Grissom celebrates 20th anniversary of realignment as air reserve base

Published Oct. 6, 2014
By Staff Sgt. Ben Mota
434th ARW Public Affairs

GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind. -- Grissom has gone through several transitions throughout its history, but one transition that changed the lives of everyone here can still be heard through the voices of employees who experienced it first-hand.

Grissom commemorated its 20-year anniversary realignment as a reserve base Oct. 1.

"I found out about the [realignment] during a meeting with the active duty wing commander, because I was a union representative at the time," said Troy Prior, 434th Air Refueling Wing human resource specialist. "The first thought through my head was, 'where am I going to end up.'

"I already had invested 12 years and was already halfway to retirement," Prior added, who at the time a civilian heating and air conditioning technician and was one of the many people who would be affected by a base realignment and closure announcement made by Congress in 1991.

"At the time, they told us we were on the BRAC list, and we all just assumed that the base was going to close entirely," said Prior. "The realignment did not evolve, in my mind, until sometime after the meeting, so at the time I was afraid."

Shortly after Grissom was announced as part of the 1991 BRAC, it was also announced that instead of completely shutting down the base, it would be realigned to an Air Force Reserve base.

While many people experienced fear, others, who did not depend on Grissom as a full time job, such as traditional reservists, saw the light through the fog of the situation.

"For us the transition was a win-win; we got an additional squadron, and we got this brand new building that active duty had just built," said Chief Master Sgt. Jeff Henry, 72nd Air Refueling Squadron chief boom operator who was a technical sergeant at the time. "When I got hired as a reservist we had eight air planes; when the transition happened we went to two flying squadrons with a total of 16 aircraft and up to 22 at one time."

In addition to that, many of the active duty people took the realignment as an opportunity to settle down and stay, said Henry.

While some transitioned into the Air Force Reserve others stuck around to fill Air reserve technician jobs created by the realignment. One such individual was Tech Sgt. Douglas Hays, 434th ARW public affairs superintendent, who was assigned to the active duty 305th Air Refueling Wing in 1992 after the realignment had already been announced.

"When I came in from Korea everyone else was leaving; I was one of the last people stationed here on active duty," recalled Hays. "It had been announced prior to my arrival that the base was on the BRAC list and people were already moving out; I just happened to be one that was moving in."

By the time the base realignment date arrived, Hays was coming up on his reenlistment date and also a pivotal point in his career, he said.

"I was on active duty coming up on 10 years, so I really had to decide if I was going to make the military a career or if I was going to hop the fence, he added while referring to the possibility of transferring to the Air Force Reserve."

That wasn't the only reason for Hays's concern. He also had to think about his family.

"My kids were fairly close, and at the time, I had an assignment to go to Patrick Air Force Base in Florida for the space shuttle program; I just decided this was a nice area, and I wanted to settle down," he continued. "I have never been a traveler, and this was a good opportunity to sink roots."

While some were using this as an opportunity to establish themselves, others already had made Grissom their permanent home and founded themselves afraid of the future.

"We had a morning meeting with the commander, and at the time they announced the base was going to close, but it was later changed from a closure to a realignment; that put a different picture on everything," said Lee Stonestreet, 434th Civil Engineer Squadron contract manager who began working at Grissom in 1975 as a civilian in the same role. "My initial thought was well I better start looking for work outside the military."

During the time of the closure the automotive industry was doing extremely well in the region, so finding a new job in the area would not have been an issue, said Stonestreet. But, like many others, the area was home and he was determined to look for ways to make the realignment better for the community and those affected.

"I really never had to look for a job; before I started a serious search the announcement was sent out about the realignment, and I began to get involved with that," said Stonestreet. "About the same time they announced the realignment, they created the Base Conversion Agency in Washington."

The BCA was responsible for transitioning government assets that were no longer needed due to the realignment and assisted with the process of transferring the excess land and assets back to the private sector.

"After the announcement of the BCA, positions became available to support the new agency, and I applied for the site manager position overseeing it," said Stonestreet. "I always tried to put the interest of Grissom first, and I thought, 'well, if I could guide the realignment I could help get people here to reuse the base, and help the local economy;' that was my primary motivation for taking that job."

Like Stonestreet, others were looking for innovative ways to help ease the economic impact the realignment would have on the base and the people working here.

"In 1994, when the realignment happened, the active duty was closing, but the [Air Force Reserve] was ramping up, so there was a lot of opportunity, but with many of those opportunities there were also a skills miss-match," said Prior who began using his skills acquired as the local union representative to help people transition into new jobs. "Between retraining efforts and efforts through the wing and the local union those positions were filled.

"Grissom employees took the lemon and made lemonade; they adapted and took on the new opportunities," he added. "We got money and grants for displaced federal employees; there was a lot of proactive approaches for finding new employment."

Prior ended up using his experience as a union representative to work in the human resources department, and after eight-and-a-half years, as sight manager for the BCA, Stonestreet came back when his old position opened up, where he still works today.

"Grissom is pretty well known for taking care of its people," said Prior as he discussed the transitions that fell into place after the realignment. "Fortunately, we were able to successfully place all 218 impacted employees without separating anybody.

"Some chose early retirements and buyouts and priority placement transfers, but in the end no civil service employees had to be let go," he added. "It's a testament to the caliber of people that work here."

Today that caliber of excellence can still be seen in the strides Grissom has made since the realignment. Grissom continues to be the largest employer in Miami County employing approximately 2300 personnel.

Grissom is home to the 434th ARW, the largest KC-135R Stratotanker unit in the Air Force Reserve Command, but also three Army Reserve units and a Marine Corps Reserve communications detachment.

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Grissom celebrates 20th anniversary of realignment as air reserve base

Public Affairs Staff