Photo By Jose Rodriguez | Brig. Gen. Freddy Adams, the Mission and Installation Contracting Command commanding...... read more read more
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas (May 1, 2025) –Over 1,000 Mission and Installation Contracting Command leaders, civilian employees and Soldiers attended a hybrid town hall hosted May 1 by the MICC command team, virtually and in-person, at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
Brig. Gen. Freddy Adams, the MICC commanding general, hosted the event alongside his deputy Clay Cole and Command Sgt. Maj. JennyAnne Bright, the MICC command sergeant major. In a departure from their first town hall in October 2024 and their last town hall in February 2025 –both held in a large auditorium– this quarter, the leaders chose a more intimate setting that accommodated less than 70 in-person leaders; the remainder of the workforce joined through a moderated MS Teams discussion.
“One of the reasons for the change in venues,” Adams explained, “is that every time we did a town hall in that auditorium, I felt like I was talking to you, instead of talking with you.” He asked his staff to schedule the event in a smaller room, without a stage, so he could be on eye level with attendees. He also felt that less seating would promote a small group feel while ensuring the same total number of people for each town hall were able to hear the information and participate through the virtual option.
With the backdrop of the recent Department of Defense Deferred Resignation program, or DRP, the Office of Personal Management DRP, the DOD Hiring Freeze and other changes occurring in the federal government, Adams said that the team wanted to conduct the town hall as the DOD DRP window is closing to ensure transparency of information and two-way communication within the command that comprises over 1,500 personnel located across 30 MICC locations within the continental United States.
“It is not lost of any of us on the command team that we are in a time of transition and change; with change comes a lot of stress,” Adams said. “The purpose of today’s town hall is to answer your questions, to provide some context into some of the things that are going on and how we are contending with it as a leadership team, to provide you some insights into what we anticipate is the direction that we are going to go as the MICC and to provide some clarity on any questions you may have.”
To kick off the hour and a half event, each of the command team members provided opening comments. During his remarks, the commanding general reiterated his intent, vision for the command and priorities –highlighting that the transformation line of effort would be the main effort for the foreseeable future.
“This is a time for transformation in contact,” Adams explained that the operational tempo is likely to increase in the coming weeks and months and MICC can expect structural changes as part of its transformation, to be discussed in detail later. “There is significant change; our Nation is asking a lot of us. We have to be postured to answer the call; that is just a reality.”
Adams said all teammates who may be weighing their options during this time of change and uncertainty will be treated with dignity and respect, whether they choose to continue their federal service, volunteer for the DRP or retire. “The thing I can tell you about the leadership team here is that, irrespective of which decision you make, we will support you. We will treat you with dignity and respect, but our primary mission is to answer our Nation’s call and to do the mission we have been asked to do, whether you are in uniform or are a civilian. That is an obligation I take very seriously.”
The bulk of the formal presentation for the town hall consisted of updates on personnel matters from Dean Michalec, the MICC deputy chief of staff for G1, regarding the DOD DRP, OPM DRP, Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) initiatives and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment (VSIP) policies. Michalec and his team additionally reviewed the current policies on return to in-person work, situational telework and remote work and shared several related links so personnel could evaluate the policies for themselves.
Michalec said, “What I am trying to do here is cover everything that we do know right now, some of the processes that need to take place and some things you need to be aware of.” He urged those who have decided to retire, take VERA or do the DRP to contact the Army Benefits Center-Civilian through the GRB platform hosted at chra.army.mil as soon as they have made that decision. He additionally recommended that employees ensure they make copies of all of their personnel files as part of unit out-processing before they retire or depart from the federal service, as those items may be harder to obtain after they depart the organization. He also asked the team to continue to be patient as they work through the implantation guidance for personnel programs and reminded them that he distributes verified information as soon as it is received.
Throughout the event, subject matter experts answered nearly 20 questions submitted in advance by employees to the commander’s anonymous drop box and close to a dozen questions submitted by attendees through the live chat. Common threads in each answer were that the personnel situation is fluid, updates are passed on to the employees as soon as they can, and that teammates should stay closely connected to their supervisors or the G1 team if they have any specific questions that are related to their personal situations. The command team praised the team for helping him keep two-way conversation open in the command through wide participation in town halls like today’s event and the Commander’s Anonymous Dropbox on SharePoint. All slides, links, resources and answers to each question were emailed to the MICC enterprise at the conclusion of the event.
Adams, Cole and Bright each concluded the event with words of thanks to the group for their time and attention during the town hall.
“Thank you for all that you do,” Adams said on behalf of the entire command team. “Our obligation to you is that we will continue to try and communicate.” He committed to trying a few different modes of communication to reach different people who like to receive information in other formats. “So, we will try through email, town halls, commander coffees and whatever else may be relevant to you, but please don’t stop providing your feedback; we need your feedback to make informed decisions.”
About the MICC
Headquartered at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, the Mission and Installation Contracting Command consists of about 1,500 military and civilian members who are responsible for contracting goods and services in support of Soldiers as well as readying trained contracting units for the operating force and contingency environment when called upon. As part of its mission, MICC contracts are vital in feeding more than 200,000 Soldiers every day, providing many daily base operations support services at installations, facilitating training in the preparation of more than 100,000 conventional force members annually, training more than 500,000 students each year, and maintaining more than 14.4 million acres of land and 170,000 structures.
| Date Taken: | 05.01.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.01.2025 18:07 |
| Story ID: | 496761 |
| Location: | FORT SAM HOUSTON, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 19 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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