FORT BARFOOT, Va. –
Brig. Gen. K. Weedon Gallagher, the Virginia National Guard Land Component Commander, and Col. Dennis Rohler, the Virginia Army National Guard G4 logistics officer, visited and recognized Soldiers and civilian employees assigned to the Fort Barfoot Ammunition Supply Point after their outstanding performance during a recent inspection April 26, 2023, at Fort Barfoot, Virginia.
The ASP’s staff enjoyed a cookout during their appreciation day, and Gallagher presented select individuals with special challenge coins for superior performance.
The ASP, one of the busiest on the East Coast, performed exceptionally during a recent logistics and explosives safety inspection by the Defense Ammunition Center, prompting recognition and commendation. The ASP graded out at 93%, placing it among the highest-rated Army ASPs across the globe.
During the appreciation day, Gallagher explained why the results are so important for Fort Barfoot as a training installation.
“We couldn’t be prouder of your performance during the DAC inspection. Your piece in our mission of making Fort Barfoot the best-in-class training destination in the mid Atlantic is incredibly important,” said Gallagher. “This is where we want troopers to conduct their maneuver training. We’re putting a lot of time and energy into making Barfoot best-in-class. And, thanks to your hard work at the ASP, visiting units find Barfoot attractive. Let’s face it, maneuver training is much more realistic with munitions. When our visitors interact with this ASP, they are treated professionally and appreciate your customer focus."
“The bottom line is what we do matters,” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Nick Seymour, explosives safety officer at the ASP.
Rohler elaborated on just how remarkable the ASP’s staff performed.
“The unofficial word from the evaluators is they’ve been around the world, and this is one of the top three ASPs on the entire globe,” said Rohler. “We’re not just talking about Virginia, we’re not just talking about this country. What you all are doing here is better than the majority of the ammunition supply points across the entire Army, wherever they are. The 93% rating was 7% higher than the active duty’s average. They were at 85%, you all hit 93%, which is incredible.”
Rohler said the level of success the ASP earned isn’t surprising because of the high standards they hold themselves to, as well as the high standards they hold all training units to in order to pick up ammunition for training use.
“When you talk about owning what you do, this team right here proves every single day that they own what they do, the high standards coupled with high customer service,” said Rohler. “They understand the importance of what they do, and they keep the standard where it’s supposed to be and it showed.”
That customer service includes holding training units to the prescribed standards without exception in order to maintain accountability and safety.
“When folks leave out of here, when we push them away from the ASP because they didn’t meet the standards, they don’t walk away feeling as if they’ve been beaten or something,” explained Rohler. “They’ve been educated, they now understand what the requirements are, they come back and get right because the team treats them right.”
The ASP team manages millions of dollars worth of ammunition stored across 21 magazines at one of the busiest training sites on the east coast. Their efforts break down into three key components, according to Seymour.
“Like many large logistical operations, the ASP operations are much more complex than one would assume,” said Seymour. “The ASP has three main operating areas. Stock control manages the accountable systems of record, coordinates with incoming and outgoing units, and ensures all accountable documentation is completed and received. Operations is the ammunition handlers that are trained to operate in explosives areas with MHE. They issue, receive, and store all ammunition inside the ASP. Surveillance is the section that is tasked with ensuring all ammunition and explosives that are issued are safe for use with the soldiers that are receiving the ammunition. They inspect, certify, and check all systems of record to ensure there are no worldwide ammunition notices that would affect that item.”
Making sure all three phases of the operation run smoothly is a tremendous challenge, Seymour said, one that his team takes great pride in meeting head on.
“The ASP is focused on continuing to provide safe, effective, and on time ammunition logistical support to the end users, which is the Soldiers,” Seymour said. “The ASP’s focus is always on ensuring the Soldiers receive safe, accurate, and functioning ammunition. While doing this we also must focus on the ASP staff being supported, trained, and equipped appropriately. The priorities have always been, and will continue to be, safety, accountability, accountability, and accountability!”