ANSBACH, Germany (Dec. 4, 2014) -- Damon Wilford recently joined U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach as director of Human Resources.
He moved to Ansbach from Camp Zama, Japan, where he also served as the director of Human Resources.
Wilford took time out of his schedule to sit down with me and answer a few questions about his job and about himself.
Gatchell: What are your duties as director of human resources?
Wilford: I'm an adviser to the commander on those programs and services that are in my area of responsibility. … I oversee the Education Center, drug and alcohol (abuse prevention programs), the Military Personnel Division, workforce development, and administrative services, which includes Freedom of Information Act, Privacy Act, forms and publications. It's a lot more than what you would normally associate with "human resources."
Gatchell: And hiring is the one thing you think of when you think "human resources."
Wilford: And that's the one thing we have nothing to do with. Except as the commander's S1 (personnel), we liaison with Civilian Personnel Advisory Center to make sure that things that are important to the commander are moving, and we give him updated statuses on how we're doing bringing folks on board. And we're also responsible for the local on-boarding procedures for our civilians and local national employees.
Gatchell: What lessons have you learned from Camp Zama that you're bringing here?
Wilford: I had a really good team there, and I think the thing that is really important in what we do is you have got to care. You have got to care about what you do and who you do it for. And I think from there, everything else is going to fall into place. If you care about the people you service -- Soldiers and their Families -- then you're going to learn your job, you're going to do the best job you can, and you're always going to be customer-focused in the way that you approach your job. So I think the lesson I learned working with the team that I had because they were all so customer-focused is to always look at new and innovative ways to deliver our programs and services and to get things to the Soldiers and their Families that are needed in a user-friendly way. That's what I'm bringing here: Making sure from the parking lot to the greeting to the delivery of what they're coming to get that we're focused on what the customer's needs are and we're exceeding their expectations.
Gatchell: Have you ever lived in Germany before?
Wilford: I have. When I was in the military, I was stationed in Berlin, Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern, so I did eight years off and on over here.
Gatchell: What did you look forward to most about living here?
Wilford: Well, living here, like everybody, you want to travel Europe and see some of the things. Even though I was here before, I had young kids, so I didn't get to see as much as I would have liked with previous times here. You get caught up in the day-to-day. One of the other things that's kind of a benefit is that my older son is stationed in Ramstein (Air Base). He's in the Air Force. He and his wife and my two grandkids are up at Ramstein, so that's a bonus for me. I know my wife is really happy about that.
Gatchell: What did you look forward to most about this position?
Wilford: The thing that I didn't have in my previous two positions is a lot of young Soldiers. At Camp Zama, it was more of an older Soldier population. U.S. Army Japan Headquarters was there, so you had a lot of colonels and general officers. You didn't have a lot of Soldiers that you could affect, and our programs and services are mostly for junior Soldiers -- education, drug and alcohol [abuse prevention programs], MPD. I look forward to being customer-focused and impacting Soldiers' lives in a positive way.
Gatchell: What advice would you give the personnel of USAG Ansbach?
Wilford: It's kind of early for me to be giving advice. I should be more in the receiving mode. But the main thing is for people -- and this could be anybody -- to take advantage of the opportunity that we have to live in Europe. Go out and see things and experience what the culture has to offer. A big part of it is to make memories.
How many evaluations we processed in time -- nobody will remember that stuff. Nobody talks about those things. The things that people remember are how you impacted their lives. I'm really big on taking care of Soldiers and their Families because you want them to be able to someday say, "Hey, you know that guy at Ansbach? He really took care of us and made sure we got what we needed in a timely fashion." That's the kind of thing that impacts people, and it's the thing they talk about and remember. And that's the kind of thing you want to be remembered for. Did you stop and try to help somebody when they needed your help. That would be my advice: Stop and try to help somebody that needs help.
Gatchell: Is there anything you would like to add?
Wilford: The big thing is, like I said, to care about what you do and who you do it for. The rest of it will take care of itself. You've just got to care.
To contact USAG Ansbach's Directorate of Human Resources, select "USAG Ansbach Directorate of Human Resources" in the "Related Links" section above.
Related Links:
USAG Ansbach Army Substance Abuse Program
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