FORT RUCKER, Ala. -- A long-awaited rededication ceremony of the $31 million Aviation Maintenance Complex at Fort Rucker brought attention to one of Army aviation's earliest heroes while also focusing on the need for state-of-the-art facilities to meet the demands of maintaining today's aviation fleet.
The May 26 rededication ceremony at the headquarters of the Aviation Maintenance Complex honored Lt. Col. Dave Condon, who was instrumental in setting up the Army's liaison mission for the Normandy invasion during World War II, piloting the first L-4 Grasshopper reconnaissance plane from England to Normandy and registering the first artillery fire on Utah Beach. Condon was serving as the assistant transportation officer for aviation with the Army's Transportation Training Command when he was killed on July 5, 1961, in a civilian helicopter crash while on leave.
The plaque honoring Condon's service, which was once displayed at the main facility in a seven-building aviation maintenance complex that included buildings dating back to the 1940s, was rehung at the new complex during the rededication by employees of the Aviation Center Logistics Command, an element of the Aviation and Missile Command. Also in attendance were two of Condon's children.
While the ceremony honored an American hero, it also brought attention to a 132,000-square-foot aviation complex that has introduced efficiencies in the maintenance and repair processes for the Army aviation fleet in use at Fort Rucker.
"The rededication of this new facility is representative of the Army's commitment to its Soldiers and civilian workforce. Lt. Col. Condon is an American hero who left us far too soon. By rededicating this facility in his honor we honor his dedication to the mission, his exemplary professionalism, and his love of country and service -- attributes that we can all aspire to," said Col. Kenneth Kliethermes, commander of the Aviation Center Logistics Command.
"In addition, this new aviation maintenance facility and its state-of-the-art equipment furthers the ability of our civilian workforce to provide the best in maintenance and sustainment for Army aircraft. This mission is vital to providing the best equipment possible for the training of our Army Aviation force."
The new Aviation Maintenance Complex was completed in 2013 after several years of planning. Fort Rucker officials, including Trish Durham, who is now chief of ACLC's Logistics Division, began plans for the new complex in 2004. Lack of funding caused officials to resubmit new facility requirements for funding in 2007 and Congress approved funding in 2011. The construction cost of the new complex was $19.7 million, but increased to $31 million with the purchase of state-of-the-art equipment.
"There were many who did not think we could get funding for this construction project," Durham said. "But you just can't give up on something like this when you see how critical it is to what we do at Fort Rucker. You can't give up when you see how much this new facility means to the mission."
About 500 aircraft are launched at Fort Rucker every day with more than 600 airframes requiring maintenance and repair support from ACLC. The 200 Army Fleet Support contractor employees working in three shifts at the Aviation Maintenance Complex provide maintenance for eight different types of Army airframes, said Brandon Langley, ACLC's facilities manager.
"We are charged with maintaining and sustaining aircraft parts for the entire fleet here at Fort Rucker," Langley said.
Of the 90 buildings at Fort Rucker, the Aviation Maintenance Complex is one of the largest and, prior to the new facility, the complex of seven buildings represented some of the oldest facilities on the installation.
"A lot of the buildings at Fort Rucker were built in the '50s and '60s, but the maintenance complex included buildings built in the 1940s. When they hit the 30-year mark, these buildings need reconstruction or renovation because they become too expensive to maintain or they have been outgrown," Langley said.
Facility deterioration, high maintenance costs, crowded conditions and the need for improved facilities to meet the demands of more advanced aviation systems were all reasons for a new complex. Instead of undergoing a renovation project for the 65,000 square feet of space in the complex's seven buildings, it was decided that building a new 132,000-square-foot complex was more cost and energy efficient, and a better way to meet the demands of aviation maintenance, Durham said.
"We did a lot of planning so that all the shops within the complex lined up with their actual purposes. They were more directly aligned for more efficient use of the facility," Durham said.
"We also reduced our environmental footprint by making the new facility energy efficient and, in particular, by engineering the removal of maintenance and chemical waste so it goes directly to temporary storage containers outside the facility until it is removed from the site. This eliminated the potential for loss or damage, or danger to the employees."
The new complex has air conditioning and climate control features that make it a more productive and safe facility.
"Our employees used to have to contend with 110-degree heat inside the old buildings," Durham said. "There are a lot of burn ovens used in maintenance and this made the heat very difficult to contend with. Now employees are no longer exposed to those kind of high temperatures.
"Additionally, we have had an increased production of 25 percent and an increased capacity of over 27 percent because of the new conditions. For example, in our paint booth, drying times have been reduced because we are not having to contend with high humidity levels."
The new complex features 22 shops, including welding, painting, fabric, engine, avionics, hydraulics and sheet metal.
"We've also designed the complex so that shipments can be made directly to each shop through exterior shipping areas. We no longer have everything shipped to one area and then moved again to the individual shops," Durham said. "That can make quite a difference when you are delivering a 300 or 400 pound piece of sheet metal."
The new complex has received the highest certification possible from the National Maintenance Program, and there have been no product quality deficiency reports since the complex opened. It was constructed based on LEED Silver guidelines, which are based on the Leadership in Energy and Environment Design set by the U.S. Building Council for environmentally responsible buildings.
"And, the best part, we did not miss a mission in the move to the new complex," Durham said. "We moved each shop separately, and we were able to plan the moves so that the mission was not impacted."
The plaque honoring Condon was first hung in 1972 during the dedication of one of the newer buildings in the previous complex. The rededication was delayed for three years until Condon's family members could be located.
"The building once dedicated to Lt. Col. Condon was torn down as part of the construction of the new complex," Durham said. "We secured the plaque. But we couldn't rededicate the new complex in Lt. Col. Condon's honor until we located his family members."
Eventually, Langley located a niece of an aunt who was able to provide information on the family. Two of his four children -- Dave Condon Jr., who was a teenager when his father was killed and had flown with his dad, and Jim Condon, who was only six months old when his father died -- attended the rededication ceremony.
"Their father was one of the first ones to test fly many of the aircraft in the early 1960s that have led to the current aircraft we fly today. He provided the first test flight for helicopters and he provided a lot of support for the rotary wing aircraft we have today," Durham said.
"The rededication was very emotional for his sons as well as for our employees. It was especially touching to Jim Condon, who had not experienced how much honor and respect we have here for his father because he was so young when he died."
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