by Jason B. Cutshaw,
USASMDC Public Affairs
Redstone Arsenal, AL – The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command welcomes a new leader who will command facilities located more than 7,000 miles away in the Pacific Ocean from the comfort of the Rocket City.
Col. Eugene M. Poindexter, director, Ronald Reagan Test Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site, arrived at the RTS Operations Center-Huntsville, or ROC-H, in May and has since been leading his team, which plays a vital role in the research, development, test and evaluation in support of America’s defense and space programs.
“It feels awesome to work in this capacity around such highly talented people all working toward one focus in mind, the warfighter,” Poindexter said. “I have a very important mission to lead and manage RTS, a major range and test facility base consisting of more than 350 military, civilian and contractor personnel.”
ROC-H is a command and control facility of USASMDC and performs space and missile defense tracking and helps ensure the development of missile defense assets and systems. It also helps verify operational assets, whether offensive or defensive, are working correctly for the defense the nation.
RTS is located 2,300 miles southwest of Hawaii in the U.S. Army Garrison-Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Its unique instrumentation sensors include high-fidelity metric and signature radars, as well as optical sensors and telemetry..
ROC-H also supports U.S. Strategic Command missions such as space situational awareness, which includes metric observations of space objects to keep track of exactly where those objects are. The facility also tracks new foreign launches and launches of interest to ensure what orbit they are going into and what payloads they have.
Poindexter said the technical experience of RTS’ civilians, military, and contractors were his biggest surprise.
Poindexter thanked everyone for welcoming him and his family and spoke a little about what he wants people to know about him as a Soldier.
With all the challenges of the new job, Poindexter said he is enjoying getting to know the team members at SMDC who have welcomed him in and assisted with accomplishing the mission.
Poindexter also talked about what he hopes to accomplish during his time at RTS. “I hope to be a part of the implementation of our technology advancements to our world-class test range as it pertains to cyber-security and improvements and modernization, ensuring we provide the highest quality support to our joint partners and customers with a lasting impact on future weapon system development,” he said. “It is a privilege for me to serve with the civilians, Soldiers and contractors of the SMDC Technical Center and the RTS team. They all bring diverse sets of talent and skills to this organization, and I look forward in being a part of the continued success in the future.”
Col. Poindexter grew up in Roanoke and was baptized at High Street Baptist Church. He’s a 1989 graduate of William Fleming High School, a 1994 graduate of George Mason University; in 2019 he completed Air War College, a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. and the son of Shirley B. and the late Eugene W. Poindexter.
Col. Poindexter and his wife Ingrid Lucas Poindexter have 3 children, Kenneth, Taylor and Devonte.
