Ordnance celebrates ribbon cutting, hall of fame inductees

By Kimberly FritzMay 13, 2010

FORT LEE, Va. (May 13, 2010) -- It was a busy week for the Ordnance Corps.

Ordnance leaders and Soldiers gathered for the 2010 Ordnance Corps 198th Anniversary Week May 4-7 at the new home of the Ordnance. This marks the first time the event was held at Fort Lee. Activities included professional development, tours of the Ordnance Campus and a ribbon cutting of the first completed barracks.

Before the two official ribbon cuttings, one to honor the former chiefs of Ordnance and one to salute the hard work of the Base Realignment and Closure team and Purcell Construction, Command Sgt. Major Sultan Muhammad, Ordnance Corps regimental command sergeant major, told the crowd about his experiences during Advanced Individual Training in 1984 and the Basic Non-Commissioned Officer Course in 1989, both in World War II era barracks at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. Muhammad said it wasn't until 1990 that any new facilities were built for the Ordnance Corps and facilities are still under construction for the Soldiers.

"Today our Soldiers are getting exactly what they deserve, state of the art barracks for state of the art Ordnance individuals," he said.

Although Bravo and Charlie Companies of the 16th Ordnance Battalion, 61st Ordnance Brigade, have occupied barracks No. 1 for several months, the ribbon cutting was reserved for the completion of phase one of the construction. Phase one included the construction of three barracks and company operations facilities specifically designed for the limited land areas on Fort Lee.

Barracks No. 1 and the battalion headquarters were completed in July 2009, the brigade headquarters was completed in August 2009, barracks No. 2 was completed in December 2009 and the final part of phase one, barracks No. 3, was completed in February. Each BCOF on the Ordnance Campus is 181,600 square feet and provides living space for 624 Soldiers. Each room accommodates two Soldiers with a private bath. Surge capacity will accommodate three Soldiers in each room or a total of 936 Soldiers. Purcell Construction, a Prince George County-based contractor was awarded the contract in December 2007, for a total of $127 million. Tours of the barracks were offered after the ribbon cutting.

In addition to the daytime activities, the Ordnance Corps celebrated with a formal ball where 12 former corps members were inducted into the 2010 Ordnance Corps Hall of Fame. Inductees were selected for two categories, historical and contemporary. Historical nominees have 50 or more years since their most significant contributions to the corps. Contemporary nominees are individuals who have retired with more than 20 years of service and have a minimum of two years since retirement or are at least 60 years old.

2010 Historical Inductees

Maj. General (Ret.) William J. Durrenberger

Abraham Golub

Col. (Ret.) Benjamin S. Mesick

Col. (Ret.) Rene R. Studler

2010 Contemporary Inductees

Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Jeanette K. Edmunds

Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Wade H. McManus Jr.

Col. (Ret.) Michael B. Cervone

Col. (Ret.) James C. Dwyer

CW5 (Ret.) Harold L. DeBerry

CW5 (Ret.) Paul M. Habhab

Command Sgt. Maj. John D. Woodyard (deceased)

Carol A. Nye