RICHMOND —
Rumors that the Army has a long-term plan to phase out conventional operations at the Blue Grass Army Depot are just that, rumors, according to Brig. Gen. Kevin O’Connell, head of the Army’s Joint Munitions Command.
O’Connell, whose command includes the local depot, address employees Tuesday morning during one of the “town hall” gatherings the depot periodically conducts to communicate with employees.
Depot employees have been concern about their employment future since the Army announced earlier this year that it will likely lose 310 jobs by 2014 because the U.S. military has ended operations in Iraq, as it also will do in Afghanistan.
That news has created fear among depot employees that the Army is planning to phase out the depot and is holding it back from aggressively competing for the supply contracts that are its livelihood.
Some depot employees also have complained both internally and to the office of U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler, D-Sixth District, that depot management is handing out harsh performance critiques and pursing unfair job actions to hasten voluntary departures and reduce the workforce.
Although O’Connell’s schedule did not allow time for media interviews, his public affairs officer said, the general supplied written responses to questions posed by the Richmond Register.
Only Congress, not the Army may close a military installation such as the Blue Grass Army Depot, O’Connell said, and those decisions are based on the recommendations of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission.
The last base-closure action was in 2005, when the Congress declined to reject the list of bases the commission recommended closing. Under the Base Realignment and Closure Act of 1990, Congress may accept or reject only a complete list of bases recommended for closure, according to www.brac.gov.
“There is no long-term plan to ‘phase out’ the Blue Grass Army Depot,” O’Connell said, and the installation’s mission will remain the storage, distribution and demilitarization of conventional ammunition. “I don’t foresee that changing.”
O’Connell said he has asked his base commanders to concentrate on their core missions.
“We cannot afford for every installation to compete for every mission that comes along,” he said. “Each installation has its role, and our Army can't afford to allow each installation to develop capabilities that duplicate what already exists somewhere else. That's simply not good business for the Army.”
However, that could be interpreted by some as preventing the Blue Grass Army Depot to pursue every potential contract, the general said.
There is no escaping the announced workforce reduction, O’Connell said.
“To be clear, we plan a reduction-in-force in 2013 to balance the workforce with the workload and prepare the depot for its expected 2014 workload,” the general said. “Some of the reduction of 310 will come through normal attrition and through early retirements.”
With regard to the suggestion that some employees are being unfairly pressured so they will leave voluntarily, O’Connell said, “The Army has zero-tolerance of employee abuse.”
“We take all allegations seriously,” he said. “If someone has a complaint, it should go through proper channels, preferably the chain of command, for resolution.
“If an employee has a reason not to go through the supervisory chain or the complaint is about the supervisory chain, then the allegation could go to the inspector general, or the EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity) office, depending on the situation,” O’Connell said.
A number of depot employees also have expressed concerns and complaints to Chandler, according to Geoff Reed, senior advisor to the congressman.
Chandler has been concerned by the number and consistency of complaints from depot employees that the government’s personnel rules are being violated, Reed said.
The congressman believes these complaints deserve a full, independent investigation, he said. That is why Chandler has requested the Government Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, as well as the Defense Department’s Inspector General to look at both the layoff and workload as well as treatment of personnel, Reed said.
The congressman also expressed these concerns to Sec. of the Army John McHugh in a Sept. 19 letter, a copy of which was provided to the Register.
Loss of long-time, highly-skilled depot workers targeted by the announced reduction in force would render it less capable of competing for military contracts. If that happens, Reed said, the BRAC commission will then be able to make a case for closing the depot.
Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@
richmondregister.com or at 624-6690.
Local News
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No plan to phase out depot, Joint Munitions commander says
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