Fort Campbell supports the Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division and multiple tenant units including the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, 5th Special Forces Group, 716th Military Police Battalion and 52nd Explosive Ordnance Group.
Fort Campbell’s Army civilian employees and contractors worked diligently in 2018 to provide Soldiers and their Families with the best possible experiences. The garrison serves more than 26,000 Soldiers; 50,000 Family members, civilian employees and contractors; and 65,000 military retirees.
In 2018, the garrison committed to workforce excellence, developed the installation’s infrastructure, strengthened community partnerships and honored its fallen.
Workforce excellence
Col. Joseph P. Kuchan, Fort Campbell garrison commander, challenged the workforce to make Installation Management Command’s Service Culture Campaign a top priority in 2018. The campaign launched in 2017 and champions a culture of service excellence through leader and workforce engagement.
The Service Culture Campaign serves as a guide to IMCOMs 50,000 civilian employees spread across 75 installations to provide world-class customer service to warfighters and their Families.
The campaign “encompasses how we communicate, how we function as leaders and develop as a workforce,” Kuchan said.
To encourage service excellence, the garrison launched a customer feedback pilot program at the Soldier Support Center so customers can reach managers and service providers directly to address potential issues and provide feedback about their customer service experience.
Additionally, the installation’s Civilian Personnel Advisory Center expanded the new employee in-processing brief to include everything a new employees needs to know to successfully complete his or her first week on the job. Restructuring the onboarding process to successfully bring new employees onto the team was identified as a service culture campaign priority.
In 2018 Fort Campbell hosted its first vitual town hall via Facebook Live. The new format was designed to give the post community a direct line of communication to garrison leaders. Kuchan along with representatives from the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, Directorate of Public Works, Directorate of Emergency Services, Blanchfield Army Community Hospital, and Campbell Crossing responded to concerns and shared information about post services and resources.
“Maintaining Fort Campbell as the ‘Best Soldier and Family Experience’ for its citizens is our priority, and virtual town halls offer a convenient way for Soldiers, Families and civilians to contribute to that vision,” Kuchan said. “By providing us feedback, asking questions and voicing your concerns, everyone is better informed and we are able to get the right people involved on your behalf.”
Breaking new ground
Two-thousand eighteen brought about many new developments on the installation to support service members and their Families.
Estep Physical Fitness Center, formerly known as Estep Wellness Center, was renovated and reopened in the spring with new fees, equipment and classes. Part of the renovation included the addition of the Alpha Warrior Rig. In addition to routine work outs including muscle ups and pull ups, the rig’s accessory package includes rowers, assault air bikes and non-motorized treadmills.
Fort Campbell also celebrated the grand reopening and rededication of Epperly Dental Clinic in March. The $8.2 million renovation took nearly three years to complete. Today Epperly stands as the newest, most technologically advanced dental clinic in the U.S. Army Dental Corps’ inventory and serves about 9,000 Soldiers from 1st and 2nd Brigade Combat Teams and 586th Field Hospital
The newly renovated 15,000-square-foot clinic is outfitted with $1.2 million worth of equipment. The 37-year-old building was renovated from the inside out, including raising the roof, said Capt. William Brim, dentist at Epperly.
“With this beautiful, new clinic we expect to soar to even higher heights and to continue to provide America’s division, [the 101st Airborne Division] the best dental care possible. We call this a ‘rendezvous with dentistry,’” said Col. Tamar Goksel, commander of Fort Campbell DENTAC.
After 22 months of renovation work, Fort Campbell’s Brig. Gen. Don F. Pratt Memorial Museum reopened in April. The museum’s $6 million renovation included updating the building, landscaping, a new parking lot and cross walks, said John O’Brien, installation historian. The design and fabrication of the exhibits cost an additional $1.5 million.
The stories presented through the museum’s exhibits cover periods from the chapter of World War II during which Camp Campbell was home to the 12th, 14th and 20th armored divisions, through the global war. Its displays also include the 11th Airborne Division, 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team, 5th Special Forces Group and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Group, all of which have called Fort Campbell home.
“Our mission is to preserve the history, heritage and values of the great units that are part of the Army and the Fort Campbell story,” O’Brien said.
In July, Fort Campbell celebrated completion of the Soldier Support Center renovations. Many services have been consolidated into the center to make in and out processing easier and “to provide world class service to Fort Campbell’s Soldiers and Families,” Kuchan said during the ribbon cutting event.
Fort Campbell High School students began the 2018 school year in their new home in August. The $59 million, energy and environmentally sustainable, 184,000-square-foot, two-story facility for ninth-12th grades was dedicated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in November. The school can serve up to 800 students and is designed provide an innovative learning environment.
FCHS features eight neighborhoods that represent subjects similar to the way colleges are organized within a university campus. Each neighborhood encourages group learning room as well as one-on-one teaching. A science lab also is incorporated into each neighborhood to allow for science, technology, engineering and math to be integrated into every subject.
This fall also saw the reopening of Corp. Lawrence N. Gardner Indoor Pool, which was closed for about a year for maintenance and repairs. Since re-opening the pool, which is 100 feet long, 50 feet wide and holds about 265,000 gallons of water, has been a family-favorite for special events like Spook and Splash.
Building community
During 2018, Fort Campbell promoted Family fun and community partnerships during multiple on- and off-post events.
In April, MWR’s Easter Eggstravaganza brought about 1,000 children out to the Child and Youth Sports Complex. More than 10,000 stuffed eggs were spread across the fields for the Easter egg hunts. Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers volunteers worked throughout the day to help make the event a success.
“We are trying to be here for the children to make their Easter the best it can be,” said Spc. Cody Wiggins, BOSS vice president. “A lot of us understand that being a child of a military mom or dad is very stressful. We are trying to take away that stress and give them something fun to do for the day.”
Also in April, staff from environmental organizations of Fort Campbell’s DPW helped the community celebrate Earth Day with activities and games.
“[Earth Day] is a good way to raise awareness of the Earth and the environment around us, and how fragile that is and how we need to take precautions in our day-to-day lives so we can maintain a good stewardship with the environment,” said Rob Anderson, DPW Qualified Recycling Program manager.
In May, DPW teamed up with volunteers to clean up lakes and streams during the 10th annual Project Clean Streams. Participants collected 755 pounds of litter.
Outside the gates, Clarksville Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Warrior Week April 19-28 to celebrate service members and their Families. The festivities included a special movie night, golf tournament, and the Tobacco Stick Softball game. With a narrow win, 11-10, Fort Campbell brought the tobacco stick home again.
Soldiers and Families also joined the City of Hopkinsville in celebrating their 3rd annual Summer Salute Festival. The two-day event featured vendors, family-activities, and performances including the 101st Airborne Division Band.
Thousands of people turned out for the installation’s annual Independence Week Carnival and Fourth of July concert. The concert featured the 101st Airborne Division’s Big 5 Rock Band, Terra Bella and Scooter Brown.
In August, multi-platinum selling recording artist Hunter Hayes performed for the Fort Campbell community during the Air Force Reserves Tour for the Troops. The Tour for the Troops was a partnership with the Air Force Reserves and Fort Campbell MWR to bring Hayes to the installation. Tour for the Troops last visited the installation six years ago with Kelly Clarkson.
“It’s always been important to me that we get to serve the [service members] in some sort of way, especially with music, because it is so powerful,” Hayes said. “Giving them a night to remember with their Family and being able to do something to give them a chance to relax for a minute is just important to me and always will be.”
Fort Campbell’s Retirement Services Office hosted its 12th annual Retiree Appreciation Day in September that drew in more than 600 participants. Thirty-five organizations were represented at the event, ranging from veterans services organizations to the American Red Cross, Tennessee Valley Healthcare System and Blanchfield Army Community Hospital.
In October, Campbell Crossing hosted National Night Out, a nationwide event geared toward heightening crime prevention awareness and strengthening neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships. The event also included fall festival elements such as trunk-or-treating and a pumpkin patch.
Army Community Service, DPW-Environmental Division, Fort Campbell’s Spouses’ Club, Fort Campbell Police, Fort Campbell Fire and Emergency Services, the 716th Military Police Battalion, Hopkinsville Police Department, Montgomery County Police Department, Tennessee State Troopers and Kentucky State Troopers were all represented during the event.
“This event lets people know we are human as well as being police officers. This lets people know they can come talk to us, and that’s what we really want,” said Sgt. Charlie Caplinger, Tennessee State Trooper. “We want people to come talk to us instead of being scared of us.”
Remembrance
Fort Campbell’s Army Community Service Survivor Outreach Services marked the installation’s Military Survivor Appreciation Week Sept. 7-16. During the week, surviving and Gold Star Families were invited to return to the installation to celebrate the lives and legacies of their fallen service members.
The week of remembrance began with the assembly of the Boots on the Ground Display outside 101st Airborne Division Headquarters, which was the fifth year rows of decorated boots lined the lawn. In 2018, about 75 new boots were added to the display of more than 7,000. Each boot in the display was adorned with a photo and tag containing the deceased service member’s rank, first and last name, location of the death and date of the death. Each boot stands in memory of a fallen service member who has died in service to the nation since 9/11.
The SOS building, aka Parrish House, was rededicated during the weeklong celebration. The Parrish House has been home to ACS-SOS for about four years. The culminating ceremony marked the end of more than seven months of indoor and outdoor repairs and landscaping. Repairs included replacing kitchen countertops and appliances, painting the interior and exterior of the building, replacing lights and doors, and installing park benches and a playground outside.
“You have all of this beautiful landscaping and beautiful trees out here. Anyone can come out here, sit in the shade and just look at everything. If you’re going to have a time of reflection, there’s no better place to do it than on a bench under a shade tree,” said Nathan Clark, South Clarksville Lowe’s store manager. “A good park bench can cure a lot of people.”
The Lowe’s Heroes Program contributed materials for the project. The volunteer workforce of about 200 people included Army spouses, Gold Star Family members, Fort Campbell’s DPW employees, master gardeners and interns from the Montgomery County Master Gardeners Association, high school and college students and community members.
Suzy Yates, ACS-SOS program manager, said all of the repairs were made to help survivors.
“[It has] all been done with one mission in mind – providing survivors a space where they can come to heal,” Yates said. “The strength of our Army is built on the legacy of our fallen. It is a strength we must never forget.”
Service members, veterans, community members and Fort Campbell leadership gathered Dec. 15 at 101st Airborne Division Headquarters to honor the fallen during a Wreaths Across America ceremony.
Fort Campbell hosted the event that was part of the Clarksville Sunrise Rotary Club’s participation in the worldwide wreath-laying effort. This year, more than 2 million volunteers visited about 1,400 locations around the globe to place wreaths.
Wreaths Across America is a nonprofit organization founded to expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery nationwide “to remember fallen U.S. veterans; honor those who serve, and teach our children the value of freedom.”
Brigadier General K. Todd Royar, deputy commanding general-support of 101st Airborne Division, welcomed guests to division headquarters and thanked everyone for participating.
“It means so much to us to have this here,” Royar said. “What we will do today is simple … we will honor those who have gone before us. We will honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.”
Following the ceremony volunteers hung 101 wreaths along the T.C. Freeman Gate fence line in honor of fallen service members from World War II to the global war.