USASA Camp Roberts cuts ribbon to new headquarters

By Joseph Kumzak, Presidio of Monterey Public AffairsJune 12, 2019

USASA Camp Roberts cuts ribbon to new headquarters
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

CAMP ROBERTS, Calif. -- Eight years after breaking ground, Lt. Col. Julia Donley, 302nd Signal Battalion commander, and Maj. Keya Riggins, USASA Camp Roberts commander, cut the ribbon to the new headquarters building June 4.

Originally breaking ground in 2011, the building had a number of contracting setbacks delaying construction.

Operations officer, 1st Lt. Lyndsay Rathbun said "it's been a long time coming."

Built in 1962, the previous headquarters building is the oldest-continuous communications facility in the world.

"A 57 year-old building is not the most efficient, and perhaps not the best suited for a workforce in 2019," said Donley. "It was built for a workforce in 1962 -- the mission has grown exponentially since that time, so people in the old building were crammed in there."

Rathbun said the new headquarters has improved staff morale and work efficiency since they occupied the building in May.

"The overall morale, I think, shot through the roof -- people stand up taller, there's more pep in their step, there's more smiles," said Riggins.

She added, "If you're not in the right environment, every small detail of another thing you're doing, especially if you're sitting at a computer all night or all day, becomes a larger problem." I don't want my team members … soldiers and civilians to take that home to their families."

Final construction faced challenges that further delayed the project. Riggins worked with Col. Greg Ford, Presidio of Monterey commander and Col. David Ray, district commander U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to resolve the challenges and get construction back on track.

The 6,880 square foot facility houses headquarters staff, DPW staff, police officers and the Navy research lab.

"The soldiers and civilians who work here will have a better quality of life. They definitely deserve it, the hard work they do here … they deserve a beautiful place to work," said Donley.

USASA Camp Roberts is a sub installation of the Presidio of Monterey located at Camp Roberts.