FEBRUARY 14, 2025 — Prevention programs and services at Fort Cavazos are being detailed into one cohesive organization, the People Directorate, to improve the way those services are delivered to Soldiers, their families and civilians. After months of planning and preparation efforts under Operation Phantom Steel, the People Directorate will be operational Feb. 17.
The new directorate is part of a pilot program, People Program Pilot, at Fort Cavazos that was initiated by the then-under secretary of the Army and then-vice chief of staff of the Army in May 2023 to enhance the senior commander’s ability to resource prevention and people programs to better reach and more effectively serve Soldiers and their families, Lt. Col John Terminato, People Directorate interim director, said.
“The People Directorate is part of the larger Fort Cavazos, Texas, People Pilot,” Terminato explained. “As such, Lt. Gen. Kevin D. Admiral, commanding general of III Armored Corps and Fort Cavazos, recognized there was a greater opportunity within the pilot initiatives to experiment with aligning all installation-wide prevention programs under one singular organization for operational purposes.”
People — Soldiers, their families and civilians — will be at the center of everything with the People Directorate.
The People Directorate will serve as a hub for coordinating nine prevention- and people-focused services and programs from the U.S. Army Garrison-Fort Cavazos and III Armored Corps that will report directly to Admiral.
The intent behind the consolidating of prevention services under the umbrella of the People Directorate is to improve the way services and care are delivered to Soldiers, their families and civilians, Terminato said.
“This new structure consolidates and coordinates various services that were previously (by design) isolated and independent, allowing for more responsive and effective care under one office that takes direction from the (Fort Cavazos) senior commander,” he explained.
The new directorate, which was officially established in December 2024, will include the Army Substance Abuse Program and Army Community Service from U.S. Army Garrison-Fort Cavazos.
From ACS, the People Directorate will oversee Army Emergency Relief Program, Family Advocacy Program, Exceptional Family Member Program, Financial Readiness Program, Survivor Outreach Services, Soldier and Family Assistance Center and Mobilization, Deployment and Support Stability Operations, among others.
Additionally, the Integrated Prevention Advisory Group, Military Equal Opportunity, Ready & Resilient Performance, Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention and Suicide Prevention Program services will join the new III Armored Corps directorate.
The Phantom Forge Center, formerly known as the People First Center, and Installation Reception Center (IRC) round out the nine services and programs designated under the People Directorate.
Soldiers will encounter the People Directorate as soon as they arrive at Fort Cavazos reception through the IRC. Personnel at reception will ensure Soldiers are educated about the People Directorate programs and encourage knowledge is shared with the Soldiers’ families.
People sit in auditorium chairs watching as people on an elevated stage gather around a table with several red plastic cups.
The Phantom Forge Center will serve as a hub for company-, battery- and troop-level training designed to prevent harmful behaviors and build strong teams, as well as a center for resources. They also offer Teaching Resilience Interactive Outreach (TRIO) training for service members and their families, along with the four-day Transformation Course that covers all annual prevention classes required for each unit, but the center is about more than training.
“At the Phantom Forge Center, we don’t just provide immersive training and peer-led discussions to hammer down readiness and prevention,” said Capt. Avery D. Smith II, commandant of the Phantom Forge Center. “We also provide ready access to resources on the installation and the surrounding community.”
The center has always worked with other prevention programs to provide the best training and resources, but the People Directorate brings all of the relevant services and programs under one umbrella.
“We also leverage partnerships between Fort Cavazos and III Armored Corps to ensure our Soldiers, civilians and their families find the care they need,” Smith continued. “Assistance from traditional resources like Army Community Service has played a huge role in ensuring our training is up to date and relevant. Furthermore, the Integrated Prevention Advisory Group has been able to show us what key prevention challenges need to be addressed. Now that we all work together under the People Directorate, we are now able to optimize our interoperability in a way that best supports our warfighters.”
While the programs and services are detailed to the new directorate, Terminato said the changes will be transparent in the delivery of services.
“Our intent is to apply the least amount of turbulence,” he said.
Prevention programs will remain in their current offices, many of them at the Shoemaker Center, with the same personnel, Terminato said.
Throughout the process and continuing through the directorate’s operational status, every aspect of the People Directorate will be reviewed and analyzed
with constant reporting to the senior commander.
“With the Phantom Forge Center, our Soldiers and their families can expect the same world-class services they knew before,” Terminato said. “However, with the Phantom Forge Center aligned to the People Directorate, there’s also greater integration and effective delivery of services from the support offices that contribute to the PFC’s premier training platform, the Transformation Course.”
The Phantom Forge Center is located at Bldg. 4501, 934 South 65th St. at Fort Cavazos. For more information about the center, visit home.army.mil/cavazos/units-tenants/iii-corps/phantom-forge-center or call 254-288-0772.
By Heather Ashley
Fort Cavazos Public Affairs