"Going to Huntsville is not an easy decision for me to make, but for a lot of reasons, it appears to be the right thing to do at this time," said Army Contracting Command Executive Director Michael Hutchison. "It's a job that will allow me to continue to guide things here."
Last week, Maj. Gen. Camille Nichols, commanding general of ACC, named Hutchison as ACC's deputy to the CG. As Hutchison looks toward his future role, he said there are two main things he will miss: the people and the mission.
"When I came here in 2002, I thought I would come here for about three years and go on to someplace else," said Hutchison. "But, I came back after my time at Industrial College of the Armed Forces. I stayed because the people at ACC-RI and in this community are phenomenal. They really are the friendliest people I've ever been around."
While ACC-RI is not the command's biggest center, nor does it obligate the most money, Hutchison said the criticality of mission handled at ACC-RI makes it a very important center.
"If we didn't do what we do, there are a lot of things that would not happen," said Hutchison. "It's been really gratifying to be a part of a very critical mission."
During his time here, Hutchison said there are many accomplishments that he is proud of, chief among them is the regeneration of the workforce.
"When I got here in 2002, I was one of two employees under the age of 40," said Hutchison. "The average age of our work force was 52 and it was clear that that was not sustainable. We've done a lot to regenerate the workforce and get new and talented people in."
Hutchison also believes that the success of the reachback mission has not only done great things for the theatre, it has helped established ACC-RI as the go-to center for customers throughout the Army and Department of Defense.
"They have heard that we are responsive and we get things done in a pretty high-quality manner," he said. "The success of reachback has lead to us getting additional customers that have the potential of being long-term, enduring customers."
As the new functions that Hutchison will be assigned are being determined, he said he believes he will still have a connection with ACC-RI, both with personnel and contracting issues. He is most looking forward to taking on a new set of challenges at headquarters.
He has many hopes for the future of ACC.
"I hope that ACC-RI retains its legacy customer base and continues to build on its new customers," said Hutchison. "For ACC as a whole, my hope is that we can continue to solidify the command as a permanent, ongoing and enduring organization. I want people to view the creation of ACC as a positive and value-added move."
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