Region's veterans support praised by Army artificial intelligence director at CMU — a Norwin grad

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The military’s efforts to incorporate artificial intelligence in military operations is focused on developing capabilities to support the soldiers, the director of the Army’s Artificial Intelligence Capabilities said Wednesday during Veterans Day ceremonies in North Huntingdon.

A graduate of Norwin High School, Ret. Col. Douglas Matty spoke Wednesday to more than 70 veterans, family members and government officials at the J. Howard Snyder Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 781 in North Huntingdon.

Matty, now a civilian, also is director of the Army Artificial Intelligence Task Force, which has about 20 people, and works out of the National Robotics Engineering Center at a Carnegie Mellon University facility in Lawrenceville. By partnering with Carnegie Mellon, the task force connects with the broader artificial intelligence community and taps into the region’s rich robotics tradition, said Janet Joseph, an Army spokeswoman.

Among the work being done at the laboratory is developing methods of directing energy at a target, but not necessarily with explosive firepower. If focuses on how to do productive maintenance as well, Matty said.

The task force is seeks to develop a talented workforce of civilian and military personnel. Talent management is a key component at the Army laboratory at Carnegie Mellon. The task force he leads has about 20 people across the nation and expects to expand to about 60, said Jane Joseph, a spokeswoman for the task force, which is part of the Army Futures Command.

Matty was stationed around the world with the Army before retiring after 30 years of service. He holds a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Veterans in Western Pennsylvania have the support of the community and a proud history of service, Matty said. There are about 17,000 banners with the photos of members of the Armed Forces — those alive and those who have passed away — that hang from utility poles in towns across the region, as well as in Ohio, West Virginia and Alabama, Matty said.

“This is a massive and growing show of support for our veterans,” he said.

Donald Kattic honored

The commemoration included ceremonies dedicating the new flagpole in front of the VFW post to the late Marine Corps veteran Donald Kattic, who served as post commander for 20 years. Kattic was a Marine who served in the Korean War and for 35 years taught at Norwin High School. He spearheaded fundraising efforts to create a veterans memorial at Norwin High School and the North Huntingdon Town House. He died at 87.

In honor of Kattic, Dunbar presented the VFW post with a flag that has flown over the state capitol building in Harrisburg. Members of an honor guard presented it to Leslie Kattic Quealy of North Huntingdon, one of Kattic’s five daughters.

“We miss him dearly,” Post Commander Kory Bulloch said.