Fort Hood Sentinel (Fort Hood, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 1, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 5, 2017 Page: 4 of 24
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www.FortHoodSentinel.com
EDITORIAL
A4
January 5, 2017
Garrison Commander’s Corner
2016 a banner year for Fort Hood
E
P
&
Since 1942
as we
- Col. Todd Fox
n
of our large
Fort Hood
received the
honor of being
the Army’s
largest and
first hybrid
renewable
energy project.
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Fort Hood Public Affairs Officer
TOM RHEINLANDER
Public Affairs Sergeant Major
SGT. MAJ. DONALD SPARKS
Living Editor
SARAH PAHL
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285-6904
III Corps Public Affairs Officer
COL. THOMAS VEALE
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DAVID LARSEN
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EDITORIAL STAFF
Editor
TODD PRUDEN
todd.pruden@forthoodsentinel.com
287-9495
ADDRESS
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the III Corps Public Affairs Office, Fort
Hood, Texas, 76544. The Advertising
office is located at 1805 Florence
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Texas 76541.
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BUSINESS STAFF
General Manager
RAY REED
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634-6666
• I
A
BY COL. TODD FOX
U.S. Army Garrison Fort Hood Commander
Sentinel file photo
Fort Hood Education Services honor 143 scholars from 32 different institutions during the 20th annual
Consolidated Graduation Recognition Ceremony at Howze Auditorium Nov. 17, 2016.
■A'?
USARUY/\
grounds maintenance in their respective areas of
responsibility on the installation.
The Fort Hood Directorate of Family and
Morale, Welfare and Recreation continues to
enhance the quality of life for Soldiers, Families,
employees and visitors with a primary focus on
community partnerships. The Child and Youth
Services section collaborated with higher educa-
tion institutions to develop standardized cycle
menus, now in use at many local area schools.
The Fort Hood School Liaison Office created
new working groups specifically dedicated to
addressing issues and concerns of military Fami-
lies and the DFMWR Business Division estab-
lished a partnership that will bring a Samuel
Adams Brewhouse concept to Fort Hood. The
Community Recreation Division brought the
Alpha Warrior Games here to Fort Hood fol-
lowed by Fort Hood’s first Dallas Cowboy/
Military Combine which gives Soldiers a chance
to compete and announce a selection at next
year’s 2017 National Football League Draft. The
Community Recreation Division also continued
to complete and perform facility renovations on
a number of facilities across the installation (i.e.
fitness centers, parks and playgrounds). Recent-
ly, volunteers from our Better Opportunity for
Single Soldier program provided support for the
Snowball Express with over 1,200 military Fam-
ilies participating in this annual event. Addition-
ally, Army Community Service developed agree-
ments with the Social Security
Administration to assist qualified
Soldiers virtually when applying
for benefits. Our DFMWR team
consistently maintained open
communication and engagement
with our Fort Hood and sur-
rounding communities through
our quarterly Community Ser-
vices Council as well as a robust
community events program.
Their collaboration with on and
off post agencies was instrumen-
tal and contributed greatly to this
year’s overall program success.
Along with all of these larger
accomplishments, we made many
changes throughout the Garrison
that you don’t see every day.
Our Safety Office was honored
with the Army Safety Streamer
Award for successful operations
throughout the past year. Our
Resource Management team dili-
gently led the way in managing
the budget actions to support
the multitude of accomplishments listed above.
Our Plans, Analysis, and Integration Office
consistently worked to communicate with local
and Texas leaders on initiatives in support of the
installation, and our Chaplain Ministry Support
team remains engaged with every Fort Hood
organization and agency to ensure integrated
services and support at every level. The Head-
quarters Company continues to pave the wave
with the Soldier Reception mission for every
new Soldier and Family member arriving to Fort
Hood. Finally, our Public Affairs Office remains
dedicated to informing our community and tell
the story of Fort Hood; our Facebook members
are over 54,000 and counting.
Our installation partners also helped make
2016 an exceptional year. The Army Air Force
Exchange Service delivered new retail options
with the opening of the new Post Exchange
Facility which looks phenomenal. Our teams
at the Logistics Readiness Center, the Mission
& Installation Contracting Command, and the
Network Enterprise Center excelled at enabling
success across Fort Hood while our friends at
the USO and the American Red Cross con-
sistently lifted the spirits of our Soldiers and
Family members. And we consistently sustained
a great relationship with the Civilian Personnel
Advisory Center and local union representatives
in the collective effort to take care
workforce here at Fort Hood.
In the coming year, the United States Army
Garrison at Fort Hood will continue to provide
integrated installation support services to enable
commanders to train and deploy their units and
take care of their Soldiers, Families, civilians and
retirees.
We look forward to continued partnership
with our surrounding communities and leaders
in the effort to enhance the lives of our Soldiers
and Family members here at the Great Place.
Thank you for making us a success through-
out 2016 and over the course of the New Year
ahead!
On behalf of all of the civilian employees,
contractors and Soldiers assigned to the U.S.
Army Garrison Fort Hood, Command Sgt.
Maj. Leija and I wish all of you a Happy New
Year. The calendar has
remained full and chal-
lenging throughout 2016
here at the Great Place.
We are pleased to high-
light a few of these great
accomplishments over
the past year in support
of our Soldiers and Fam-
ily members as well as in
partnership with our sur-
rounding communities.
Over the course of the calendar year, our Fort
Hood Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobiliza-
tion, and Security enabled the mobilization/
demobilization of over 16,000 Soldiers in sup-
port of deployments all over the world. This
includes the return of our own III Corps Head-
quarters from its mission in support of Opera-
tion Inherent Resolve in the Central Command
Theater of operations. Our Mobilization Bri-
gade continues to support Division West in its
mission to provide trained and ready forces from
the Army National Guard and the U.S. Army
Reserve to the forward combatant command-
ers. We also opened the Operational Readiness
Training Complex at North Fort Hood, started
working out of the new state of the art Train-
ing Support Center (official ribbon cutting will
occur on Jan. 10, 2017), and began using the
Jack Mountain Multi-Use Range Combined
Arms Live Fire Mine Clearing Line Charge
Lane. These new facilities will significantly
increase our future capabilities to support and
enhance local unit training and readiness.
Our Directorate of Human Resources and
its sections continue to provide quality support
to the military, Family members and retirees.
The October Retiree Appreciation Day was
a huge success with more than 8,000 retirees
and their Families visiting the installation. We
greatly appreciate the dedicated efforts of the
Retirement Services Office, Retiree Council and
the many additional volunteers who donated
their time. In this election year, the Voting
Assistance Office, along with the help from the
400 unit voting assistance officers, successfully
assisted over 42,863 armed forces personnel,
385 Family members, 79 federal employees,
and 63 civilians/contractors. Our Soldier for
Life-Transition Assistance Program continues
to grow by offering direct-to-Soldier matching
of industry openings with eligible and interested
Soldiers. They continue to pursue opportunities
to bring industry to Fort Hood and host events
such as industry-direct hiring and career fairs.
This past year alone, over 5,000 Soldiers have
attended these job fairs which included over 200
separate companies looking to hire Soldiers and
veterans for nation-wide positions. The Educa-
tion Services Division just celebrated another
successful year by hosting their 20th annual
Graduation Celebration in November, recogniz-
ing 150 graduates to a packed house at Howze
Auditorium with a graduation address from Dr.
Steadman Graham.
We are extremely proud to share with you that
our Directorate of Aviation Operations success-
fully managed 19 major construction projects
at both Robert Gray and Hood Army Airfield
to include runway, taxiway, drainage work or
overall improvements, totaling $46 million. In
addition, partnering with the Directorate of
Public Works and the City of Killeen, they
competed for the Defense Economic Adjust-
ment Assistance Grant from the State of Texas
which resulted in another $3.5 million award
to refurbish the Army Radar Approach Control
building. We also partnered with the City of
Killeen (Airport) to obtain a Federal Aviation
Administration grant worth $160,000 which
enabled the purchase of a wildlife mitigation sys-
tem for Robert Gray Army Airfield. Finally, we
successfully obtained approval from the FAA to
expand the capability of Gray Eagle Unmanned
Aerial Systems operating at Fort Hood.
Our Directorate of Emergency Services has
been equally successful this year with winners of
the US Army Installation Management Com-
mand 2016 awards for the Central Fire Depart-
ment, Fire Inspection Program and Fire Inspec-
tor of the Year. The DES Law Enforcement
Division won the Best Military National Night
Out Event for 2016 and received a specialized
unit award for excellence from the Central Texas
Crime Prevention Association for Special Reac-
tion Team and Civil Police Liaison for 2016.
Officer Andrew Samarripa was also named as
president of the Central Texas Crime Prevention
Association. Our DES team was awarded several
Army level awards for Antiterrorism, Operations
Security and Visual Information Services as a
result of consistent, ongoing efforts to improve
and test our abilities to respond to a variety of
emergencies. In conjunction with DPTMS, our
DES team implemented the Integrated Public
Alert and Warning System to provide those who
work and live on Fort Hood an early warning of
impending emergency situations.
The year continued to get better as we cel-
ebrated the continued successes of the Direc-
torate of Public Works. Fort Hood received
the honor of being the Army’s largest and first
hybrid renewable energy project. A 15-megawatt
solar array is under construction at West Fort
Hood and a 50 Mw wind farm project is under
construction in Floyd County. The hybrid proj-
ect will supply nearly half of Fort Hood’s power
and is estimated to avoid $168 million in energy
costs over the next three decades. The Defense
Logistics Agency also awarded Fort Hood DPW
a project to privatize Fort Hood’s electric and
natural gas systems for $530 million. This pro-
gram and 50-year contract with
Dominion, LLC provides safe,
reliable and secure power for the
post and will save the Army more
than $200 million. Dominion
is expected to take responsibil-
ity for this infrastructure by July
1, 2017. The Army also funded
$8.6 million toward the con-
struction of a new substation and
other critical projects across post.
Despite cutbacks and funding
constraints, DPW was awarded
more than $116.5 million in
Sustainment, Renovation &
Modernization funds to bet-
ter enhance the quality of life
for Soldiers across Fort Hood.
Current and completed projects
across the installation include
unaccompanied personnel hous-
ing barracks, 9200 Block (3rd
Cavalry Regiment); an aircraft
maintenance hangar, Bldg.
90033 (15th Military Intelli-
gence); motor pool paving repairs
(2-7 Cavalry/3-227 Aviation); the tactical vehi-
cle wash facility (1st Cavalry Division washrack);
replacement of the Old Georgetown Bridge
(Jackson’s Crossing); repairs to RGAAF runway;
and repairs to South Range Road, West Range
Road, Georgetown Road, and Elijah Road.
DPW was also awarded $8.2 million in funded
projects to continue to repair and improve the
facilities and infrastructure at North Fort Hood
in order to better support the post-mobilization,
pre-deployment training mission. These funds
will be used to award construction contracts
that will improve force protection, repair roads
and parking lots, and perform “Super Preven-
tive Maintenance” on enlisted barracks. DPW
began the new fiscal year with the opening of the
single-stream recycle service on Nov. 15, 2016.
Now, all cardboard, paper, plastic, cans and glass
can be placed into one single bin which reduces
the burden on Soldiers and Families in the
effort to recycle and save money. Furthermore,
DPW awarded a grounds maintenance contract
($905,000 task order) that will greatly reduce
the burden on units and Soldiers to conduct
■ /\
Sentinel file photo
Fort Hood’s first Net Zero Energy facility is offsetting power needs with energy efficient technologies
and a solar photovoltaic roof system, providing 91 percent of its electricity from renewable energy.
[ NEwfifaPBR /[A]
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COMMAND STAFF
Commanding General
LT. GEN. SEAN MACFARLAND
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Pruden, Todd. Fort Hood Sentinel (Fort Hood, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 1, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 5, 2017, newspaper, January 5, 2017; Fort Hood, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1205066/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Casey Memorial Library.