VIEW ORIGINAL
FORT CAVAZOS, Texas — Throughout 2024, Fort Cavazos welcomed new leadership as it continued its modernization through several initiatives and projects, working to improve quality of life, readiness and operations across the installation.
III Armored Corps welcomes new commander
Fort Cavazos and III Armored Corps welcomed Lt. Gen. Kevin D. Admiral as the new commanding general and bid farewell to Lt. Gen. Sean C. Bernabe Aug. 7, 2024, during a ceremony at III Armored Corps Headquarters.
Admiral previously commanded 1st Cavalry Division and had been heading U.S. Army Task Force Pegasus in Europe when he changed commands.
“To my teammates across III Armored Corps, you can count on me giving 100% effort and carrying out my duties as we work together to uphold the high standards our nation and the Army expect and deserve,” he said.
Partnership drives food donation
The Religious Support Office began a new initiative in June with the Central Texas Food Bank, running a monthly grocery drive-thru food drive for families on-post.
The drive-thru was officiated with a ceremony Sept. 5, 2024, giving away over 24,000 pounds of foods to 332 families. Three pilot events prior to the ceremony distributed food to more than a thousand families, giving away fresh produce, meats and packaged goods.
“This effort goes beyond just providing food,” said Col. Lakicia Stokes, U.S. Army Garrison-Fort Cavazos commander, during the ceremony at the event. “It’s about ensuring our Soldiers and their families are cared for and have the resources they need to thrive. As we move forward, I’m confident that this program will continue to grow and positively impact the lives of our military families.”
Since July, the RSO and CTFB have distributed over 130,000 pounds of foods to over 2,000 families.
1st Cav. Div. new commander
1st Cav. Div. welcomed their new commanding general, Maj. Gen. Thomas M. Feltey, in a change of command ceremony Aug. 2, 2024, at Bolesławiec, Poland.
“I stand here this morning, excited and humbled to lead the legendary First Team, especially as it continues its mission in assuring our allies and deterring our enemies,” Feltey said in his opening speech during the ceremony. “To the leaders and troopers of the mighty 1st Cavalry Division, I am honored to be your commander, and I will do my very best to serve you, our families and our mission. I look forward to getting to know everyone over the months ahead and seeing our troopers in action.”
Along with taking command of 1st Cav. Div., Feltey took command of U.S. Army Task Force Pegasus, operating across Poland and the Baltic States.
Cavazos Connector launch
The Cavazos Connector launched back in March and has given more than 188,000 rides, as of Jan. 6. The free service averages approximately 580 riders per day, servicing five zones.
Since its inception, the ride has modified weekday hours to 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and routes to better serve its riders, modifying the micro-transit zone to include the Mission Training Complex and replacing fixed route service from Copperas Cove to Temple, Texas.
“It’s the first micro-transit system in the country for a military base, and it’s been highly successful,” said Darrell Burtner, assistant general manager of the Hill Country Transit District. “We expect it to continue to grow and be more successful. We are getting phone calls from other military bases wanting us to answer questions for them as to how we did it. It’s very unique in that it was micro-transit and not fixed-route service and it’s also very unique in how we are connecting the base to the region and allowing Soldiers and their families on base to integrate into the community a lot more.”
National Mounted Warrior Museum
People visiting Fort Cavazos can now look at the history of the mounted warrior and cavalry Soldiers after the opening of the National Mounted Warrior Museum in September 2024.
The free museum features more than 12,000 square feet of permanent gallery space, over 1,000 square feet or temporary exhibit space and a 4,900-square foot rotunda.
“Our tradition of excellence in mounted warfare is Fort Cavazos’ proudest legacy and one that we work to inculcate in every Soldier who is assigned to armored units at our installation,” said Brig. Gen. Geoff Van Epps, III Armored Corps deputy commanding general of maneuver, key speaker for the museum’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Since opening, the museum has had nearly 8,000 visitors, as of Dec. 26, 2024.
Installation Excellence Award
Fort Cavazos received not one, but two, awards in 2024 for the installation in July. U.S. Army Installation Management Command named U.S. Army Garrison-Fort Cavazos the best garrison, and the Department of Defense awarded the post the Commander-in-Chief’s Annual Award for Installation Excellence.
Installations are judged on 13 categories including mission support, environment, real property asset management, real property stewardship, quality of life, and safety and health. Highlights included environmental research and conservation efforts from the Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division, an award-winning partnership between the Directorate of Emergency Services and Killeen Fire Department and the Emergency Management Working Group, and events to improve the quality of life on the installation, such as Nature in Lights and Cowboys-4-Heroes/Bumpers and BBQ, from the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation.
“This award recognizes the incredible work our garrison team does day in and day out to ensure that Fort Cavazos Soldiers and their families are well cared for while they serve our country,” said Lt. Gen. Sean C. Bernabe, then-commanding general of III Armored Corps and Fort Cavazos. “We could not do what we do here at The Great Place without the dozens of Soldiers and over 4,000 Department of the Army civilians who comprise the garrison team.”
Full-scale exercise
Fort Cavazos conducted a full-scale exercise of an active-shooter scenario May 7-8, 2024, assessing the installation’s response.
Working with off-post agencies as well, such as Killeen Police and Fire Departments, the post conducted the exercise’s incident at Shoemaker Center.
“Training on complex incident response scenarios increases our proficiency and interoperability,” said Bob Adams, DES deputy director. “This training helps to ensure that when an incident does occur, we will be ready to effectively respond and protect our communities.”
Microgrid completion
In February, Fort Cavazos officially completed a microgrid, which can provide a minimum of 14 days of operational capability for 43 installation facilities at West Fort Cavazos, even in the instance of loss of power. The microgrid also provides more than $125,000 in energy savings per day during any Electric Reliability Council of Texas peak demand period.
The microgrid, an intelligent energy grid sustainability and restoration tool, is also vital to the operations at the air traffic control facilities, impacting both military and civilian aircraft.
“The power redundancy will ensure air traffic control facility operations continue their missions without interruptions and ensure aircraft operations are conducted safely at Robert Gray Army Airfield, Killeen Regional Airport and seven additional military and civilian encompassing 11 counties in Central Texas,” explained Mark Vick, Directorate of Aviation Operations air traffic control chief. “Fort Cavazos, our local communities and the state of Texas have been great partners and projects such as the microgrid are shining examples of this fact. This project will ensure an everlasting impact on the air traffic control mission here at Fort Cavazos.”
VIEW ORIGINAL
Barrack 100
Fort Cavazos improved quality of life for Soldiers living in barracks, such as the reopening of Phantom Village in November, but most notable was the opening of Barrack 100 in April.
The first barrack to be constructed at the installation since 2012, the furnished housing for 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade Soldiers provides them
individual bedrooms to allow for more privacy, walk-in closets and a larger, shared kitchenette space.
“We couldn’t do anything without our Soldiers,” said Brian Dosa, director of DPW. “We have great equipment, we have great leaders, but we need Soldiers. We want to provide a quality, safe, healthy place for them to live that will be commensurate with their service.”
Currently, as of Jan. 6, 11 barracks are undergoing renovations, Dosa said.
SECARMY visit
Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth visited Fort Cavazos Jan. 30, 2024, exploring the installation’s quality-of-life initiatives and programs, along with interacting with Soldiers, their families and Department of the Army civilians.
In addition to touring the People First Center, Wormuth observed training, attended a sensing session with Soldiers, visited 1st Cav. Div.’s Pegasus Troop and went to the Family Advocacy Program.
“It’s been a while since I have come back to Fort Cavazos,” she shared during a press conference Jan. 31, 2024, “and I wanted to really come out and see how we are doing here at Fort Cavazos and the III Armored Corps to build combat power, to make sure that we’re building up our readiness and see some of the work that we’re doing to kind of pivot from our focus on counterinsurgency and counterterrorism to large-scale combat operations. And then, I also really wanted to look at a lot of the quality-of life-issues that are so important to our Soldiers and our families.
“I would say there is a lot of work being done here across the board to take care of Soldiers and families,” she added.
DFAC initiatives
Fort Cavazos innovated food programs for Soldiers with the Phantom Centralized HUB and the Headquarters, Department of the Army Go for Green Action Menu and Station initiative which began Oct. 9, 2024.
The Phantom Centralized HUB offers alternatives to Soldiers, providing meals on the go or to prep at home with Phantom Fresh, a grab-and-go service, and Phantom Prep, a meal prep program. The action station, located at Operation Iraqi Freedom Dining Facility, offers a campus-style food course with customizable meal options.
“Fort Cavazos is at the forefront of food service modernization, pioneering innovative concepts to enhance support for Soldiers,” said Chontrelle Sturdivant, installation food program manager for Army Field Support Battalion-Cavazos, in an interview Dec. 10, 2024. “These efforts reflect our mission to promote health, fitness and readiness.
“Our action stations feature customer-preferred selections comparable to the commercial food industry,” Sturdivant added. “Phantom Fresh and Phantom Prep provide convenient, nutritious options tailored to our Soldiers’ needs. We aim to enhance each dining experience and foster a sense of connection and care.”
Social Sharing