REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- The Aviation and Missile Command recognized several employees recently during two ceremonies held at command headquarters.
In a ceremony on May 2, AMCOM deputy commander Bill Marriott introduced several changes to the leadership staff, saying employees are "coming and going for the right reasons. We are having high turnover for the right reasons. Some are being promoted. Some are transferring within the Army or the Department of Defense to areas of higher responsibility" and some are retiring.
Those transferring within AMCOM included Angie Kielsmeier, who is moving on to the AMCOM Logistics Center; and military police officers Sgt. First Class David Matthews and Sgt. Marcus Gross, who are moving on to Corpus Christi Army Depot; and Sgt. Dorron Freeman, who is moving on to Letterkenny Army Depot. Those leaving AMCOM for new positions of increased responsibility included commander's aide Capt. Andy Howell and Sgt. Pierre Fuller. Those retiring included Sgt. First Class Fualola Gaston, AMCOM's Equal Opportunity Officer; and Lt. Col. Tyler Smith, who led the Command Initiatives Group.
"We have great people coming in behind them," Marriott said. "As great people leave, we turn over to those coming in. That keeps us resilient."
The first of those to be welcomed to AMCOM was commander Brig. Gen. Doug Gabram and his wife Lori. AMCOM Command Sgt. Maj. Glen Vela, who has worked for Gabram in the past, said AMCOM's new general is a "car guy," a Cleveland Browns fan and an Apache pilot. The Gabrams have two children, both in college in Texas.
"I'm the luckiest man to have my former boss and this family man here to lead us forward," Vela said.
Gabram then introduced Col. Robert Rasch, the military deputy to the commander, who comes to AMCOM from serving as the chief of staff for the Assistant Security of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology. Rasch, Gabram said, will help AMCOM better develop its relationship with ASA ALT and brings a "huge knowledge base" to his new job.
Also introduced was Capt. Dan Neff, the new aide to the commander; and Michael Kirkland, a veteran Army Ranger who provides information technology support.
In saying goodbye to employees, AMCOM chief of staff Col. Todd Royar spoke about the exceptional leadership that Kielsmeier has provided and that she will continue to provide in her new job with the AMCOM Logistics Center. She was presented with the Commander's Award for Civilian Service during the ceremony.
"The whole time I've been here, this environment builds a family. You mold that framework and you make it happen," Kieslmeier said.
In saying goodbye to Smith, Gabram recalled his meeting with the officer in western Iraq during a particularly difficult situation.
"I was impressed then with his personality and character and the way he represented Army aviation," Gabram said. "He commanded a battalion for the 82nd with incredible intelligence, strategic thinking and great problem solving."
Smith, who is retiring to take a civilian job with Amazon, said he will always remember the people of AMCOM.
"When I came here, I didn't know anything about how the Army operated. I've been able to see how the big Army works," he said.
In saying goodbye to current aide Howell, Gabram said, "I see a future battalion commander standing here … Everything about him is first class and tremendous. What's really important is the potential he has … You were the aide during a period of continuous change and you have been a trusted advisor on all Army matters."
Howell, who served with AMCOM primarily as the aide to previous AMCOM commander Maj. Gen. Jim Richardson, was presented with a Meritorious Service Medal.
Howell described his work at AMCOM as a "broadening experience" and thanked Richardson for his leadership, saying "he taught me a lot not necessarily about the Army, but about life. He would say, 'Tough times don't last, but tough people do.'"
In an awards ceremony on May 4 in the command headquarters, Gabram recognized both AMCOM's nominators and the nominees for the recent Department of the Army Civilian Awards competition hosted by the Redstone-Huntsville Chapter of the U.S. Army.
"Thank you all for the efforts that you put in for the AUSA awards," Gabram told the honorees. This year's nominees represented the largest group to ever be nominated from AMCOM for the awards.
Gabram said it takes effort to nominate employees for awards and, in many ways, the nomination is actually more valuable than the final award.
"I want to thank you for all the effort you put in for the team," he said to the nominators. "This is a positive move, and we've got to keep the momentum going in that direction. For all of you, it's incredible what you do behind the scenes that's ultimately for the warfighter."
One-star notes were presented to the following nominators: Tim Blumfelder, Carol Batte, Mike Bieri, Jessica Dunaway, Dr. Myra Gray and Donna Ragucci.
One-star notes were then presented to the following nominees who represented AMCOM, the Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center and the Army Contracting Command-Redstone at the AUSA awards dinner: Thomas Barnett, Jesse Couch, Anne Crenshaw, Mark Feathers, Robert Mitchell, Katrina Neeley, LaToya Sims, Dale Smith, Julia Vaughn, Francisco Villanueva, Fred Allen and Danny Featherston.
Allen, AMCOM's chief legal counsel, went on to win in the Management/Executive category of the DA Civilian of the Year competition.
Featherston, director of AMRDEC's Prototype Integration Facility, went on to win as the top DA Civilian of the Year for the local AUSA chapter. He will now compete for top honors at the regional level and could possibly go on to compete at the national level for DA Civilian of the Year.
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