Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: United States Army

USAG BAVARIA – HOHENFELS, Germany – A fire inspector with the Directorate of Emergency Team at U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria – Hohenfels received recognition from the local Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter March 9, 2026, for her dedication to job and community.

Theresa Hecht has been with DES since September 2022 and has since made an impact across the community because of her passion for fire safety and her engagement with many other on-post organizations.

Adam Moore, the chapter commander of VFW Post 10557, commended Hecht’s ability to build relationships within the community as he presented her a plaque.

“We wanted to present you this award because your relationships matter,” Moore said. “In an environment like this, where we have Americans working alongside Germans, and then we’re working alongside the rest of Europe when they come through here, how you present yourself and how you interact is very important.”

Hecht has taken part in several on-post community events, such as the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, Trunk-or-Treat Halloween event. She has also introduced herself at the Child Development Center to demonstrate that firefighters are nothing for the preschool-age children to fear despite their bulky suits and masks.

When the members of VFW Post 10557 decided to renew the Public Servant of the Year award recently, it was Hecht’s involvement in so many aspects of garrison life that brought her immediately to the organization’s mind.

“A lot of our members are also part of other associations, such as Boy Scouts, BOSS, MWR, USO, etcetera,” said Moore. “When I asked who should we nominate, it was unanimously decided that Theresa Hecht should be the person.”

“Thank you for choosing me,” said Hecht. “Thank you to the people who believed in me.”

Source: United States Army

PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. — The U.S. Army has cleared the M111 Offensive Hand Grenade for full material release. Developed by the Capabilities Program Executive Ammunition and Energetics, CPE A&E, in conjunction with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center at Picatinny Arsenal, the M111 OHG will replace the obsolete body and fuze of the Mk3A2 hand grenade series, marking the first new lethal hand grenade to achieve full material release since 1968 when the Mk3A2 entered service. The Mk3A2 is restricted for use due to its asbestos body, unlike the M111 which utilizes a plastic body that is fully consumed during detonation.

The M111 will provide increased training and operational readiness while providing the Soldier with a safer option. It also offers Soldiers the ability to fight more effectively in closed quarter urban environments by leveraging blast overpressure, BOP, instead of fragmentation to deliver lethality. When used in grenades, BOP delivers devastating effects to enemy personnel and equipment without fragmentation and is a potent tactical advantage in the field. The M67 fragmentation hand grenade projects lethal and incapacitating fragments that can be deflected when employed in enclosed, restricted terrain like buildings, rooms and structures, whereas the M111 OHG projects high BOP effects that are less affected by obstacles in enclosed and restricted terrain.

“One of the key lessons learned from the door-to-door urban fighting in Iraq was the M67 grenade wasn’t always the right tool for the job. The risk of fratricide on the other side of the wall was too high,” explained Col. Vince Morris, Project Manager Close Combat Systems, CPE A&E. “But a grenade utilizing BOP can clear a room of enemy combatants quickly leaving nowhere to hide while ensuring the safety of friendly forces.”

In open terrain, the Soldier will employ the M67 to maximize lethal fragment effects, whereas in enclosed and restricted terrain, Soldiers will employ the M111 to maximize BOP effects on the enemy.

“We’ve given our Soldiers and joint warfighters the flexibility to determine in the field which type of grenade will best suit the current situation they are facing, be it open space or confined area,” explained Tiffany Cheng, one of the DEVCOM Armaments Center engineers that developed the M111 at Picatinny Arsenal.

Another major benefit of the new M111 design is standardization. The new grenade and its training version, the M112, leverage the same five-step arming process as the M67 and its training version, the M69, allowing Soldiers to train as they fight, improving combat performance and effectiveness. In addition, the M111 and M112 use the same fuzes as the M67 and M69 respectively, thereby enabling Army acquisition professionals to save costs by leveraging economies of scale made possible by common fuze production lines when sourcing both grenades. Both grenades also have government-owned intellectual property that enables the Army to effectively compete production contracts across the industrial base, enhancing production opportunities for multiple vendors while providing best value to our customers, the Soldiers and the taxpayer.

“By standardizing the arming process and the fuzing, the Army saves taxpayer money without sacrificing lethality on the battlefield,” said Morris. “This is the kind of acquisition reform that is currently underway throughout the Army acquisition enterprise. We are taking advantage of that initiative to drive down costs while increasing combat effectiveness.”