Photo By Terrance Bell | Lt. Gen. Kenneth Dahl, center, listens as Dan Gauvin, facility manager, Strength...... read more read more
FORT LEE, Va. (Aug. 17, 2016) -- The commanding general of Installation Management Command made a stop at Fort Lee Aug. 11, touring a number of facilities and meeting with leaders, employees and community members.
Lt. Gen. Kenneth R. Dahl – traveling here for the first time since taking charge of IMCOM in November 2015 – was on a routine familiarization trip with this installation being one of many points on his itinerary.
“My visit has been great,” he said, following a walkthrough of the new Strength Performance Center and preceding a driving tour that included the Ordnance and Army Logistics University campuses. “I would say this is one of the top three or four installations in the Army. Part of that is because of the consolidation of the different schools and training facilities here.”
Through the 2005 version of Base Realignment and Closure, Fort Lee was the subject of more than $1.2 billion in new construction to accommodate several school relocations, dramatically expanding its training capacity while nearly doubling its population. Garrison leaders also cleared many budgeting hurdles to move forward with a variety of facility upgrades to keep the post viable for its evolving service member and family support needs.
Col. Adam W. Butler, who became the garrison commander just a few weeks ago, hosted the IMCOM CG’s visit that also included a meeting with Maj. Gen. Darrell K. Williams, CASCOM and Fort Lee commanding general, and briefings by department directors and other senior leaders.
IMCOM, headquartered at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, manages Army base support programs that include services and facilities infrastructure and maintenance at 184 garrison locations around the world.
During his visit, Dahl saw recently built barracks as well as new access control, academic and recreational facilities. He said these examples of garrison “infrastructure” are an IMCOM priority because they are essential to maintaining high quality of life standards for community members here and elsewhere.
“A lot of our infrastructure across the Army has not had the benefit of the investment we’ve had here at Fort Lee,” he said. “So, we need to put some attention, some leadership and resources into infrastructure.”
The Strength Performance Center, Dahl noted, is a good example of the wise use of resources, considering it was a renovation of the former Post Field House and not new construction. That type of innovation and focus cannot stop, he added, because many more upgrades are needed.
“We need to complete (the job),” he said, “because there are a few places at Fort Lee that could use some attention. We need to maintain and appreciate what we have.”
In light of looming budget cuts and personnel reductions likely to occur across the Army in the near future, Dahl said it is an issue that transcends the Army.
“The whole nation is in a period of reduced and constrained resources,” he said. “I think we need to appreciate the resources that are being given by the America people and Congress, and we need to make optimal use of what we get.”
The fact the country is facing global threats in terrorism makes the issue of funding even more critical, added Dahl. The allocated resources should be used first and foremost to “ensure Soldiers are as ready as they can possibly be individually and as ready as they can be collectively to do what they have to do to defend the nation.”
IMCOM was established in 2002 as the Installation Management Agency. It employs more than 76,000 civilian employees.
Additional photos and video from Dahl’s visit can be viewed at www.facebook.com/ArmyFortLee.
| Date Taken: | 08.17.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 08.17.2016 16:42 |
| Story ID: | 207484 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 92 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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