JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. (May 24, 2011) - Gen. Robert W. Cone, commanding general of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, and McKinley L. Price, mayor of Newport News, Va., provided remarks at the TRADOC Headquarters ribbon cutting and memorialization ceremony here today.
"Today's ceremony is about the future of Training and Doctrine Command, but it also honors and remembers our past," said Cone. "This is a new opportunity to write the history for TRADOC and our Army."
"On behalf of the citizens of Newport News, welcome to our city," said Price. "Newport News and Fort Eustis have had a long, historic, positive relationship over the years. And it is one I'm delighted to say continues to grow."
Guests of honor included: Mayor Price; William E. DePuy, Jr., son of Gen. William E. DePuy; Patricia A. Morelli, wife of Maj. Gen. Donald R. Morelli; Keith Barbanti, Sr., project manager with Tompkins Builders, Inc.; and Elmslie B. Smith, the resident engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk District.
The TRADOC Headquarters building, named DePuy Hall, and the Morelli Auditorium were memorialized in today's ceremony. DePuy Hall is named after Gen. William E. DePuy, the first TRADOC commander. DePuy is best known for restructuring the Army after the Vietnam War. He is also known for his work on Air Land Battle doctrine and combat development. He served for a total of 36 years and through three wars.
"DePuy was an officer of the highest ideals," said Cone. "His courage, sound judgment and leadership produced military achievements of great value to this country . With his passing, the nation lost a faithful, valiant servant and the United States Army lost a great commander."
The Morelli Auditorium, the main conference room in DePuy Hall, is named after Maj. Gen. Donald R. Morelli, the first deputy chief for doctrine. Morelli was a key contributor to developing the Army's concept-based requirements system and future battle concepts with the Air Force during the 1970s and 1980s. Morelli's unflagging advocacy and commitment to Air Land Battle doctrine was of major importance in securing its acceptance throughout the Army, Air Force, Congress and even the Executive Branch.
"The enduring doctrinal tenets of initiative and deep attack and the doctrinal delineation of the operational level of war bear his deep and lasting imprint," said Cone. "And even though he died in 1984, his ideas continued to abide in the U.S. Army. This was nowhere more evident than in 1991 when the principles of Air Land Battle provided the war winning doctrine for the first Gulf War."
TRADOC's move to Joint Base Langley-Eustis from Fort Monroe, Va., mandated by the Base Realignment and Closure 2005 law, will bring a net gain of 1,300 jobs to the Newport News area. Soldiers, civilians and contractors will work in the five-story DePuy Hall and three other buildings on Joint Base Langley-Eustis. Currently, TRADOC occupies 27 buildings on Fort Monroe.
According to Cone, the transition to the new building is representative of a mentality shift in the Army.
"This move and this building are representative in a change and shift in mindset . Our focus today is to meet the challenges presented by ten years of war as well as the uncertainties of a highly dynamic future security environment with new concepts and new approaches outlined by the Army Capstone and Army Operating Concept," said Cone.
"Our challenge, much like Gen. DePuy's in the wake of the Vietnam War, is to reshape the Army. The Army after a decade of war must be prepared to meet uncertain threats; a future that will require anticipation and adaptability, a future that gives our Soldiers and leaders what the need at the point of need to master the skills and tasks to meet that ill-defined threat."
TRADOC personnel will move to Joint Base Langley-Eustis the summer and Fort Monroe will close this fall.
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