U.S. Army Garrison Fort Belvoir sprung into action when the White House decided President Barack Obama would sign the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act (H.R. 3230) here at Wallace Theatre, Aug. 7.
Members of the Directorate of Emergency Services; Directorate of Public Works; Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security; Directorate of Public Affairs; and U.S. Army Garrison Fort Belvoir headquarters worked with White House staff to organize the event, when the garrison was notified mid-week of the president's intention to sign the bill on Fort Belvoir.
"Key garrison personnel took some of the White House staff around the installation to look at various possible sites for the event," said Stephen Brooks, deputy to the garrison commander. "We looked at Thurman Hall, the Community Center and Wallace Theater."
Wallace Theater was selected because it provided the most capacity, according to Frank Hentschel, DES, director.
"We had meetings afterwards to get Wallace Theater to show quality," said Hentschel. "Since it was the president coming to the installation there were certain things that needed to be reconfigured to accommodate the press and to ensure the security of the president."
The changes to Wallace Theater included a ramp for the president's limousine to pull into the back of the theater and electrical requirements for the lighting and communication systems for the television crews. Space had to be created for the television crews and print media to sit as well, according to Terry Creasap, DPW, construction control inspector.
"Elite Productions came in and set up their lights, so they needed power in different places," said Creasap. "We had to remove three rows of seats in the middle section for the press to set up their cameras and have seating."
An asphalt curb was constructed outside Wallace Theater for Obama's limousine, said Creasap.
"We needed to install an asphalt ramp to the loading dock area of Wallace Theater due to the weight of the limo," said Creasap. "The Secret Service thought it could make it but asked if we could install it so it wasn't as bumpy."
An overall site security plan and travel route had to be developed by DES and coordinated with the Secret Service, said Hentschel. The goal is to find the quickest and safest route to get the president on and off the installation and without impacting Belvoir employees' ability to get to work, according to Hentschel.
"If you are blocking a road, you have to make sure people are able to get around that road so they can get to their place of work," said Hentschel. "We blocked some of the roads the day prior to the event to make sure people were still able to get to their offices."
DPTMS created briefing slides with each participating directorate's responsibilities, according to Brooks. The slides were reviewed daily to keep everyone up-to-date on their tasks.
Garrison staffers also adjusted their schedules to work around the White House staffs' schedule.
"The White House staff doesn't work normal duty days," said Brooks. "They work late into the night and were back again early the next morning, so our staff decided to support them on their schedule instead of ours."
Brooks said he was pleased with the attitude and effort the garrison staff displayed while organizing the event.
"I was proud because our garrison commander and garrison command sergeant major had returned the night before from a commander's conference," said Brooks. "I'm sure they were anxious about how tight the timeframe was for putting the event together. But once they saw all the work that had been done, they were happy to just enjoy the event."
This isn't the last time a high-profile event will take place on post, according to Brooks.
"With Belvoir now being a major installation due to Base Realignment and Closure Act, 2005, I expect more events of this caliber to take place on post," said Brooks.
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