Frontier Banter: Inside Fort Sill’s Mission Control—Drones, Lasers & the Team Powering 80,000 Soldiers
In this month’s episode, Garrison Commander Col. Derek Baird and Command Sgt. Maj. Bill Pearson sit down with the people who keep Fort Sill running safely and smoothly when the rest of us are sleeping—or shooting, flying, or training. Their guests are:
Glenn Waters – DPTMS Director (the orchestra conductor)
William Benitezpeña – Chief, Plans, Operations & Security Division (masters emergency readiness, security, and big-exercise logistics)
Michael Spears – Chief, Training Division (runs ranges, simulators, and 80,000-soldier-a-year training land)
Robert Turner – Airfield Manager (controls Henry Post Army Airfield and Fort Sill’s slice of Oklahoma airspace)
What you’ll hear
“Readiness” in plain English. For DPTMS it means making sure every range, classroom, flight pattern and emergency plan is aligned so units can train today and deploy tomorrow—whether that’s basic trainees firing their first rounds or 4-60th ADA fielding a laser-armed Stryker.
Tiny teams, outsized impact. DPTMS operates with fewer than 30 people in each division, yet keeps thousands of acres of land, miles of airspace, and dozens of large-scale ceremonies and mobilizations running like clockwork. Think of them as Fort Sill’s “mission control.”
Training is going high-tech. From virtual reality gunnery and mechanic simulators to counter-drone scenarios and hypersonic-weapon test beds, the crew explains how new technology saves time, dollars and—most important—ammo.
Airspace as a combat multiplier. Turner breaks down how Fort Sill controls its own FAA-delegated skies, juggling Army helicopters, Air Force jets, civilian traffic and the next wave of unmanned aircraft—all so artillery rounds and medevac flights can share the same horizon safely.
Career transitions that work. Spears describes DPTMS’s “SkillBridge”–style internships where retiring Soldiers shadow range inspectors or simulator techs, often landing civilian jobs on post.
Ground-level wisdom. Each leader offers rapid-fire advice for new Soldiers: stay fit; master your craft; find mentors (especially the quiet pros); and never stop improving yourself—physically, mentally, socially and spiritually.
A peek ahead. The team promises a future episode on “power projection”—how Fort Sill would mobilize people and equipment in a contested environment, from energy resilience to cyber and physical security.
This conversation pulls back the curtain on the planners, controllers and innovators who make those booms happen safely—and ensure everyone goes home at night. Listen in on Facebook, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you stream, and you’ll never look at a drone, a firing point or that little radar dome by the airfield the same way again.
USA