REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. (July 24, 2025) – For Chris Hodges, his career has come full circle.
From the young intern learning how to be a structural engineer in the Aviation Engineering Directorate -- the precursor to today’s Systems Readiness Directorate -- to leading SRD as its acting director, Hodges is preparing for retirement after thirty-four years of service, most of which were at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center.
The Decatur native is a second-generation DEVCOM AvMC team member, following in his father’s footsteps and starting with the Center as a high school summer hire. He continued as a college intern in the Prototype Integration Facility -- or as it was known then colloquially as Skunk Works -- while studying at Auburn University. Upon graduation, he accepted a position with the Center. For Hodges, it was an easy decision.
“This has really been the only job I have ever known,” Hodges reminisced. “I have always felt that the mission was a noble one – one where you could contribute and make a difference.”
However, Hodges did spend a portion of career at the Program Executive Office for Aviation, as the chief engineer for the Kiowa Warrior program. And it was there he said that he learned some of the most important lessons of his career.
“That was probably one of the toughest parts of my whole career, when the Kiowa Warrior were divested from the Army. I was responsible for, in many cases, finding people a new home, and in downsizing that office to the point until I was the last person on the ship, which was kind of a lonely feeling in some ways.”
After PEO Aviation, Hodges attended the Senior Service College, which he said was another pivotal point in his career that helped him to process his experience at Kiowa. But even more than just closing a chapter, the fellowship helped him look ahead to the future. It also shined a spotlight on some blind spots.
“As an engineer, you have a tendency to live in a black and white world,” he said. “There is a prescriptive method toward arriving at your answers that is scientific. That doesn’t work oftentimes with people. The training helped in that regard, to consider perception and learn how to operate in the gray area.”
If there is a theme to Hodges’ career, it is always being open to learning – not just from his own experiences but from the leadership around him. As he has served in various leader roles at the Center, from chief of staff to acting SRD director, it is those leaders like Director Dr. James Kirsch and former SRD Director Keith Darrow who he credits with providing examples of what right looks like. The respect is mutual.
“Chris Hodges’ contributions across DEVCOM AvMC will last long after he leaves our rolls,” Kirsch said. “Whether in assignments within SRD, our Technology Development Directorate, or Center Staff, he always lived the Army values. I am particularly grateful for his leadership during a time of great change in the Army. Through it all, he has maintained his commitment to our Soldiers and to our workforce. His departure is a great loss for the Center and for the Army. We wish him much success in his future endeavors.”
Hodges said that he is looking forward to the opportunity ahead now to spend more time with his family, time that could be difficult to find when he was serving as acting SRD director. And while his time at DEVCOM AvMC is coming to a close, even in retirement, he is finding more lessons to learn.
“I took a personality test recently that said I was task focused -- if I’ve got a list of things in my book for the day, I did not always want to stop and shoot the breeze, I needed to focus on that. But as I sit back and reflect on my experiences here, I have found I don’t dwell on the tasks. I think about the people – the relationships I’ve established and the friendships.”
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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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