REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. (June 11, 2025) – When an organization undergoes a period of unprecedented change, they need someone like Shannon Gatewood in charge of their human resources.
Luckily for the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center, they have her. Gatewood assumed the role of acting G1, which oversees the Center’s HR functions, after spending the last 16 years in various HR positions within the Center. As the organization undergoes a historic restructuring alongside the Army itself, Gatewood is drawing on that experience to shepherd her staff through the transition. But she will be quick to tell you that it is a team effort.
“I am grateful for this opportunity, this year has us experiencing things we’ve never encountered before and I am learning so much. I am fortunate that I was able to serve as the Deputy G1 under the leadership of Jeff Cheeks. He served as the acting G1 at the forefront of the initial phase of this change and set me up for success.”
Spending her career within DEVCOM AvMC has been an easy decision, she said. Gatewood oversees multiple functions under the HR umbrella from labor-management employee relations to student programs to an execution team which handles upwards of 400 personnel actions at any given time.
“Shannon leads by example within the DEVCOM AvMC HR team, consistently prioritizing the well-being of not only her HR colleagues but all AvMC employees,” said Deputy Chief of Staff Jennifer Heflin. “Her dedication and proactive approach make her an invaluable leader.”
Gatewood, a Huntsville native, earned her bachelor’s degree in economics from Auburn University. After taking time away from her career to be a stay-at-home mom, Gatewood moved back to Huntsville with her daughter and returned to school at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
“I always envied people who knew what they wanted to do when they grew up and said, ‘I am going to be this,’ and that’s what they did."
While at UAH, Gatewood took some HR classes and the self-described “people person” found that she was drawn to the HR path. She started her HR career with the Army’s Civilian Personnel Advisory Center in 2004, before moving over to the Center in 2009.
“I love my team,” Gatewood said. “Some of us have been together for a long time, we have grown up together. I want to help them grow and support them in whatever they want to do. If it will better them, they have my support, 100%. We have a very collaborative, supportive environment, and I really enjoy that. The endgame of this role is to help people.”
But within that, Gatewood said that it is also the higher mission that inspires her every day.
“You are making a difference. You know you're involved in something critical to the country.”
There’s hard-won experience working in HR, “I've heard it. I've seen it. I've been told it,” Gatewood said with a laugh. But with that experience, Gatewood shared her advice for those just starting out their careers.
“Get with the people who've been here a long time, soak it in, learn from them,” she advised. “There are people here who want to help you and want you to grow. You are in an environment where the sky's the limit, if you allow people to foster that.”
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The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, known as DEVCOM, is Army Futures Command’s leader and integrator within a global ecosystem of scientific exploration and technological innovation. DEVCOM expertise spans eight major competency areas to provide integrated research, development, analysis and engineering support to the Army and DOD. From rockets to robots, drones to dozers, and aviation to artillery – DEVCOM innovation is at the core of the combat capabilities American Warfighters need to win on the battlefield of the future. For more information, visit devcom.army.mil/.
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