Garrison Confirms Commitment to Wide-Ranging Mission
Apr 02
By Kari Hawkins, Redstone Rocket Staff
Gate construction, employee opportunities, BRAC moves, enhanced use lease agreements, President Obama's economic stimulus package and upcoming events were all part of the quarterly Garrison town hall meeting Friday in Bob Jones Auditorium.
Such a range of topics reflects on the type of organization the Garrison is - wide reaching in its mission, customer focused in its commitment, and dedicated and determined to make a difference as its employees strive to reach professional goals that benefit the entire Arsenal community.
"We have total trust and confidence in the people in this room," Garrison commander Col. Bob Pastorelli told the Garrison employees attending the first of two town hall meetings.
"Customers are very appreciative of what you do. That's a true testament to the dedication and professionalism of everyone here today."
Pastorelli told his audience that at a management off-site meeting, managers worked to formalize the Garrison's vision, mission and strategic priorities. The Garrison vision statement or motto is "The premier garrison for customer support ... now and into the future." The mission is "USAG-Redstone continuously provides superior installation operations support and quality of life to enable Team Redstone's mission success."
Strategic priorities involve the community, both Team Redstone and outside the Arsenal gates; customer support; work force development and transformation.
"We need to promote the vision, mission and strategic priorities. We need to develop our objectives. And we need to compile our objectives into a USAG-Redstone strategic road map," Pastorelli said.
The Army is changing and so too are Redstone Arsenal and its Garrison as it welcomes new BRAC tenants.
"We are going to get a four-star here. That's going to change the dynamics of the installation ... We're transforming. There's a lot of stuff going on," Pastorelli said.
To help with that transformation, the colonel talked about the Garrison's new internship program and how it will help combat employee turnover as some Garrison employees move on to other organizations on post.
"You've got to bring people in and you've got to develop them," Pastorelli said. "It's a challenge to do the normal recruitment. But you also have to realize here's a great avenue to bring in great talent and mentor them."
Looking toward the future, he said the Garrison and its employees must "expand horizons, look for new opportunities, continue to build on relationships, and finalize the vision, mission and priorities."
Garrison priorities will include the priorities set by the Arsenal's senior commander, Maj. Gen. Jim Myles. Those priorities are roads, schools, work force and medical care -- areas that affect both the Soldier and civilian work force.
During the town hall meeting, Pastorelli and his management team reviewed progress with BRAC, the enhanced use lease program involving 470 acres of underutilized land, gate improvements that include speed humps, vehicle counters, generators and grab nets, an upcoming Installation Management Command organizational self-assessment study, organizational changes in the Directorate of Information Management and the Directorate of Logistics, summer safety, suicide prevention training and budget plans. The possibility of a Garrison organizational day in September was also mentioned.
Pastorelli also told the Garrison employees that, as part of President Obama's economic stimulus package, nearly $27 million will come to the Garrison for funding energy programs, community support, and renovations and modernizations. Nearly $18 million of the funds will be used to construct a new water tank and repair a water system that is 50 years old. A total of $760,000 will be used to enhance the wellness center and just over $8 million for renovations and modernization will include improvements to the Redstone Airfield.
Employee training and promotion opportunities were also discussed.
"These are exciting times and what a blessing it is to be at Redstone Arsenal at this time," Curtis Clark, deputy to the Garrison commander, told the Garrison employees.
"Not only is this a premier installation, it is also a premier garrison. There are opportunities at Garrison and at Team Redstone, and you have to be ready to seize the moment. If you prepare yourself, you will be ready for Garrison opportunities."
Clark said the key to any employee promotion is "understanding yourself, understanding your position and understanding your goals." The Garrison, he said, puts a premium on employee training and preparation for the future.
In other matters, Pastorelli recognized a few new Garrison management team members and said farewell to a few Garrison employees who have left the organization. He welcomed Kim Henry, the Garrison public affairs officer; Joey Skinner, the new chief of Garrison Plans, Analysis and Integration Office; Dan Tatum of the Directorate of Logistics; and 1st Sgt. Albert Rocker, the new first sergeant of Headquarters & Headquarters Company. He officially said goodbye to Todd Hutto, who has taken a job with the Army Materiel Command Forward; Chris Pegues of DOL and 1st Sgt. Paul Grosch, who is retiring from HHC.
"We have some new faces in terms of leadership," Pastorelli said. "We will never stop anyone from improving themselves. You should identify the goals in your life and push towards them."
Pastorelli also recognized candidates the Garrison put forward as nominees for the Department of the Army Civilian of the Year award from the Redstone-Huntsville Chapter of the Association of the U.S. Army. Joe Davis of the Directorate of Public Works and Todd Hutto, former chief of the Plans, Analysis and Integration Office, were Garrison nominees who "represent the true spirit of what we are," he said.
Awards for outstanding service were presented to Sharee Miller of the Public Affairs Office; Terry Yancey, Robert Brown, Randy Gutscher and Ricky Prince of the Directorate of Information Management, and Todd Hutto of PAIO.
Many Garrison employees were thankful for the time Pastorelli and the Garrison management team took in explaining issues during the town hall meeting.
"It's pretty informative," said Meredith Day of DOIM.
"People are not aware of the government activities that are here for everyone," she added, referring to the activities calendar reviewed during the meeting. "I've been here a long time and I just learned you could have a personal trainer at the wellness center."
Day said the Garrison might want to consider putting the town hall meeting on video teleconferencing so that employees who can't attend can watch it from their work station.
"I appreciate the effort everyone went to to bring this meeting to us," Brian Farrell of DOIM said.
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