021 by Admin Leave a Comment

Everyone is welcome to join a virtual discussion of The Nightingale (2018) by Kristin Hannah on Thursday, January 14, 2021, 11am-noon.

The Nightingale

This program is co-sponsored with the Bacon Free Library. It is FREE and open to the public.

If you are interested in joining this virtual book discussion, email: director@natickhistoricalsociety.org.

About The Nightingale

In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France…but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When a German captain requisitions Vianne’s home, she and her daughter must live with the enemy or lose everything. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive.


Save the date for Race Amity presentation

Natick Race Amity

The Natick Historical Society and the Bacon Free Library will co-host a Zoom presentation of WGBH’s powerful documentary series American Stories: Race Amity and The Other Tradition on Tue., Feb. 2, 6:30pm – 8pm. This presentation will include a brief introduction to the film by Dr. William H. Smith (creator, executive producer, and writer of the series), a reading from the book Race Amity: A Primer on America’s Other Tradition, a viewing of the film Race Amity: America’s Other Tradition, a commentary by Dr. Smith, and a Q&A Session.

WHS Media Productions LLC created this documentary for the promotion of cross-racial and cross-cultural understanding.

This event is FREE and open to the public. Advanced registration is required to access the Zoom link. Please register using the link here, and allow 3-5 days for a confirmation email with the link from the Natick Historical Society.

Filed Under: Bacon Free Library, Books, Community, Education, Embracing diversity, History, Morse Institute Library, Natick Historical Society

Natick historic holidays event: Victorian Gossip Girl Tea

December 1, 2020 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Join the Natick Historical Society and Gossip Girl Annie Fields on Sun., Dec. 6th, 2pm, via Zoom, as she spills the beans on her famous literary friends this holiday season, including the “Father of Christmas,” Charles Dickens. Counting Nathaniel Hawthorne, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow amongst her closest friends, she witnessed a great deal of Victorian revelry at her waterside museum in Beacon Hill. Mrs. Fields wrote about her guests’ embarrassing moments in her novel Authors and Friends (1896) and shares them with you. This intimate teatime conversation is filled with laughter, disbelief, and even some blushing cheeks, when you hear the tantalizing tales of the Victorian Gossip Girl.

Holiday Tea, Natick

Please register here to gain access to the Zoom link.

This event is suitable for all ages, and is FREE and open to the public.

DATE: Sun., Dec. 6, 2020

TIME: 2pm – 3pm, followed by a Q & A

This program is jointly sponsored by the Bacon Free Library and the Natick Historical Society and is supported by a grant from the Natick Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

Filed Under: Bacon Free Library, Books, Entertainment, Holidays, Natick Historical Society

Natick Historical Society and Bacon Free Library to co-sponsor December book discussion

November 19, 2020 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Everyone is welcome to join a virtual discussion of The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore on Thur., Dec. 10, 11am – noon, co-sponsored by the Natick Historical Society and the Bacon Free Library

The Last Days of Night (2017) is  a page-turning historical thriller—based on actual events—about the nature of genius, the cost of ambition, and the battle to electrify America. In 1888, the miracle of electric light is in its infancy. Thomas Edison has won the race to the patent office and is suing his only remaining rival, George Westinghouse, for the unheard of sum of one billion dollars. To defend himself, Westinghouse makes a surprising choice in his attorney: He hires an untested twenty-six-year-old fresh out of Columbia Law School named Paul Cravath.

Bacon Free Library, Natick

The task facing Cravath is beyond daunting. Edison proves to be a formidable, wily, and dangerous opponent. Yet this young, unknown attorney shares with his famous opponent a compulsion to win at all costs. How will he do it? As he takes greater and greater risks, he’ll find that everyone in his path is playing their own game, and no one is quite who they seem.

If you are interested in joining this free and virtual book discussion, please email: director@natickhistoricalsociety.org.

EVENT: Discussion of The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore
DATE: Thur., Dec. 10
TIME: 11am – noon


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Filed Under: Bacon Free Library, Books, History, Natick Historical Society

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