U.S. Army Garrison Fort Detrick welcomed Command Sgt. Maj. Erick Detrich to the team during a Change of Responsibility ceremony, Sept. 13, and he suspects someone who had a hand in selecting him for this particular role had a good laugh about sending a Detrich to Detrick.
But, he has been all business since he arrived.
Following an in-processing period that gave him some time to observe the organization before taking responsibility, CSM Detrich was more than prepared to hit the ground running.
Originally from a small town in Iowa, CSM Detrich joined the Army in July of 1998 as a Heavy Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic. He attended Basic and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Jackson, SC. Since then, he has built a long list of assignments, awards and achievements, including four deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. You can find his full bio here.
A dedicated husband and father of three, he and his family share a passion for the outdoors. In his free time, you will likely find CSM Detrich on the water fishing or tearing up a dirt trail on an ATV.
I recently had a chance to sit down and talk with him, capturing some of his thoughts and observations about the present and future here at Fort Detrick.
Q: What are your first impressions of Fort Detrick and the Frederick area?
A; The installation has been great to work with. I've had no issues. For being one of the older bases, the place has been well maintained and looks great.
For the family and I, it's a big change of pace going from Fort Cavazos, Texas to here. It's kind of a roles reversed situation, going from a big post and little cities to big cities and a little post, but everyone in the community has been extremely inviting. We've been downtown and around Frederick; done some of the fairs and markets they do downtown and, again, the community has been more than receiving, more than welcoming.
Q: Including in-processing time, you’ve been here for a couple months now. What are some of the things that you've learned so far about the base and about the garrison itself, including some of the unique challenges or opportunities that exist here?
A: So, this has been a big learning curve. One, the size of the installation. It is a small installation compared to what I'm used to along operational Army lines. Two, it is very civilian-heavy in the workforce and that's also a big change for me. And, three, just learning about the different agencies that we have on the installation; the number of national cabinet level agencies, along with the research that's being done on the installation and the … I guess you'd say that niche section of personnel that it takes to do that job.
We have got our own unique challenges versus the larger garrisons where some of the main concerns are housing and Soldier problems; things like that. So, less of those issues, but more concerns with the type and amount of infrastructure we have to maintain to keep these more specialized agencies mission ready and running smoothly.
Q: Maybe it's too early for this, but do you have a vision, or some sort of expectations that you've set for Fort Detrick during your time in command here?
A: It is early, but those things are certainly in development. The garrison commander, Col. Chung, and I are talking about it on a daily basis and trying to lay out what our vision is going to be.
Q: You've noted some of the differences between the Big Army, Soldier-heavy places that you've been before. Is there anything about those previous assignments and previous experiences that help you in this role?
A: It is very different. I mean, the reality is that the lingo and the job itself here are completely different than what I was dealing with on the active, operational side of the Army. But, I've always had the DPW and LRC support, and now I get to see things from the other side. I really get to be informed on how the DPW work orders, funding, and maintenance processes work. It is a great learning opportunity, and I am excited to take on the challenges unique to this environment.
Q: Do you have any final thoughts or comments for the workforce?
A: It's all about the people. In uniform or civilian, it doesn't matter. And, I believe in engaged leadership at the point of friction. Those are my two big things: people first and then making sure the leadership is at the point of friction.
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