IMCOM command meets with employees, tours facilities at USAG Hawaii

WHEELER ARMY AIRFIELD, Hawaii -- The Installation Management Command commanding general and command sergeant major visited Hawaii Jan. 30-31 to meet with leadership, tour facilities and recognize outstanding employees.

Lt. Gen. Omar Jones and Command Sgt. Maj. Jason Copeland fit a lot into their two days in paradise: meeting with Army leaders across organizations, touring several of the garrison’s facilities and programs and talking to employees.

“It is amazing what this garrison does across the board,” Jones said to about 20 assembled garrison directors and employees at the end of his visit. “The Army doesn’t work without you all. When you think about the quality of life perspective, about readiness, deployability, it does not work without the garrison.”

At every stop on their installation tour, Jones and Copeland spent time thanking employees for what they do and asking for candid feedback on what’s working, what isn’t and what would improve their jobs and program area.

“Whether you wear a uniform or not, everybody here is serving in one way or another,” Jones said. “You all could be doing other things, but you’ve volunteered to serve the Army. Thank you for what you do.”

One of the last stops on the command team’s tour was to recognize several employees across the garrison’s footprint for their exemplary service.

Employees recognized by Jones with a CG coin were: Shayna Baradi with the Directorate of Human Resources; David Brixius with the Directorate of Public Works; Milton Rodriguez with the Directorate of Emergency Services; Kevin Irwin with the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security; and Mary Turner with the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation.

Employees stationed on Hawaii Island were unable to be recognized in person but coins were given to Pohakuloa Training Area’s Command Sgt. Maj. Jessica Cho to deliver to Kawika Miller and Eric Swilley at Kilauea Military Camp; and Maryanne Dickerson, Tiana Lackey, Kaipo Madrigal and Brian Tomaszewski at Pohakuloa Training Area.

Copeland, who previously served as the senior enlisted advisor at Installation Management Command-Pacific, closed out the command team’s visit re-emphasizing Hawaii’s unique challenges and expressing his thanks to team members for working through challenges.

“I used to always say (to leaders) ‘You need to come to the Pacific to see what they’re going through in order to better support them,’” Copeland said. “Thank you for continuing to tell your story so that we can get you the resources necessary. And at the end of the day, it's about taking care of Soldiers, our professionals who work with us and families.”