MIDDLETOWN, Iowa -- Under fair skies and warm conditions, the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant welcomed a new commanding officer during an official Change of Command Ceremony, held here, May 16.
Lt. Col. Stephen T. Koehler replaced Lt. Col. Aaron M. Wolfe, who relinquished command of IAAAP after two years as the senior leader.
Wolfe is being assigned to a new staff position with the 528th Sustainment Brigade at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
"So I'd like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all Iowa Army Ammo Plant employees for your dedication, commitment and service to the nation," said Wolfe in his farewell remarks. "They are the quiet professionals to whom our military owes so much."
Col. James P. Hooper, Crane Army Ammunition Activity commander, served as the ceremony host and the Army Sustainment Command provided the official Color Guard.
"We're here today to welcome Lt. Col. Stephen Koehler to the Joint Munitions Command team," said Hooper. "However, I want to start off by thanking all the employees who serve here at Iowa, both contractor and government. The Chief of Staff of the Army's number one priority is readiness, and that's what IAAAP does. That's your business and you do it very well." Under Lt. Col. Wolfe's command the IAAAP's efforts will "have long term effects on the Department of Defense's ammo mission."
As the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant's 41st commander, Koehler will lead the organization which produces and delivers medium- and large-caliber ammunition for the Department of Defense.
During the end of Hooper's remarks he referred to Lt. Col. Stephen Koehler, "welcome and congratulations on being selected as the commander for a world-class team."
Both IAAAP and CAAA are subordinate installations of JMC, headquartered at the Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois. Joint Munitions Command manages 16 ammunition manufacturing plants and storage depots that provide ammunition to all military services, other federal agencies, as well as to allied nations.
Joint Munitions Command produces small-, medium- and large-caliber ammunition items for the Department of Defense. JMC is the logistics integrator for life-cycle management of ammunition, and provides a global presence of technical support to U.S. combat units wherever they are stationed or deployed.
In November of 1940, 19,000 acres were acquired by the government in the Middletown, Iowa, area. Construction of the Iowa Ordnance Plant began in January 1941, and the first item rolled off the production line in September of 1942.
In 1963, the plant was renamed the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant, and in 1998, American Ordnance, LLC, became the operating contractor. AO performs load, assemble and pack operations at the Middletown facility.
The IAAAP workforce has fluctuated, from a World War II peak of 13,000 employees to the current workforce of approximately 860 employees.
"Brig. Gen. Dix, Col. Hooper and the Iowa team, you'll get everything from me for the next couple of years," said Koehler during his remarks. "It has been a very warm welcome, and I'm very appreciative. I'm also grateful, fortunate and very excited. Ready, Reliable, Lethal."
Prior to his new assignment, Koehler served as the Sustainment Chief, Operations Group Delta, Mission Command Training Program, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Koehler was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and was raised in Hickory, North Carolina. He graduated as a Distinguished Military Graduate with a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice from East Carolina University in 1998. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as an Army Officer in the Quartermaster Corps through the university's Reserve Officer Training Corps program.
Distinguished guests in attendance included Brig. Gen. Richard B. Dix, commander, Joint Munitions Lethality & Life Cycle Management Command and Joint Munitions Command; John McGuiness, President of American Ordnance; Hans Trousill, Mayor of West Burlington, Iowa; Andrew Spyrow, Regional Director, Sen. Joni Ernst's office; Penny Vacek, Regional Director, Sen. Chuck Grassley's office; Jared Hershberger, District Representative, Congressman Dave Loebsack's office, as well as numerous leaders from the surrounding communities.
The ceremony featured a color guard, an invocation by the Joint Munitions Command Chaplain, Maj. Willie Mashack, the National Anthem sung by Grace Wolfe, Lt. Col. Aaron Wolfe's daughter, and presentation of flowers to each commander's family members. Guests were invited to say farewell and greet both the Wolfe and Koehler families immediately following the conclusion of the event.
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