REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- There's nothing like receiving a surprise gift from the team you've put together and invested in during the course of your career.
And that's just what Fred Allen received on June 22 during a reception in his honor as he leaves his post as the chief counsel for the Aviation and Missile Command to take on new challenges as the deputy command counsel at the Army Materiel Command headquarters.
Allen was presented with a framed photograph of the AMCOM legal team in appreciation for his leadership.
"What better gift could you give me? I really appreciate that. What a good looking crowd of folks," Allen said.
He joked that he doesn't need a photograph to remember the AMCOM legal team. But he will enjoy looking at the photo and reflecting on the team he has enjoyed working with, he said.
Allen can trace his employment with AMCOM back 48 years, when he was hired while in law school to work as a summer clerk at the Missile Command for then chief counsel Frank Buckley. Upon graduation from the University of Alabama School of Law, Allen was hired by MICOM's legal office. During a career that began in 1968, Allen worked for all three MICOM/AMCOM chief counsels -- Frank Buckley, Verbon Black and Bob Spazarini -- before taking the post himself 13 years ago.
"Fred Allen has contributed to this organization for his entire professional life," said AMCOM commander Brig. Gen. Doug Gabram. "We are grateful for the legal expertise and knowledge as well as the leadership he has brought to the table here at AMCOM. We want to express our appreciation to him and his family for the contributions that Fred has made to this organization."
Allen was also presented with a gift from the AMOCM Command Group and Safety Office, and with a framed photo that shows stacks of legal documents on his desk, known in jest among his staff members as FFS or Fred's Filing System.
"I have fond memories and I really appreciate that," Allen said of the photo.
"I want to thank you for this. I am happy to have this gathering from our office and from AMCOM. I've know some of you for 20 years or more. Many of you are well groomed and well positioned to be significant leaders in this office. I know you will continue to be loyal to this command and to the Soldiers you've supported."
As AMCOM's chief counsel, Allen, a member of the senior executive service, supervises and develops a staff of 45 government attorneys who support AMCOM and Team Redstone. He has been responsible for providing legal and fiscal advice to AMCOM leadership, the program executive officers, numerous project managers, the Garrison as well as the Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center. In fiscal year 2015, under Allen's leadership, the legal office performed legal reviews and counsel for about 5,000 contract and acquisition actions.
Allen was recently named the top Department of the Army civilian in the Management/Executive category by the Redstone-Huntsville Chapter of the Association of the U.S. Army. He also named the Army Materiel Command Attorney of the Year in 1997 and received an Achievement Medal for Civilian Service in 1998.
During his career at MICOM and AMCOM, Allen worked in adversary proceedings and acquisition law, and international law. In those early years, he wrote memorandums of understanding for cooperative development programs for missiles involving NATO partners, and traveled internationally during negotiations with ministries of defense from NATO countries.
Allen's work, as the Pershing Project counsel and with missile programs such as Lance, was reflected in the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, resulting in two rounds of international treaties in 1972 and 1979 that involved armament control between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. He served as the Multiple Launch Rocket System Project counsel, Acquisition Law branch chief and chief of AMCOM's Acquisition Law Division before becoming AMCOM's chief counsel.
"I feel honored to have been in this role since 2003. I couldn't have done it without you," he said.
In late 2014, Allen's career began a new chapter when he was named to participate in the consolidation of the legal offices of AMCOM and the Army Contracting Command/Expeditionary Contracting Command to stand up what is known as the Army Materiel Command Legal Center-Redstone Arsenal. The office provides support to all AMC organizations at the major subordinate command level, as well as the Garrison, program executive offices and other tenant activities at Redstone. The consolidation brings together both acquisition law and policy for AMCOM and ACC/ECC, creating an acquisition law "center of excellence."
"There have been a lot of changes," Allen told employees. "As AMCOM's legal team, I know you will continue to thrive and continue to serve. This is a great place to be, a great place to work, a great mission to support."
Social Sharing