Photo By Jennifer Stride | Staff Sgt. Mark W. Duryea pushes a dolly full of Command Sgt. Maj. Dan Hain's office...... read more read more
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FORT JACKSON, S.C. - Fort Jackson leadership has begun moving everything from communication equipment to toilet tissue into its more modern headquarters at Mabry Hall.
The building – just down Jackson Boulevard from the post’s World War II-era, stick-built HQ – comprises 41,700 square feet, compared to the former 12,000 allowing the post to concentrate more command functions in one building. That eliminates travel time, allowing for more efficient scheduling.
“This building is more of a design for command and control,” said Margaret Good, director of communications for the post.
Col. Morris Goins, post chief of staff, called the shift in headquarters “huge for the chief,” who manages garrison staff. On Friday, Goins had just moved in a carton of toilet paper rolls.
“What it used to be was everything was on a calendar because you have to allocate for driving time,” Goins said. “Now you just walk downstairs.
“It’s easier for coordination. Everybody can come together at a table here to discuss things.”
The command group, garrison command and post sergeant major were present in the old headquarters. The new one provides space for several additional units: the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security; G8 (financial management), G4 (logistics); G3 (operations); and G1 (personnel).
The Installation Operations Center also will move to the new building, said Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Michael Roszko. The building will have tighter security than the old one, he said – key cards will restrict access.
Operations officer Lt. Col. James C. Allen used to drive nearly an hour three days a week, to coordinate activities for which he was responsible. Now he can just walk down the hall to find the people he must work with.
“Half the people I coordinate with are in four different buildings on post,” he said of current operations. When everyone moves into the new headquarters, “instead of sending an email, making a phone call or driving – it’s a 15-minute drive, … and on Family Day, it’s a 20-minute drive – now I can grab my coffee cup and just walk down to the chief’s office.
The new building will make it easier to communicate among directorates, too, said Sgt. 1st Class Stephan Kassza of G3 Current Operations. That means quicker reaction time when difficulties arise.
“It’s great because I do taskings, and those (other new tenants) are the people I task, like DPTMS and (Directorate of Public Works),” Kassza said, “so if I can’t get hold of them, I can now just walk down the hall and knock on their door.”
Mabry Hall also will incorporate both the garrison and post executive conference rooms, and the Post Conference Room, which now sits in a building across the street from the old headquarters. The building is in such bad repair that the men’s bathroom seems to be trying to tear itself away from the building.
The post will raze the old headquarters – the building has been deemed of little historical value. A group of Columbia business people has proposed a Centennial Park for the area, marking the post’s centennial in 2017 and connecting it with the Basic Combat Training Museum across Jackson Boulevard.
| Date Taken: | 12.09.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 12.10.2015 13:45 |
| Story ID: | 184148 |
| Location: | FORT JACKSON, SC, US |
| Web Views: | 65 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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