FORT SILL, Okla. (Feb. 26, 2015) -- Times have changed for new Army recruits in-processing at Fort Sill from just a few months ago.
Recruits used to march or be bussed to 10 separate facilities to get haircuts; to be issued uniforms, ID cards and ID tags; to complete finance and legal paperwork; and to receive medical, dental and optometry screenings. Drill sergeants in charge of the recruits had to monitor bad weather to determine if it was feasible to march, and they had to coordinate the logistics of getting about 450 recruits to multiple buildings around post. The in-process took about a week before a recruit was ready to begin Basic Combat Training, or boot camp.
Now recruits can get all of that done under one roof at the new 95th Adjutant General Battalion (Reception) complex where in-processing takes about 72 hours. A ribbon cutting was held Feb. 20 at the facility in Bldg. 6005 Bessinger Street.
"I love it," said Drill Sergeant (Sgt. 1st Class), David Wardosky, A Company, 95th AG Battalion. "It's a great area to work in because you can get more hands-on with the Soldiers."
Fort Sill receives about 20,000 recruits a year. The 95th AG complex is the "front door" of the Army for young, impressionable recruits, said Lt. Col. Ralph Perkins IV, battalion commander.
"This is a wonderful, beautiful facility and just a great place for them to come in and start their Army career right," Perkins said.
The $33 million complex consists of almost 100,000 square feet with its battalion facility, and headquarters and headquarters battery. The 27-month construction project was overseen by the Army Corps of Engineers Tulsa District, and work was performed by Zachary Corporation.
It replaced some buildings used by the 95th AG which dated back to the 1940s that processed about 800,000 recruits over 39 years here, Perkins said.
Col. José Thompson, 434th Field Artillery Brigade commander, described the complex as a world-class facility.
"It is the most modern and newest of the reception complexes across the four ATCs [Army Training Centers], and literally sets the blueprint for how the Army and the rest of the Army Training Centers will go in the future for reception operations."
The new complex is run by about 150 people with about an even split of Soldiers and civilians, Thompson said. The civilians are civil service and contractors
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He said if needed, the complex has the capacity to handle up to 25,000 recruits annually.
During the ceremony, Thompson; Perkins; Col. Glenn Waters, Fort Sill Garrison commander; Col. Richard Pratt, ACoE Tulsa District commander; Command Sgt. Maj. Taylor Poindexter, 434th FA Brigade CSM; Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Atkinson, 95th AG Battalion CSM; Randy Butler, Directorate of Public Works director; and Nathan Ghormley, Zachary Corp. senior project manager, cut the ribbon.
Capt. Sarah Hernandez, A/95th AG battery commander, said her staff, or cadre, receives busloads of recruits at night, with about 300 the maximum for one night.
She said having the recruits in one central location makes it easier for the cadre to know where everyone is and how far along recruits are in-processing.
The complex is a benefit for the cadre, too, she said.
"It's easier to manage. I know where all my drill sergeants and Soldiers are and we can conduct briefings in one central location," Hernandez said. "We're a lot quicker because we don't have to move from different buildings. It increases efficiency."
She noted that the recruits do not berth at the new complex, but still have their barracks on the west side of the post.
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