Flanked by Col. Bill Hill, III Corps Garrison Commander, and his battle buddy, III Corps Command Sgt. Maj. Neil Ciotola, Lynch stood as one of the show’s producers attached a lavalier microphone to the lapel of his uniform.
It was not quite pandemonium, but it was still pretty busy.
The purpose of the town hall was to hear from the soldiers and family members on a host of issues, to include issues involving housing, combat mission and safety, just to name a few.
“Safety has to be first,” Lynch began. “When you see people doing things wrong, let us know.”
In addition to Lynch, panel members included Ciotola; Hill; Col. Caspar Jones, Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center commander; III Corps Chaplain Col. Mike Lembke; Nick Johnsen, director of Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation; and Rod Chisholm, director of Public Works.
There was a long pause as Lynch waited for the first caller to phone in.
Maggie Brewster, who works in III Corps Public Affairs, paced in front of the row of phones as if willing them to ring, and it didn’t take long.
First one phone, then another, then another.
But Lynch and his panel didn’t know it then.
In fact, the calls seemed slow coming in at first, and Lynch deferred to Ciotola who promptly urged callers to dial in and let their voices be heard.
“We get paid to be busy,” Ciotola said. “We are here to serve you.”
Many of the issues Lynch focused on had been covered in his Commander’s Intent - Lynch’s three year plan for Fort Hood he unveiled this week and spoke about during a recent luncheon with Central Texas media professionals two weeks ago.
Safety seemed high on some minds of the leadership and some dependents of military members.
One woman, whose husband is deployed, complained about a stalker who’d been harassing her.
“I wish we lived in a society where everybody treated everyone with dignity and respect,” Lynch said. “That just breaks my heart.”
Spc. Zachary Bays, 1st Medical Brigade, sat outside the studio listening as the phones rang nearby.
“I think this is great,” Bays said
And that was especially true when it came to showing respect to the flag.
One caller had mentioned how good it made her feel to see military men and women stop their cars, or stop what they were doing, when at the end of the day the flag was lowered.
The same rang true with Bays.
“I am fourth generation Army,” Bays said. “It’s more of a family thing.”
Meanwhile, another caller asked about the creation of a juvenile review board to deal with delinquency issues.
Lynch at first deferred to Hill, but then took on the issue, citing recent incidents at Kouma Village housing area as an example.
Although it has not been publicly addressed, Lynch indicated the crimes allegedly committed and reported previously as hate crimes, might have been committed by juveniles.
Hill, who attended the town hall meeting last weekend in Kouma village, said while there was a crime rate there, it was not as bad as it is outside the Fort Hood gate.
“We are doing the best that we can,” Hill said.
Lynch followed up Hill’s comment and reassured the caller that more would be done to ensure the safety at all times of soldiers and their families living on post.
Other issues including new construction and infrastructure improvements on the post that are proposed under Lynch’s plan as well as other issues involving recreational activities.
Sonya Kammerer, whose husband is a soldier, didn’t feel she needed to call because she loves the job Lynch is doing for Fort Hood so far.
“He is doing a good job. He’s awesome,” she said.
Ninety minutes after the first phone rang, Lynch took his cue from the producer who’d mic’ed him up and closed his first town hall meeting, one which had generated 300 calls
“We are here to serve. Those are not just words on a bumper sticker,” Lynch said. “We are here to serve you.”
bkirk@temple-telegram.com
