ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT, Ala. - Two familiar faces are leading directorates at Anniston Army Depot. Scotty Arrington, who came to ANAD's Directorate of Engineering and Quality in 2002, now heads that organization and Randy Heflin, who began work at the depot in 1983, recently returned here following a tour of duty in Italy to lead the Directorate of Information Management.
Arrington to lead DEQ
Scotty Arrington, the new director of engineering and quality, remembers the date Jan. 14, 2002, very well. It's the day he began work at Anniston Army Depot.
"I was lucky enough to get hired here in 2002," said Arrington. "I came from private industry and I worked several places before coming to the depot."
In 2002, Dana Corporation had just offered Arrington a job in Montgomery, but he was hesitant to move his family. So, when the opportunity came to join the Directorate of Engineering and Quality at ANAD, he jumped at the chance.
Arrington's path to engineering began in his youth.
"I've always enjoyed tinkering with things. I've always liked taking things apart and putting them back together," said Arrington.
After high school, he received an associate's degree in science from Southern Union. He then worked for several years before beginning work toward his bachelor's degree.
"I was only going to stay out of school for a quarter or two, but, as it turned out, 11 years later I started school at Auburn," said Arrington.
He received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 1994 and began working as an engineer in the private sector.
When Arrington joined Team ANAD in 2002 as a production engineer, he supported the employees in the Combat Vehicle Repair Facility, enhancing their ability to worker safer and more efficiently.
Efficiency soon became the primary focus of his job as the depot began work on Lean initiatives.
"I've been in Lean here at Anniston basically since its implementation," said Arrington. "I've always enjoyed helping people come up with better and faster ways of doing their jobs."
He earned his Lean Six Sigma black belt certification on a project to increase the first pass yield of the AGT-1500 turbine engine from 67 percent to 90 percent.
"It was a good project that the team did," said Arrington. "I was just lucky enough to lead the team. The employees in the shop did most of the work."
Now, as the head of the DEQ, he is looking forward to taking the division into a more technologically advanced future and he is grateful for those who have helped him along his career path.
"I feel very fortunate to be where I am," said Arrington. "I've worked with a lot of good people who have supported me to get where I am."
These days, Arrington has a new date set in his mind. He officially took the reins of DEQ Oct. 10, also known as 10/10/10.
Heflin comes home
In January 2002, Randy Heflin was working at the Directorate of Information Management help desk here when he was given the opportunity to work overseas. More than eight years later, Heflin recently returned to the depot as the new DOIM director.
"In January 2002 I was offered a GS12 position working in Bahrain and I took it," said Heflin, who is originally from Oxford. "It was a big, bold step for me and my family."
Heflin first came to the depot in 1983 as a clerk typist for the test track. He moved into electronics as an apprentice in 1986 and moved up the ranks until the Base Realignment and Closure Act of 1994.
Following the subsequent reduction in force, Heflin worked as a forklift operator in Bldg. 409 and slowly worked his way back into the realm of computers. When he accepted the call to go to Bahrain, he had been in mainframe security at DOIM for four years.
He spent two and a half years in Bahrain, working as an administrative technologist for the Bahrain school. During that time, he visited Germany and fell in love with the county.
"I said that if they ever offered me a job there, I would go," said Heflin.
In 2004, that job opportunity came. Heflin worked in Grafenwoher, Germany, for the Directorate of Emergency Services as an information management officer until 2006 when he was offered a job in Korea.
"I thought it would be a good chance to enhance my supervisory skills," said Heflin. "I came home one day and told my wife we were moving to the Far East."
A 16-month tour as DOIM's information assurance manager in 2008 and 2009 reintroduced Heflin to life at the depot before he took one last overseas tour in Italy.
He is thrilled to be home in Calhoun County, but is also glad he had the chance to travel and that he was able to bring his family to each duty station.
"My favorite hobby has always been my family," said Heflin as he told of the variety of experiences they had overseas - from visiting the Louvre to volunteering in a soup kitchen at a Buddhist temple.
Heflin's return to the depot occurs at a time of change for DOIM. On Oct. 1, Network Enterprise Technology Command officially took command of the directorate. Heflin said he doesn't yet know how NETCOM will affect the organization, but he has "big, bold plans for DOIM."
"This is a great opportunity for me," said Heflin. "The depot has taken good care of me and my family and I hope I can repay it."
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