2024 OSMPC Report

1. From the perspective of the community, the Direct Hire Authority (DHA) which was approved and has been extended by the Congress has been very beneficial to MCAAP’s hiring processes. The depot is able to move forward in a more expeditious manner when needing an immediate workforce to meet mission needs.
2. On a trial basis, DHA is being authorized until 2025 to assist with a more immediate process for hiring, especially when a new mission comes online, and an influx of new workers are needed.
3. Current DHA practices are in place until 2025, which we understand will be reviewed to determine if the current practices will be put in place for a longer term or possibly be implemented on a permanent basis. Additionally, we understand that the Senate version of the FY25 NDAA would extend the DHA until 2030.  

1. While under a mandatory hiring freeze for career appointments, MCAAP employed a significant number of people in the 1990’s in a temporary or seasonal tenure status. While working in this status, these employees did not receive retirement benefits. Many of those employees later transitioned to a permanent tenure status and are still employed within the federal government today.
2. Prior to 1989, a system existed that allowed federal employees to buy back time in which they did not contribute to their retirement accounts. This authority phased out upon the transition to FERS.
3. In 2021, Rep. Tom Cole introduced a bill (Federal Retirement Fairness Act) that would provide a path to allow these workers to buy back their time. The bill was not enacted. On October 19, 2023, Rep. Kilmer (D-WA,6) introduced similar legislation with 126 cosponsors. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability.
4. This issue is not site-specific to MCAAP but is something that occurred across the federal government.  

1. There are currently 57 specific General Schedule (GS) locality pay areas in the U.S. Any jobs outside of those specific areas fall under the 58th area defined as “Rest of US” or RUS. McAAP resides in the RUS locality pay area. (See attached map of US Locality Pay Areas).
2. MCAAP is located just over 40 miles from the northern border of the Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW) locality pay area. This border reaches into Bryan County, Oklahoma. This distance is a routine commute for many professionals in the rural region of southern Oklahoma/North Texas. The DFW locality pay area equates to approximately a 10% pay increase over the RUS. The DFW locality pay area currently includes three Oklahoma counties (Bryan, Carter, and Love counties). (See attached map of DFW Locality Pay Area).
3. Due to the nature of its large-scale explosive/energetics production, maintenance, storage, and distribution, McAAP was built in a rural, economically depressed area in southern Oklahoma in 1942 with a workforce make up of both military and civilians. The complexity of modern munitions produced and maintained at McAAP has significantly increased the demand for STEM and professional employees in the all civilian workforce, which is difficulty to recruit and retain in the rural area. This is exacerbated with the proximity to the DFW locality area a short distance down US Hwy 75.
4. Competition for employees in the region continues to increase. For example, Texas Instruments announced a $2.2B initial investment in the Sherman (North Texas) semiconductor plant. When completed, the $30B campus will cover 4.7M square feet and be the largest electronics production facility in Texas. This only exacerbates the problem for a place like McAAP to recruit engineers and other STEM related positions.
5. The locality pay issue is not specific to McAAP. This issue has surfaced at other Organic Industrial Base (OIB) installations across the Nation who compete with other nearby locality pay areas.
6. MDSA is tracking efforts to improve and support personnel issues at McAAP.  

1. After securing the necessary funding for the Haywood Road Project, our community sought to address a similar project with the rehabilitation of a secondary rail line for surge capacity (i.e. MCAAP only has one access point for rail traffic at this time). See attached diagram.
2. Historically, there were two rail access points located at MCAAP in the towns of Savanna and Haywood. The Savanna access point is on the east side of the installation and connects with a main line. The Haywood access point was on the north side of the installation and connected with a short line.
3. The Savanna main line is still in operation today, but decades of deferred maintenance and the higher weight limits for newer rail cars have brought the Haywood short-line out of compliance and out of service. Union Pacific owns both the rail lines and has leased the Haywood Rail line to the Arkansas-Oklahoma Railroad for the storage of empty rail cars, but the line is not operational and would not withstand the weight of MCAAP bomb loads.
4. The Savanna access point has served MCAAP without issue for decades but is still considered a single point of failure for the plant’s rail supply network, which contrasts with many Organic Industrial Bases (OIB). If this access point was compromised, either intentionally or by accident, MCAAP’s rail capabilities would fully cease for the weeks or months pending necessary repairs which, in turn, would severely impact MCAAP’s outload capacity during surge events. In times of open hostilities, this resiliency/redundancy challenge could threaten the power projection of the U.S. Armed Forces.
5. The solution to this threat of the installation’s surge capacity is straightforward. A secondary access point should be established. While there could be many solutions, the rehabilitation of the Haywood rail line is expected to be the simplest, cheapest, and have the quickest turn-around.
6. The cost to rehabilitate the Haywood rail line is estimated to cost $9M. The state of Oklahoma through the Oklahoma Strategic Military Planning Commission has provided $420,000 towards the improvements of the rail.
7. MDSA is researching municipal and Governmental entities to see who may be eligible, and willing, to apply for the Defense Communities Infrastructure Program (DCIP) to seek funding for this project.  

1. HWY 69 is a four-lane highway that serves as a main artery in eastern Oklahoma. The highway running north ties into Interstate HWY 44 to Kansas City and running south ties into HWY 75 to the Dallas/Fort Worth area. This highway is extremely busy with a daily traffic count of around 200,000.
2. McAAP is located five miles south of the city of McAlester with the main gate of McAAP sitting just off HWY 69. On average, McAAP transports 45 truckloads of munitions daily out the main gate and onto HWY 69. From the main gate, the trucks use a small cloverleaf to access HWY 69 going north, which is a dangerous access point with high traffic flow. Once on HWY 69, the trucks will travel approximately two miles to exit onto the Indian Nation Turnpike, which is a primary highway for munitions transport.
3. The issue of safety for these trucks lies with the access point onto HWY 69 from the main gate, the two-mile stretch of highway to the Indian Nation Turnpike, and the exit onto the Indian Nation Turnpike. This two-mile stretch of highway is a tight four-lane with very little shoulder and no turn lane. Due to McAAP’s close proximity to the city of McAlester, the traffic running north on HWY 69 starts to bottle-neck near the McAAP main gate location. This further causes concern due to the higher number of vehicles the bomb trucks must maneuver around. In addition, there is a significant bridge over a creek where there have been multiple semi-trucks that have had accidents in that location. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) has deemed this section of highway dangerous and in need of correction.
4. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation is fully aware of the dangers that are listed and have this project on their eight year plan for improvements. The project would consist of widening the two-mile stretch of highway that would add a turn lane as well as create safer access points both on and off of HWY 69. This project is on the eight-year ODOT plan, but keeps getting pushed due to larger cost projects in the state. The issue MDSA is trying to resolve is funding.
5. Safety is the top priority when it comes to the transporting of munitions as this is a danger not only to those that drive the trucks, but also the civilians driving along the highway. This would not be a scenario that McAAP nor the DOD would want to encounter. The project continues to be pushed back due to lack of funding and higher priority projects.
6. MDSA will be researching funding options to help with match funding to help in pushing this project forward.  

Eisenhower Elementary School has been educating students of families at Vance AFB since 1960. Military personnel expect a higher quality of life for their families including the schools that teach their children. The federal government is aware of this need and is offering an 80% match to military communities willing to rebuild their schools. Our project this year was to help the Enid Public Schools to raise the 20% they need to receive the federal grant.

• Eisenhower Project request of $290,000 approved in 2023 and $250,000 requested in 2024
  
• Woodring Terminal Back-up Power request of $50,000 in 2024

Lawton is the largest user of services from the United Services Organization (USO). The Commission approved funds for this organization to continue to take care of active military serving in Oklahoma. These funds will only be used for the bases in Oklahoma.

• Project request $50,000 approved

Altus is currently exploring quality of life projects such as walking paths and updates in the community to improve the life of those military serving at Altus AFB. They should be submitting a request for funds in FY 2024.  

Tinker Air Force Base is expanding east or Douglas Avenue In order to house expanding missions coming to the base. OG&E intends to locate a Peak plant to ensure the base can continue to meet surge requirements and electrical needs. The commission purchased the land for the peak plant to meet the needs as Tinker expands. This project is a portion of a larger project to expand Tinker Air Force Base east across Douglas Blvd. and provide a standoff area for new weapon systems. The B-21 aircraft Maintenance complex is part of this expansion.

• Project request $198,000 approved  

The McAlester Army Ammunition Plant (McAAP) faces redundancy challenges in surge capacities within its logistics network that could threaten its ability to serve as a distribution center for munitions, which is one of its core missions. This adversely impacts the resiliency of the installation and of its chain of command, which relies on MCAAP services.

There are two rail access points on MCAAP’s outer perimeter at the towns of Savanna and Haywood. The Savanna access point is on the east side of the installation and connects with a main line operated by the Union Pacific Railroad. The Haywood access point is on the north side of the installation and connects with an out-of-service short line (10.5 miles in length) that is being leased by the Arkansas-Oklahoma Railroad (A-OK).

Historically, the Haywood access point and the adjoining rail line was used by MCAAP, but decades of deferred maintenance and the higher weight limits for newer rail cars has brought the line out of compliance and out of service. Union Pacific still owns the Haywood rail line and has leased it to A-OK Railroad for the storage of empty rail cars, which still fall within the acceptable weight range of the bridge structures along the rail line.

As a result, the Savanna access point is the only usable rail connection on the installation. While this access point has served MCAAP without issue, it is considered a single point of failure for the plant’s rail supply network, which contrasts with most Organic Industrial Bases (OIB). Backup methods that involve semi-trucks help mitigate this concern, but if this access point were ever compromised, either intentionally or by accident, MCAAP’s rail capabilities would cease for an unknown period of time. A secondary access point should be established, even if it is only used in the event of emergencies when the primary access point is not available.

Union Pacific has no desire to rehabilitate the 10.5-mile Haywood short-line rail due to the inability of this line generating enough money to justify the $9.75 million estimated cost for rehabilitation. Union Pacific does understand the desire for this line to be rehabilitated to the level needed to support bomb transport and has given A-OK Railroad the authority to pursue funding opportunities to make these improvements happen. Union Pacific has provided a special designation that this rail could be used by MCAAP in the event of an emergency via its partnership with A-OK Railroad.

• Project request $125,113.00