Commander works to ‘demystify’ what takes place at A.P. Hill

Posted on Wednesday, March 18, 2015 at 10:28 am

By Greg Glassner CP Editor

Lt. Col. David A. Meyer, the commander of Fort A.P. Hill, appeared last week at a breakfast meeting of the Caroline County Chamber of Commerce saying he wanted to “de-mystify” what goes on in the 76,000-acre military installation that takes up such a big chunk of the county’s land area.

In the years since Sept. 11, 2001, public access to A.P. Hill has tightened up considerably and the mission of the base has changed dramatically. This has fueled local rumor mills exponentially.

“What we do at A.P. Hill is pretty boring, actually,” Meyer said.

Providing training grounds for visiting personnel from all four branches of the Armed Forces and six other government agencies is the post’s primary mission, and not all that exciting, Meyer noted.

As the father of two teenagers, Meyer likened it to a 12-year-old going out with his father and grandfather and zeroing in a hunting rifle for the first time. Similarly, sitting in a foxhole and shooting at plastic targets, is “to an 18-year-old the coolest thing ever.

“Trust me, it gets really boring awfully fast,” said the 21-year Army veteran.

Of course, “boring” may have a different meaning to members of the public than to Meyer, a highly decorated Armor officer with two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan under his belt before coming to Caroline County.

“I am a tank guy by trade,” said Meyer, admitting that he envisioned his next command would be with a battalion of fire-breathing heavy tanks, rather than at a rural Virginia training facility. “It’s like spending your career as a plumber and being told you’ll be an electrician,” he quipped.

Most of what goes on at A.P. Hill is pretty routine stuff, Meyer said, while admitting that it can sometimes get noisy when the target practice involves anything from pistols up to 155-milimeter howitzers or when large aircraft glide in at not much above treetop level to practice landings on the only dirt landing strip under military control in a six-state area.

“I accept that I am a really crappy neighbor,” Meyer said.

Meyer and the many visitors to the fort can also be good neighbors when it comes to spending money in the community and providing public access to hunting grounds overrun with deer and coyotes.

Although the permanent party of active military and civilians at A.P. Hill is quite small, as many as 75,000 members of the military and other government agencies train there during the course of a year. And, because on-post amenities are few, personnel on temporary duty there flock to Caroline and surrounding communities to shop, eat out, buy gas, bowl, see movies and find lodging, Meyer said.

“Ace Hardware loves it when the [Navy] SEALS come to town because they break everything they touch,” Meyer said. “That goes for the Marines, too. They’re like baby SEALS.”

Legal hunting in designated areas is permitted on the fort and hunters may even register on-line, Meyer noted. Safety is the main issue in where hunting is permitted and where it is not. Logging by permit is also big business on A.P. Hill.

Meyer said efforts are ongoing to make the post more accessible to the public for special events, although even that is difficult in the security-conscious world we live in and the many federal agencies involved.

“I am working on it. But it is hard to get my in-laws on the post.

“We try to be a good steward and a good member of the community,” Meyer said.

 

 

 

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