Aviation, Missile Center engineer honored by alma mater

By Amy Tolson, Aviation & Missile Center Public AffairsMay 27, 2020

Aviation, Missile Center engineer honored by alma mater
Kevin Rees, chief of the maintenance airworthiness division for the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center’s Systems Readiness Directorate, is the recipient of a Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology alumni Career Achievement award. (Photo Credit: Courtesy photo) VIEW ORIGINAL

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. (May 27, 2020) – It’s a simple, but impactful motto that Kevin Rees lives by – never pass up an opportunity to help somebody else.

For the difference he has made for his community, career field and the Warfighter, Rees, chief of the maintenance airworthiness division for the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center Systems Readiness Directorate, is being honored with an alumni Career Achievement award by the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana.

“Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology is proud to recognize Kevin Rees for his outstanding career,” said President Robert A. Coons. “The work Kevin has done in service to his country and profession is a powerful demonstration of continual learning and an excellent example of the educational foundation that our Institute provides.”

Growing up near Chicago, Rees chose to attend Rose-Hulman based on its reputation for being a top engineering school. After graduation from the institute in 1981, he did a brief stint in the oil business before becoming a civil servant in 1984. In his current role, he is responsible for coordinating all maintenance and sustainment engineering support for Army helicopter operations worldwide and manages an organization of approximately 125 engineers with an annual operation budget of more than $30 million. Rees served as the deputy director of an AvMC directorate from August to December 2019. His awards include the Secretary of Defense Global War on Terrorism Superior Civilian Support medal and the Silver Order of Saint Michael Medal.

“It’s been everything I could have hoped for,” Rees said of his government career. “Helping my teammates do the best they can and accomplish things for the Soldiers and the country inspires me to come to work each day.”

As part of his award nomination, Rees had to explain to school leaders the impact he has had on the world around him.

“'How have I impacted humanity?' is a big question that isn’t easy to answer,” Rees said. “On the one hand, I am part of a huge team – the U.S. Army. I play a focused role, ensuring that our Soldiers have access to safe and airworthy aircraft when they need them. Every time that a U.S. Army Black Hawk picks a person up off of a flooded rooftop after a hurricane, my team has been a part of that action. Every time that a CH-47 brings construction supplies to a remote clinic in Liberia during an Ebola epidemic, my team supported that action. And, in the case of the Ebola epidemic, an engineer was on the ground assisting those Soldiers in fixing their aircraft – and that engineer in Liberia was recruited, trained and deployed by my team. The U.S. Army has made some tremendous contributions to humanity with countless lives saved, not to mention freedoms preserved. And I feel like I have played a vital role on that team.”

In addition to his government career, Rees is very involved with his community in Corpus Christi, Texas, to include his church and the Gideons International, as well as two local colleges, where he serves as an industry advisory board member. Following Hurricane Harvey in 2017, he founded a registered engineering firm to provide pro bono wind storm inspections and other professional engineering services to homeowners during the recovery effort.

“Sometimes you are given a glimpse of the impact you have on other lives, but often you just never know,” Rees said. “So, you do the best that you can every day, you follow your call and you pray for success. There is a saying that goes something like, ‘If you want to change the world, change yourself.’ I do agree with that; I did start there. But the second part of that saying should be ‘and then try and change one other life at a time.’”

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The CCDC Aviation & Missile Center, formerly known as the Aviation & Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center (AMRDEC), is part of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, which conducts responsive research, development and life cycle engineering to deliver the aviation and missile capabilities the Army depends on to ensure victory on the battlefield today and tomorrow. Through collaboration across the command's core technical competencies, CCDC leads in the discovery, development and delivery of the technology-based capabilities required to make Soldiers more lethal to win our nation's wars and come home safely. CCDC is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Futures Command.