FORT RUCKER, Ala. (September 29, 2011) -- It's that time again, and units, offices, Soldiers and civilians are gearing up to take on the fall cleanup project on post, according to garrison and Directorate of Public Works officials.
According to Command Sgt. Maj. Dwaine E. Walters, garrison command sergeant major, this twice-yearly event gives everyone a chance to contribute to making Fort Rucker a more beautiful and cleaner place to live and work.
"It's just a simple time for folks to put some effort into minor beautification of the installation that it's easier for the tenants of those buildings to accomplish," he said. "It's a fairly inexpensive way to take care of our installation. It's almost like having a volunteer cleanup."
The cleanup begins Tuesday and runs through Oct. 7 across the entire post.
Wednesday, the units and organizations will move outside and clean the exterior of their buildings and areas, he added.
Willie Rucker, DPW construction representative, has taken a lead role in organizing the cleanups for the last six years. He said the cleanups have done a lot of good for Fort Rucker.
"It's really important to everyone that we have something like this at least twice a year," he said. "Especially with the funding cutbacks we've experienced over the last year or so, it's great to see people taking pride in their post and trying to make it as good as it can possibly be."
Rucker said the installation doesn't have a lot of litter along the road sides, but he has seen several instances of small limbs and other small things that need to be cleaned up.
"This is about pride in the installation," he said. "We need to approach it as making this place the best it can be. If you make something beautiful, you want to keep it that way."
Rucker, a retired Soldier, said that taking pride in his appearance and the appearance of his post is something that was instilled in him from the beginning.
"As a former Soldier, that was one of the things that were always taught to me," he said. "This is just an extension of that where we focus directly on a specific idea."
Rucker added that he's seen some units and organizations go above and beyond their own areas in the past and he hopes to see that again.
"I've seen a group of Soldiers start near Lyster Army Health Clinic and work both sides of the street all the way to the Enterprise gate," he said. "They would pick up anything that was lying on the side of the road to make it look nicer. That was one of the more unique things I remember seeing here."
For more information on the fall cleanup, call 255-0020.
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