Aberdeen Proving Ground

Aberdeen Proving Ground police were alerted to a suspicious person possibly carrying a rifle Wednesday morning, although further investigation revealed the person was not armed and was legitimately working on the federal installation. Two APG employees reported a suspicious person possibly carrying a rifle walking in the post's Edgewood Area at 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, according to a statement from the post public affairs office. APG law enforcement personnel investigated, questioned the person and cleared the environmental contract employee after he was confirmed to be carrying a stick while surveying the area, according to the statement.

On Sept. 18, Barbara and Allen Walker, of Felton, Pa., were surprised with a party to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their wedding. The two were married Dec. 16, 1961 at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Bel Air where they continued to live until their retirement. The party was at Jarrettsville Gardens. The couple's three children, Catherine Arnold and husband, Douglas, of Kearneysville, W.Va., Deanna Kipp and husband, Daniel, of Felton, Pa., and Allen Walker II and wife, Candace, of Bel Air, hosted the party.

After years of talk, BRAC has finally arrived. Effective this week, Aberdeen Proving Ground has officially made the transition from a $3.5 billion a year installation to a $20 billion facility. Make no mistake about it: this is a big deal. Anyone who has visited the post in recent months and years can see massive new construction that has replaced a lot of decidedly ancient-looking buildings that had lingered until about a decade ago. Out with the Cold War architecture, in with the new. The changes on post have come gradually.

When it comes to knowing about the kinds of testing that have gone on at Aberdeen Proving Ground over the decades, there are two kinds of people in these parts: those who have heard the stories and those who will. Much of what goes on at APG is highly classified. It is, after all, a proving ground, which means experimental technologies vital to national defense are being tested there. The Aberdeen Area was long associated with tank testing; the Edgewood Area (formerly known as the Edgewood Arsenal)

BRAC is here, just about. Sept. 15 is the federal government's deadline for its implementation at Aberdeen Proving Ground. A week before that deadline, on Sept. 7, Harford County Executive David R. Craig, along with representatives from Harford County Government as well as ranking officials from the U. S. Army and Aberdeen Proving Ground, will host the final BRAC Town Hall. This final meeting will include an update regarding milestones achieved, teaming efforts as well as future outlook and potential federal impact moving forward.

It doesn't seem like it's been all that long since the days when Aberdeen, to folks who lived elsewhere, was synonymous with Aberdeen Proving Ground and little else. Though the post remains a cornerstone of the community's economy, when it comes to being the touchstone image for Aberdeen, youth baseball is giving the Army a lot of competition. No one who has spent more than a few weeks in these parts need be reminded that Aberdeen is the boyhood home of Cal Ripken Jr., a wholesome and hardworking figure who never forgot where he came from.

Wilbur O. Miller, a career Army officer who fought in World War II and Korea, died Aug. 6 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at Oak Crest Village in Parkville. He was 95. Born and raised in Baltimore, he was a 1934 graduate of Polytechnic Institute. During the 1930s, he worked at Revere Copper & Brass Co., and was there until enlisting in the Army in 1942. He was a graduate of the Command and General Staff College and later received training in guided missiles and nuclear weaponry.

Telford Aviation, Inc., a division of ACC Holding, Inc., has executed a lease with St. John Properties, Inc. for 11,160 square feet at The Government and Technology Enterprise, also known as The GATE, project, a 416-acre business community within Aberdeen Proving Ground. According to a news release from the developer of The GATE, Milwaukee-based Telford will consolidate program management, training and technical staff at the Aberdeen Proving Ground location. Telford Aviation Inc. specializes in supporting deployment of government C4ISR programs with contractor logistics support, aircraft maintenance, primary mission equipment maintenance, contractor flight operations and PME training.

Edward Charles "Ned" Wilson III, a retired Aberdeen Proving Ground information technology specialist and former board member of Maryland Life Magazine, died June 17 of prostate cancer at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Towson. He was 64. The son of farmers, Mr. Wilson was born in Baltimore and raised on the family farm in Darlington, where he eventually built a home and spent his entire life. After graduating from McDonogh School in 1964, he earned a bachelor's degree in 1968 in English from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa. Drafted into the Army in 1968, Mr. Wilson was sent to Phu Bai, Vietnam, after completing training in preventive medicine at Fort Sam Houston in Texas.