Hunter hosts professional development tour

By Nancy Gould, Hunter Public AffairsAugust 9, 2012

Hunter hosts professional development tour
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

HUNTER ARMY AIRFIELD, Ga. - Forty garrison employees from Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield saw their fair share of aviation 'eye candy' when they toured the Hunter airfield Aug. 3, as part of a quarterly professional development program sponsored by Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security, DPTMS.

After arriving at Truscott Air Terminal at 9 a.m. for an airfield brief from Airfield Manager Jack Dibrell, the group visited the U.S. Coast Guard hanger to see their MH-65 C Dolphin search- and- rescue helicopters and learn about their homeland security mission. Afterwards, employees travelled to the Georgia Army National Guard hanger and climbed inside a new CH-47 Fox Model Chinook and saw five others in the new fleet. Before leaving the tarmac, the group walked next door to a 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade hanger and examined one of several UH-60L Blackhawk helicopters positioned inside the hanger undergoing maintenance.

"This is informative, especially for those without a military background," said Leonard Love, an intern with the Network Enterprise Center at Fort Stewart, who was on the tour. But employees with several years of experience were also participating in the program; they were there to learn about updates and see changes that have been made on the installation in recent years. Many of those seasoned employees stated that they appreciated the update. Retired Army warrant officer, Cornelius Williams, was there for that reason. Now the Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield food manager, Williams reminisced about his first duty station at Hunter over 35 years ago. "The growth since those days is unbelievable," said Williams.

"The genesis of this program came from Scott Armbrister, the Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield DPTMS chief," said Willie Jones, chief, Plans and Operations Division, DPTMS, who schedules alternate directorates in the garrison to lead the program each quarter.

"The intent is to create awareness of what other employees do," he said. "We want them to have a broader perspective and understanding of our mission." Jones said he allocates a percentage of the garrison's 1500 employees to attend from each directorate.

Dibrell said the tours also shows employees how their specific job is integrated into what other employees do in different directorates -- how they support each other. "We're the first [garrison staff] division to host a tour," said Dibrell, explaining that the reason is because there is so much to see and experience on the airfield.

After the hanger tours, the group visited Hunter's Air Traffic Control Tower; then Saber Hall to witness an aviation 'crash drill' exercise. The group ate lunch in Hunter's Consolidated Dining Facility, then got a windshield tour of the airfield in their bus before most of them headed back to Fort Stewart.

"Most of the feedback from this program is positive," said Jones, explaining that some jobs showcase better than others. "Our main objective is to create awareness. We hope eventually to give everyone the chance to participate."