REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- Recognizing recent accomplishments and assignments of employees at the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command and addressing the organization's issues, Lt. Gen. Kevin T. Campbell, commanding general, hosted a scheduled Town Hall meeting here Aug. 9 at the Bob Jones Auditorium.
Campbell began by presenting 11 length-of-service awards to the following employees: Franklin J. Daniels, Beltha P. Hinton, Leonard Jefferson, Pamela G. Mitchell, Jacqueline G. Steele, George B. Sloan, Sheree A. Thompson and Debra M. Rice (30 years service); John H. Cummings and Irene W. Lloyd (35 years service), and Dr. John F. Fairlamb (40 years service).
He then led the applause as he introduced each newly assigned leader to the command including Command Sgt. Maj. Larry Turner, the command's top enlisted Soldier, and Col. Daniel Shanahan, the new chief of staff.
Other new leaders include: Col. John Albano, command surgeon, Col. Steven Walburn, chief counsel and staff judge advocate, Col. Eric Henderson, 1st Space Brigade commander, Col. Joseph Gaines, U.S. Army Kwajalein Atoll/Reagan Test Site commander, Col. Mark Quantock, Army Cyber Operations Integration Center, Lt. Col. Karl Kraus, deputy chief of staff - resource management (G-8), Col. Kevin Fagedes, inspector general, Col. Harvey Jones, deputy chief of staff - engineers, Lt. Col. Benjamin Jones, commander - 53rd Signal Battalion, Lt. Col. Joseph Miley, commander, 49th Missile Defense Battalion, Maj. Shawn Geib, commander, Headquarters - Headquarters Company, Maj. Roger Rodriguez, command chaplain (acting), and Maj. Timothy Snider, secretary to the general staff.
Campbell emphasized the importance of supporting the Army's Wounded Warrior program at USASMDC/ARSTRAT. Currently, the command has three wounded warriors in the program. They are Sgt. 1st Class Jason Foster, an intern in the Force Development Division, Future Warfare Center, Staff Sgt. Kyle Ramsey, Army Space Cadre Office - converted to administrative assistant, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Edward Goodloe, currently supporting the G-4.
"We began - over a year ago, to reach out and work with the wounded warriors in the Huntsville area," Campbell said. "And, because or your efforts - not my efforts - I've looked at the staffs, the FWC and RDA [Research, Development and Acquisition] and you've done a spectacular job in reaching out and making room for these young men and women to come back into the workforce."
The commanding general also acknowledged ongoing deployments and "welcome home" events of Army Space Support Teams who've provided space support to unit commanders in the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters.
"We thank them (ARSST) for their service and the reports I get from the units they're supporting are very good," Campbell said, adding, "These are very skilled and mature teams and they're doing great work on the battlefield."
Campbell acknowledged other accomplishments within the command including the recent selection of the noncommissioned officer and Soldier of the year, Staff Sgt. James Harris, Delta Detachment, 1st Space Company, Misawa Air Base, Japan, and Spec. Matthew McLeod, Delta Company, 53rd Signal Battalion, Camp Roberts, Calif.
Numerous other command accomplishments and programs, such as the Army Family Action Program conference and the celebration of the Army's 235th birthday, highlighted the Town Hall meeting.
Dr. Claudette Owens, chief, Information and Computational Engineering Division, was recognized for receiving the Alabama A&M University Business and Industry of the Year Award at the university's annual gala in April. Technology Center personnel Kevin Nash, Ben Kerstiens, Hazel Hyde, and Teena McGee received the 2010 Army SMART Facility of the Year award. The Fitness Life Improvement Program (FLIP) was implemented in the command to promote improved physical fitness among Soldiers and Department of the Army civilians. John Crown, deputy G-3, Mike Howard, public affairs office lead in Colorado Springs, Colo., Lt. Col. Tim Cassibry, Headquarters & Headquarters Company commander, 1st Space Bde., and Col. Greg Bowen, commander, 100th Missile Defense Bde (GMD), successfully completed the Army War College non-resident course. Bowen won the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) writing award for his paper, "Ballistic Missile Defense and Deterrence: Not Mutually Exclusive," and Howard won the Distance Education Program Student Award for his paper, "Rendezvous in Space - A Look in on Military Space Power."
One key feature that developed and became implemented - based on feedback to the CG from a previous Town Hall meeting - was the establishment of a supply store in the Von Braun Complex. The supply store was opened July 27.
New feedback for the CG at this meeting included taking a look at Thin Client system support, providing a safety based support team for sometimes stranded motorists who work at building 5220, conversion of contract-to-government positions, and the re-supplying of vending machines in the building.
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