WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M. -- White Sands Missile Range Chief of Staff Glen Adams revealed, "as I look at my career, it's always the people that I work with that make it successful," as he bid farewell to his teammates and guests from the surrounding communities.
He spoke in amazement of the dedication and support that WSMR receives from partnerships external to the base, "the relationships we have here are phenomenal, I'm proud to be part of it."
Adams is departing WSMR to take on his new role as the city manager of Santa Fe, Texas. Santa Fe has been in the headlines lately, as the city recovers from a 2018 high school shooting that killed 10 and left 10 injured.
"They are a community that needs leadership, and they asked me to be there, and I will be there," said Adams. "I will say that I don't want to say goodbye, I will say, so long for now."
The luncheon on Jan. 15 recognized Adams for the achievements he made during his service at WSMR since July 2015. The room was filled to capacity, and included representatives from the Office of the Secretary of the Army, the state of New Mexico, Doña Ana County, the city of Las Cruces, and WSMR leadership.
"You came into White Sands with no background in acquisition, didn't speak 'geek' engineer talk with us, but you quickly acclimated to that," said Deputy Test Center Commander Jerry Tyree. "You got the WSMR bug and the passion for the mission and why we are all here, and what the communities mean to our mission."
As a part of the ceremony, the Executive Director of WSMR, Richard Meador, presented Adams with the Department of the Army Civilian Service Commendation Medal. He also spoke of his personal experiences of working with Adams.
"I came from outside of ATEC, I came from outside of the Army, I came from outside of New Mexico, I came here and didn't know a single face, and it was Glen who really helped with my transition. You helped me out tremendously, Glen," said Meador. "Everything you did was to help me come on and to help me be successful and to enjoy my work here, so Glen, I want to thank you very much."
Meador went on to explain that it did not matter what ranking or position a person has; Adams will do what he can to help anyone out, referring to Adams as a "people person." This was the theme throughout the luncheon as individuals recounted Adams' dedication to people and WSMR.
"It's lonely at the top; you don't have anybody to talk to and as a sgt. maj. you really have nobody to talk to. But the chief was always there," said Installation Command Sgt. Maj. William Wofford. "For a lot of reasons he became a friend."
After 36 years of military service, Wofford said, "you have a lot of associates, but not a lot of friends. Glen Adams, you are a friend to me."
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