U.S. Army Garrison Fort Detrick joined the Army team that is helping “Forge the Future” during a ceremony, Feb. 19. The patch ceremony saw a change in the unit’s Shoulder Sleeve Insignia from Army Materiel Command to Army Futures Command, better aligning it with the senior command here: U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command.
“The Chief of Staff of the Army had the intent to operationalize garrison commands in support of the senior commander, and the adoption of the senior commander's patch is a visual representation of that operationalization of the garrison team in support of the mission here in Fort Detrick,” said Maj. Gen. Paula C. Lodi, commander of USAMRDC, during the ceremony. “Now, this in no way takes away the garrison command's ability to bring to bear all the expertise, power, capability, resourcing of Installation Management Command, which was represented by the Army Materiel Command patch, but it means that we're a little bit tighter knit here on Fort Detrick with a unity of command and unity of purpose.”
The recent publication of Department of Army EXORD 123-25 solidifies that relationship by designating tactical command of Army garrisons to each installation’s senior command. The garrison here supports five cabinet-level agencies and elements of all the military branches.
Maj. Gen. Lodi discussed the significance of the AFC insignia, shaped like a shield as a testament to its role in defending our nation and featuring a blacksmith’s anvil that represents the AFC motto: Forge the Future.
“The anvil was adopted as the signature feature of the patch because it represented fortitude, determination, and perseverance,” she said. “I think that those are three characteristics that … distinctly represent what our garrison team provides to us: fortitude, determination, and perseverance.
“Our garrison team is what makes Fort Detrick and Forest Glen Annex a safe and great place to live and serve. They are incredible conduits to an incredible community outside our gates that we all love, and they’re an incredible linkage to a great support system and administration from Installation Management Command,” said Maj. Gen. Lodi. “So, what we’re doing today is nothing but good because it just adds more power to the performance of our garrison command team.”
The general also talked about what a unique post Fort Detrick is among the nation’s military installations.
“I have said since I got here that this installation is unique to the Army and unique to the nation in that it provides critical defense capability. It has intelligence, communications, research, biodefense, medical logistics, contracting, joint partners, and innumerable support enabling capabilities,” said Maj. Gen. Lodi. “That is what is unique about Fort Detrick, and that is what is unique about what our garrison teammates give to us. I've been on a lot of Army installations over the course of my career, and Fort Detrick is by far the most nuanced in the way that we live – the way we get supported – and how we live is inextricably linked to our ability to do our very important work. The garrison command team blends that masterfully.”
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