‘Mayor’ of Fort Indiantown Gap set to retire next month, transition to civilian job

You can force the man out of the military but you can’t take the desire to serve your country out of the man. 

That aptly describes Col. Kevin D. Potts’ pending retirement as garrison commander at Fort Indiantown Gap and the next phase of his professional life. 

After nearly 40 years of military service, Potts, 57, will hang up his uniform near the end of August as he ages out of the military and transitions into a civilian job based at FTIG. 

Potts told LebTown he’s landed a job as the Yellow Ribbon coordinator in the Pennsylvania National Guard’s soldier family program known as J9 Joint Resiliency. 

During an hour-long interview with LebTown that was filled with a mix of light-hearted and serious moments, Potts discussed his 39-year military career, nearly four-year tenure as FTIG’s “mayor,” and his post-military retirement plans.

A life of service

Asked to summarize his career, he immediately expressed his gratitude.

“It comes down to my being grateful for the opportunity to be here, right? I never thought my career would make it this far, especially when you join the service as an E2 or an E1, right?,” Pott said. “And you go through and you just continue to grind it out over all those years, education and training and education and training.”

His professional trajectory began at the lowest rungs of the military career ladder and continued to climb upward to near the pinnacle of rank. 

“To be able to go from a private to a colonel and see different levels of the world’s warfare and deploy three times and raise a family that’s successful and loving and supportive, I’m just grateful,” Potts said. “Really, it just comes down to thank you to God and thank you to my family and thank you to the leadership here for giving me the opportunity.”

That gratitude is based on a wish at a young age to be a soldier.

“When I was a kid, I always wanted to join the service and I would read about people who served, some of the hardcore guys, who served in World War II, then served in Korea, then they served in Vietnam,” Potts said. “I was like, ‘Holy cow, that’s amazing.’”

His career has been similar to those he read about, just in a different era.

“Well, if you look at my career, I served in Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1991, then in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2008-2009, and then in the Sinai in 2021 and ’22. I mean, it’s the same length of time that those veterans served in World War II, different conflicts, different levels of conflict, but it’s amazing,” noted Potts. “Sometimes I still have to think, like, you know, ‘Yeah, I did that,’ and I’ve probably forgotten more about my career than I can remember because it’s been so long.”

It may come as a surprise that his favorite military job is not garrison commander.

“Why I joined the service was to be a tanker. That was the ultimate for me. Ever since I was a small kid I always had this affinity for the armor. Really interested in World War II history and the development of armor,” Potts said. 

He said he’s been privileged to serve in a variety of “heavy units.” 

“But the tanks were always my favorite. There’s something about the size of it and the power that when you get the crew of four to work together. It’s like a ballet,” Potts added. “When you get a good crew, whether you’re in the brawl or you’re in the tank, and you can execute gunnery and maneuvers, there’s nothing in this world that can stop it. It is amazing.”

Mayor of the Gap

His second favorite job during his career is his current one. 

“This (job) is a culminating event for my career and when I retire next month, it’ll be 39 years total. So outside of being a tank platoon leader, this is the best job that I’ve ever had in the service, quite honestly,” Potts said. “The reason I say that is because of the massive impact that my unit has for the PA Guard in general.”

An accolade during his time as commander is being recognized as the busiest post three of the four years he’s been in command. 

Potts said FTIG set a record last year as the busiest base since the Guard took command of the post in 1998 after a round of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), clocking what he called an incredible 998,000 man hours.

“We blew all the other National Guard posts out of the water with that,” he said.

His fondest memory as commander is the various improvements made during his tenure as “mayor” of the base. 

“It’s a culmination of a bunch of different events upgrading ranges and training areas and reclassifications of grounds,” Potts said. “Working with the partners here on post. It just goes on and on and on, and the list is as long as my leg, and I don’t know if there’s one thing that really just stands out.”

As garrison commander, he manages a lot of moving parts, including making renovations or adding buildings to make operations run more efficiently.

“We went through all sorts of different plans for different buildings here on post, a new building in area four, tearing down old buildings, and even having the end of this building remodeled, which had been dormant for about 10 years,” Potts said. “Every time you turn around there’s things to be proud of and things that we’ve done.”

Another achievement includes a major renovation of the base gymnasium, which is where the colonel can often be found working out before the start of the work day.

“There’s also been a lot of things too to improve the quality of life for the people who work here as well, like the gym improvements,” said Wayne Hall, state public affairs officer for the Guard. “So the things that the public may not always see, but (are for) the people who live and work here.”

“Yeah, we spent well over $200,000 on replacing all the equipment. We’ve had it painted, there’s a major latrine renovation going on right now which is sorely needed,” Potts said. “I mean, that equipment alone wasn’t updated for well over 10 years and over the last three years we’ve replaced every piece of equipment that’s inside the gym.”  

A recent non-facility improvement involved shuffling who handles base finances.

“We got better management of the funding. We took control of our funding instead of allowing the G3 to control it, which has allowed for quicker turnaround times, more accurate forecasting, better utilization, it goes on and on,” Potts explained. 

His job can be difficult to understand, as he notes when visitors come to the base for the first time and experience the various uses of the installation. The base is also home to the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

“The easiest way to describe it is, it’s like being the mayor of a small town, right? The mayor of a small town that shrinks and then rises from 1,800 people to 9,000 people at the highest point. It ebbs and flows through that cycle throughout the entire year. It’s like a boomtown and a bust, then a boomtown and a bust,” Potts said.

His role as mayor isn’t exactly as portrayed onscreen. 

“I don’t want to say it involves kissing babies and shaking hands, but it is making a coordination to ensure that the people who come on post, whether you’re here as a non-DOD agency or you’re here as a transient unit that’s here for the weekend, that you have all of the resources that you require to achieve your training objectives,” he said. 

Potts said this work includes soldiers having all the tools they need to prepare them for their mission.

The biggest impact during his tenure is improved relations between the civilian population and the military, which changed during the recent installation of security measures mandated by the federal government in response to the 9/11 terrorist acts. Beginning in December 2021 and completed just under two years later, the base became a limited-access installation when fencing was added around the perimeter.

Limited access doesn’t mean no access, Potts said.

“I think the two open houses are probably the biggest events that we’ve run here, stemming from the training center, that have had the biggest impact,” he said, noting the base has had two open houses in less than two years, with the next one scheduled for June 2028. “I think it’s really been one of the highlights. The other one is the Christmas tree-lighting ceremony in late November, early December.”

Potts said the tree-lighting ceremony has grown over the past few years and, in the process, has tripled attendance from about 50 to 150. 

“I think that has evolved from when I first came on board, from just a very simple ceremony that was held in the yard over there to where we’ve made huge strides to incorporate the club, have a tree put in, have two trees put in, and then invite the North Lebanon Elementary School choir,” Potts said. “We have presents for the kids, we have the combat elves with the vehicles all decked out in Christmas tree lights.”

Potts appreciates the opportunity for parents to spend time with their children during the holiday season at this event.

“I think it’s great for the kids and in turn great for the parents who bring their kids to get to see the tree-lighting, whether they’re assigned here or they’re from the school district and they have no affiliation other than coming out here to really just sing,” he added.

J9 program

Potts said this initiative takes a holistic approach to deployment and concerns the soldiers and their families that remain at home. Created in the late 2000s, the program is a resource for families to navigate pre- and post-deployment as well as receive support while their loved one is gone.

“They are presented with information before, during and after the deployment that gives them the ability or the know-how to take advantage of the resources that are out there for veterans. So my job will be to help coordinate those one-day events for mobilizing units or demobilizing units,” Potts said. “I’m excited. “There’s usually three events. There’s a before, during, and after. During the deployment when the soldier’s overseas, it’s for the family members so they can get together, answer any questions, relearn how to get access to different resources. … It’s a very holistic (approach) and complex thing.”

The last day

Potts said his last day is Aug. 29, the date of the Change of Command Ceremony.

The date has been on his mind, he said, since he’s been planning the event. Actually, he said, there will be a private, military-only retirement ceremony on Friday, Aug. 28, the public Change of Command ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 29, and then he’ll officially “sign out” of service for the final time on Monday, Aug. 31.

Potts laughs when asked if he’ll call in sick on his final day. “Call in sick. I’m not going to make it in today,” he says with another hearty laugh.

“No, nope,” Potts said, when asked if he has anything special planned for his last day. He laughs again when asked if he’ll stay until 5 p.m. or duck out early. 

“I’ll go to the gym, I’ll put my uniform on for the last time. I’ll go sign out, say goodbye, and then go home. That’s pretty much what I plan on doing that day,” Potts said, noting it will be like any other during his tenure as garrison commander.