United States Army Garrison Detroit Arsenal Manager Alan Parks gave a speech to the Senior Men's Club on February 24 at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial.
He began his remarks with thanking all the veterans in attendance.
"Once you've served there's a level of commitment to something greater than you and that's our nation." Parks said.
Mr. Parks talked about the partnership that takes place between military installations and cities. "There are commonalities between how a military installation talks about ourselves and how cities and municipalities talk about themselves," Parks said.
There is an equivalency between the civilian community and the Army when it comes to jobs. It's important to build a common language when describing what the job is for a city compared to an installation.
For example, a city mayor is the equivalent of the Senior Commander. The city treasurer would be the same as the resource manager in the Army.
"My mayor for Detroit Arsenal is Maj. Gen. Gwen Bingham, TACOM Life Cycle Management Command commanding general," Parks said. "She is a very astute Army officer who has commanded at multiple levels and it is a real privilege to serve her and TACOM Life Cycle Management Command. I manage the installation. If you have a complaint that comes to me, and I support the mayor."
Parks explained why the Department of Defense exists.
"With our installation footprints, the Department of Defense will always evolve," Parks said. "We have to be in the right place at the right time with the right capacities to help our war fighters, fight and win our nation's wars when called upon."
The second reason Parks mentioned was the DoD's involvement on a global level.
"We're engaged in 60 plus countries on a daily basis with ongoing military operations," Parks said. "You soon realize that we are an Army that is taxed to fight and win for the betterment of our nation.
The important piece is to have a place where soldiers can come back between their efforts."
To demonstrate the size of the Department of Defense, Parks shared that when all sites are added together, they utilize over 30 million acres of land.
Parks shared a brief history of Detroit Arsenal and Selfridge and talked about how installations are all about defending our nation.
"Detroit Arsenal has been around for 73 years. 2017 will be a big year for both installations. The Arsenal will be celebrating 75 years and Selfridge 100 years," Parks said. "The last President to visit Detroit Arsenal was Franklin Roosevelt. As a state and a region, the Detroit area re-tooled to help us win WW II."
Parks shared how Michigan fits into the bigger picture with the Department of Defense. "The footprint of today is radically different than the footprint of 10, 20 or 100 years ago."
Not only did Parks discuss the work that takes place at the Garrison, he also spoke about Selfridge Air National Guard Base.
"I manage all the Morale, Welfare and Recreation activities on Selfridge in support to the 127th Wing," Parks said.
One of the most rewarding parts of my day is walking into our Child Development Center, Parks said. "We're developing our future American citizens. I've watched 15 year olds who our phenomenal future leaders of this country. They restore my faith as where were heading as a nation."
Parks described how tax payer dollars are used at Army installations. "There are requirements for us as a federal agency to monitor our use of dollars and to provide oversight which goes back and gets reported to congress."
"Being the steward of tax payer dollars, we reduced the operating cost significantly with the closure of those homes. We did put our soldiers off post into homes that are owned by you and the community."
"Everything that we do must be auditable through the Freedom of Information Act." Parks made the point that transparency is key to everything that we do.
In closing Parks was asked what our future hold and what can I do about it?
"Your military is your neighbor," Parks said. "I encourage you to seek common ground and learn those languages and how do you partner for efficiency. A good question to ask yourself is, is there something we can do better together?"
Parks concluded by saying "put value back into whatever you do. Never be afraid to collaborate."
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