Secretary Of The Army Visits Fort Stewart And Hunter Army Airfield
Dr. Mark T. Esper, the 23rd Secretary of the United States Army, a West Point graduate and an Army combat veteran, spent a day visiting Georgia’s Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield this past Friday. Following a morning of field demonstrations and discussions with soldiers, Secretary Esper hosted a Town Hall meeting for Post soldiers and area civilian leaders, during which he laid out his priorities for today’s Army, the most important of which is “Readiness,” and then spent about 40-minutes responding to questions from soldiers in the Post Chapel-filled audience. The Secretary answered a wide variety of questions with an impressive command of details in all areas, but especially regarding specific weapons systems and equipment modernization efforts.
Secretary Esper concluded his day with a brief stop at Hunter where he was briefed on the most pressing need there: new Army Aviation hangers to replace those now many decades old. There is reportedly milcon money assigned for several years from now. The request is for that replacement funding to be pulled as far forward as possible. With Savannah impacted by hurricanes in two of the last three years, new, safer hangers becomes even a greater need at Hunter, given the multi-million-dollars worth of aircraft housed within. Our thanks to Secretary Esper for fitting the Stewart-Hunter visit into his literally non-stop schedule.