He'll Leave the Light On: Ft. Monmouth's New Caretaker

If your image of Fort Monmouth on Sept. 16 is a lonely shuttered ghost town with overgrown grass and broken windows, then you need to meet the new man in charge over there.

With the close-cropped hair of a career military man and an easy smile, John E. Occhipinti is a blend of soldier and civilian, fitting for the fort's transition from Army post to civilian property. 

Currently, Occhipinti is Director for Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security at Fort Monmouth, a position he has held since shortly after his retirement from the Army in 2003 after 22 years of enlisted and commissioned service. His last military position was deputy commandant for the United States Military Academy Preparatory School at Fort Monmouth. Since January, the retired lieutenant colonel has also been the fort's Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) transition coordinator. He is also a husband, father of two and resident of Eatontown.

Everything is in flux here in the ever shrinking footprint of the Army's presence, as everyday trucks roll out for other installations and staff members are consolidated to smaller quarters.

Occhipinti's role, too, is transitioning. In just two months he will become the caretaker of Fort Monmouth (officially, site manager for the caretaker workforce), employed by the Army, and charged with keeping the place neat, safe and secure as the post makes its transformation.

"I'll be the guy making sure the door knobs turn, the windows go up and down, that we feel safe," he said.

Patch met with Occhipinti this week inside Garrison headquarters at Russell Hall on Fort Monmouth. Next to his current office on the third floor is a conference room that looks more like a war room. The walls are covered with maps and charts plotting the progress of the post's closure as it is whittled down from robust installation to skeleton crew. Behind Occhipinti are lists and graph's detailing the status of equipment and buildings, which changes daily. A giant white board lists "friction points," areas around the fort whose status is still in question. "Close? Move? Keep open? Who gets? Do we fence?" Each physical structure at the fort is put to these questions.

A former military police officer himself, Occhipinti is well aware of the need for security at the fort post Sept. 15. He is working with Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA) and the New Jersey State Police and the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that, "until the end, when the final gate is taken down, Fort Monmouth continues to be safe." FMERA is expected to announce a for the fort in August. For now, FMERA has said only that the Army will be providing gatekeepers to augment the police presence being planned. 

Until it was recently discontinued, Occhipinti chaired the Fort Monmouth Community Force Protection Council. The council, which met periodically at the fort, was a collection of law and order folks from around the county. Police chiefs and prosecutors, sheriffs and emergency management officers, gathered under his leadership to keep open communication between all agencies charged with serving and protecting Monmouth County. Though the council no longer meets officially, Occhipinti says he still maintains contact with these people and will continue to in his new role.

FMERA's Executive Director, Bruce Steadman, who speaks highly of Occhipinti's professionalism, said FMERA has a "guaranteed seat at the caretaker table." Occhipinti says he has almost daily contact with the authority and praised the authority's aggressive, active role in the transfer process.  

Right now, Occhipinti is working to put together his staff of 12 who will manage all aspects of caretaking.

His staff will include specialists in:

• environmental work
• engineering
• logistics
• real estate
• fire safety
• technology
• safety
• management analysis

Supporting this staff will be another workforce of contractors to maintain the buildings and grounds and provide security. Occhipinti said that he hopes this workforce will be made up of people who already have Fort Monmouth experience.

Talking about his new role, Occhipinti is enthusiastic and focused, but he acknowledges, seeing the fort close down is sad.

"It's not fun," he said, but added that being part of the process of transition, "makes it a little more palatable."

"As a retired soldier, this is difficult," Occhipinti said. "Seeing this process, and being a part of it as a government civilian and resident of the area, it's enlightening. And it's a good thing to see that there will be life here and jobs. It will be alive."