McAlester, Okla --- On June 8 a building dedication was held at the U.S. Army Defense Ammunition Center (DAC) in honor of the late James (Jim) Q. Wheeler, who passed away on February 5, 2007. Classroom Building 4 was officially dedicated and named the James Q. Wheeler Training Facility, and will continue to be the primary location used for training Quality Assurance Specialist (Ammunition Surveillance) (QASAS) and Ammunition Management interns, as well as military and civilian ammunition personnel.
Mr. Wheeler served as the director of DAC and was responsible for executing the organizationAca,!a,,cs mission, which is to support the joint ammunition community worldwide through engineering logistics, training, safety, demil technology and technical assistance. He started his federal career in 1979 as a QASAS intern, eventually entering the Ammunition Management Career Program. Throughout his twenty-eight years as a federal employee, he became a symbol for excellence in the ammunition community. He received Ammunition Manager of the Year in 1995 and in 2005 received the Ordnance Order of Samuel Sharpe Award. In May 2007, he posthumously received the John L. Byrd, Jr., Excellence in Munitions Demilitarization Award.
Gen. Benjamin Griffin, commanding general, Army Materiel Command served as the keynote speaker for the dedication, and spoke highly of Mr. WheelerAca,!a,,cs efforts. Griffin stated Aca,!A"in order to run complex organization, you must surround yourself with the best and Jim was one of the best. Not only will he be missed by his biological family but by his Army family as well.Aca,!A?
Griffin concluded the ceremony by saying Aca,!A"Jim was an exemplary leader, teacher and mentor and it is truly fitting that he be memorialized through the dedication of this building as the James Q. Wheeler Training Facility, so that all who pass through these doors will understand what it means to be ammunition professional.Aca,!A?
Other dignitaries who attended the dedication included Brig. Gen. James Rogers, Commanding General, Joint Munitions Command, State Representative Terry Harrison, Ron Massey, U.S. Senator Inhofe representative, Joe Hill, U.S. Congressman Dan Boren representative and McAlester Mayor Don Lewis.
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