HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- In one of her last acts as commanding general of the Army Contracting Command, Maj. Gen. Camille M. Nichols hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new temporary location of the ACC and Expeditionary Contracting Command headquarters here Sept. 30.
This is the second time the ACC headquarters has moved since it was established as a provisional command in 2008 at Fort Belvoir, Va. ACC and ECC relocated to Redstone Arsenal, Ala., in 2010. The ACC and ECC headquarters staffs will occupy the 106 Wynn Drive location until renovations at the command's permanent facility, building 4505, located across the street from the Army Materiel Command headquarters on Redstone Arsenal, Ala., are completed.
According to Nichols, the move to a temporary location was needed to ensure the safety and well being of the command's workforce.
"The tornadoes that hit Alabama in April of 2011 ' some not very far from our affectionately named 'trailer park' ' are a constant reminder that we must do all we can to ensure our workforce is safe at all times," she said. "We owe that to you. Your safety is something that cannot be compromised and we have and continue to take that responsibility very seriously.
"When the command stood up in the trailers in 2010, we were all excited to be in Huntsville and were eager to accomplish our essential mission supporting war fighters around the world," Nichols said. "The command began operations in trailers that were below the standard that we owe our workforce, but we knew it would only be temporary."
According to John Nerger, AMC executive deputy to the commanding general, the relocation of the ACC and ECC headquarters was not coincidental.
"Relocations don't happen or don't happen very well without deliberate planning, careful execution and old fashioned hard work," he said.
Nerger added that this relocation was largely due to the "priority, perseverance and passion of Gen. Nichols, in particular, along with Gen. (Dennis L.) Via (AMC commanding general) and Brig. Gen. (Ted C.) Harrison (former ECC commanding general and now ACC commanding general) coupled with a bit of luck in the end."
"Leaders are judged by many things," he said, "but in the end the most important measure is in how they stand up for and look out for their workforce. By that measure ACC and ECC are blessed."
The original plan was to build a permanent ACC headquarters on Martin Road at Redstone but that plan was halted when military construction priorities were changed as a result of falling military construction budgets.
"Realizing that the trailers couldn't last much longer, we aggressively sought alternatives," Nichols said. "We decided to renovate building 4505 across the street from AMC headquarters. Renovation has begun on this building, but it won't be ready for occupancy until 2016; a long time to remain in temporary, unhardened spaces."
Social Sharing