More than paperwork: Richard Hammonds leaves legacy of taking care of people

FORT SILL, Okla. — Orders can mean moving a family across the country. An identification card can mean access to benefits and services. Retirement paper… FORT SILL, Okla. — Orders can mean moving a family across the country. An identification card can mean access to benefits and services. Retirement paperwork can close a military career that spans decades. At Fort Sill’s Military Personnel Division, those may be personnel actions. To the Soldier, retiree or family member waiting for help, they are personal. Richard Hammonds has spent much of his career making sure employees remember the difference. As a senior human resources specialist with MPD, Hammonds has helped members of the Fort Sill community navigate the administrative requirements that follow service members throughout their careers.

As he prepares to retire after more than 20 years as an Army civilian, he leaves behind a straightforward standard. That philosophy was shaped in part by his own 23 years in uniform and by remembering what it felt like to be the person on the other side of the counter. Hammonds came from a family with a history of military service and joined the Navy after high school on Oct. 1, 1979. He entered the medical field and worked in areas that included emergency medicine, laboratory services, X-ray, pharmacy, psychiatric care and sick call. The