General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems: In the Community
One of the leading defense manufacturing companies, General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GDOTS) has a focus on supporting the brave men and women who fight for our freedoms, but they also have a focus on giving back.
Building out munitions, artillery, and missile subcomponents, GDOTS works with the U.S. military and as a subcontractor for companies such as Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.
Working on everything from the components for large missiles to the active protection systems which identify and neutralize threats to war fighters in and around tactical vehicles, GDOTS has a storied history of coming up with solutions to protect our shores and defend our men and women in uniform. A sentiment they have carried into their work in the community as well.
A corporate partner of Tampa Bay Watch, General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, is focused on community investment. “It’s such an important piece of being a responsible steward in the community that we live and work in,” says Berkley Whaley, Senior Vice President for GDOTS.
For Whaley and GDOTS, giving back to Tampa Bay watch is multi-layered. Not only is there a focus on giving back to the community through an organization working to make actionable, tangible change, but also an opportunity that creates awareness about the different career options that exist within the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) field for students.
As someone who wasn’t sure what opportunities existed in the field and landed at General Dynamics as an intern during her senior year of college, Whaley wants to make sure that GDOTS is able to provide youth with the knowledge that opportunities are abundant in the STEM field, and that supporting our United States Military and our allies is an honorable career choice. “We employ all sorts of different functionalities in multiple focus areas,” says Whaley, “people don’t always think about the defense industry as an option for a career path and career growth.”
As a St. Pete native, Whaley's personal connection to Tampa Bay Watch is what makes this sponsorship so special, often observing and participating in living shoreline projects, and coastline cleanups as a child, "It's such an exciting experience to come back to this organization and give back in a different capacity.”
For GDOTS, Whaley says, it’s not just about the restoration work that Tampa Bay Watch does, but it’s about the people that the organization is impacting as well. Because of this, GDOTS has every intention of continuing their support of Tampa Bay Watch. “You all have such a great breadth of impact on not only the environment, but our community as well, and we feel that our values as a company align with that. That is why we are committed to supporting Tampa Bay Watch,” says Whaley.