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ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — The U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command and APG senior commander, Maj. Gen. Robert Edmonson II, and APG Garrison Commander, Col. Johnny Casiano led an informative discussion during an installation town hall event Sept. 7, at APG’s Myer Auditorium and broadcast virtually via Microsoft Teams. Attendees were also able and encouraged to send in questions to leadership and subject matter experts throughout the program which were answered following each subject presentation.
Edmonson and Casiano were joined on stage by several subject matter experts including Dr. W. Thomas Frank, public health emergency officer at Kirk U.S. Army Health Clinic, Mike Fancher from APG Army Housing Office, Sandi Berry-Turner with the Corvias APG Office, Rick Ellis from APG Garrison Directorate of Operations, APG Family Morale Welfare and Recreation (FMWR) Director Joe Moscone, Carl Smith with the Regional Network Enterprise Center (RNEC), and APG Garrison Command Sgt. Maj. Ruth Drewitt.
Some of the topics included updates on APG COVID-19 safety protocol, installation housing and gate operations, FMWR activities, and some important APG-related technological news.
To start the event, Edmonson expressed his personal appreciation to the workforce for their part in his seamless transition, over the past month, into CECOM and APG leadership.
Edmonson also addressed the recent U.S. Forces-led evacuations in Afghanistan and put the latest military news into context with the upcoming twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks.
“We’ve been a busy army for the past twenty years,” Edmonson said. “Whether it’s the operations in Afghanistan or the events of 9/11; and if you’re like me you would probably want to talk to someone, at a time of your choosing, about those events and about your feelings about those events and perhaps how it impacted you and where you are today. Feel free to talk to a buddy. That’s extremely important… I just want to take this opportunity to thank you all for everything you’ve done and everything you will do on behalf of this great country.”
Edmonson acknowledged Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s recent authorization of mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for active-duty servicemembers and stated that APG will implement these vaccinations under the U.S. Army’s direction.
Casiano then addressed attendees and used the opportunity to introduce himself to the workforce during his first town hall event as garrison commander, before turning the stage over to the subject matter experts.
COVID-19 Updates
Using extensive data and statistics, Dr. Frank of Kirk Health Clinic explained to attendees additional details and reasoning behind APG’s current mask wearing policy in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Frank shared updates on the status and projections of virus transmission in both the local areas surrounding APG and nationally, and described how that data could affect operations on APG. Dr. Frank defined and discussed some recommended solutions to viral transmission including social distancing, isolation and quarantine. he spent a good portion of his time discussing all information regarding vaccines, boosters and mandates. Specifically, information on the latest Delta and Mu variants of COVID-19 and how APG is planning on combatting and working through the dynamic virus.
“We’re not there yet,” Dr. Frank admitted. “We need to continue to promote vaccination as the only way to curb the transmission of this virus. We really need to do our part and push the immunization forward! We have an obligation to protect those around us.”
Dr. Frank stated that Kirk Health Clinic can now properly store and soon will be receiving the Pfizer vaccine this week, in addition to the Moderna vaccine currently on hand, and medical staff will be ready to use them on eligible and willing patients.
“We do have the capacity to store the Pfizer vaccine at Kirk now,” Frank said. “And we will be putting into place plans to vaccinate all active-duty personnel. I’m confident we’ll soon be able to vaccinate others who want the Pfizer as well.”
Dr. Frank said he anticipates that Kirk Health Clinic will host a mass booster vaccination clinic sometime in October of this year.
Life on APG
Fancher of the APG Army Housing Office took the stage next, shifting the focus of the town hall away from health concerns towards daily life on post at APG.
Whether PCS or just moving, Fancher acknowledged increased turnover amongst APG residents over the last decade. He also provided some insights on APG Army housing and their partnership with Corvias Property Management.
“APG housing office works in cooperation with Corvias to execute the housing program needs of APG and all the military,” he stated.
Berry-Turner of the Corvias APG Office then discussed improvements and upcoming housing events, as well as answering maintenance-related questions from the virtual audience
Both Fancher and Berry-Turner provided some clarification on the key differences between the two respective housing organizations at APG.
“We don’t manage properties,” Fancher clarified. “We aren’t the leasing office and we don’t do maintenance. Corvias handles those operations. We are the oversight of those operations to make sure that is up to the standard of the Army and APG.”
Joe Moscone, FMWR director at APG, spoke about some of the recent successes of FMWR, areas they’d like to improve, and plans for the near future.
“We see changes for the good,” he said. “More hours and usage. We average about 5,000 patrons utilizing our facilities right now across the spectrum, which is a far cry from where we were a year ago.”
Moscone expressed gratitude to the resiliency of APG as a whole during some of the difficult times of the early pandemic in 2020.
“I want to thank all the patrons out there who continue to utilize our facilities and shout out to our staff our MWR team who continue to work very hard in maintaining these operations during the COVID-19 period,” Moscone declared.
Moscone outlined the current and projected operational status of FMWR programs and facilities open to APG, and strongly encouraged the community to continue to utilize the diverse services FMWR provides for Team APG.
Rick Ellis with the APG Garrison Directorate of Operations provided the town hall with some information and updates regarding the installation’s gate operations.
According to Ellis, there are no plans to change the hours of operation for APG’s 715 Gate, considered the ‘main’ gate for several reason, including the visitor center and truck inspection facility. Any plans for increasing gate operational hours for APG’s 22 Gate will depend on both the amount of traffic and resources available for additional security staff..
Ellis stated that DoO is working to increase the number of security personnel who operate gate security, and also encouraged members of the APG community to reach out to DoO if they have questions and concerns regarding traffic and gate operations.
With National Preparedness Month here, Ellis briefly spoke about APG’s observance of the nationwide campaign which ensures the safety, security preparedness and awareness of the community. Ellis then briefly described the Emergency Notification System at APG and, with hurricane season and then winter, the importance of preparing for potential emergency installation procedures.
Technology Updates
The town hall’s final two subject matter experts provided attendees insights into some operational technological changes happening on APG.
Carl Smith with RNEC used his time on stage to explain to attendees the three phase Army 365 transition for the entire APG workforce.
Some of the expected user benefits of Army 365 include improved interface and capability, larger storage space, and improved share drive access and operability.
Smith reiterated to attendees that Army 365 users email addresses will change with the migration, and that archived email and calendar events from users’ old email addresses will migrate to their new Army 365 email addresses.
The final subject matter expert who spoke at the town hall was APG Garrison Command Sgt. Maj. Ruth Drewitt, who described the Army’s Digital Garrison app.
Digital Garrison is a ‘one stop shop’ to staying in touch with everything happening on most all Army installations, including APG. Digital Garrison integrates information about installation services provided by IMCOM, AAFES, the Defense Commissary Agency, and includes connectivity to emergency hotlines, on-base events, and respective information and resource services. Great for TDY and PCS, the Digital Garrison app provides the same information for most Army installations everywhere and can be downloaded to a smart device through GooglePlay or the Apple Store.
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