GD Awarded $322 M Contract by US Army

(Fairfax, Va., December 16, 2009) -- General Dynamics Information Technology, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), was selected as the prime contractor and awarded a $322 million contract by the U.S. Army for the initial outfitting and transition support of the newly renovated Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and the newly constructed Fort Belvoir Community Hospital in Virginia.

General Dynamics will lead a team of companies that will provide the following services:


-- Support hospital transition planning and all preparations to move and activate operations in the new facilities.
-- Plan, provision, and install a wide array of medical and non-medical equipment, information technology equipment and furniture.
-- Relocate all current equipment that will move to the new facilities.

"The 365-bed Walter Reed National Military Medical Center is being moved to the grounds of the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. The new 1.2 million square foot Fort Belvoir Community Hospital will have 120 beds. Both facilities will fulfill world-class standards for hospital facilities, operations and services.

General Dynamics understands that simultaneously moving and constructing two hospitals in a 50-mile radius during the same timeframe is an enormously challenging endeavor that has not been attempted before in military medicine," said Zannie Smith, senior vice president of General Dynamics Information Technology's Army Solutions Division. "We are excited to partner in this opportunity to make a dramatic impact on the health care received by America's warriors and the beneficiaries of the military health system."

Source : General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD)