Reynolds, DeCA’s director of engineering, retires after more than 38 years of federal service

FORT LEE, Va. – Clyde W. Reynolds, the Defense Commissary Agency’s director of engineering, retired Nov. 21 after more than 38 years of federal service, agency officials announced.

Reynolds has served as the agency’s engineering director since 2014. He was responsible for the planning, programming, design, construction, maintenance and repair of commissary facilities worldwide. Joachim “Jack” Hernandez, chief of the facility sustainment division, has been named acting director of engineering.

“Clyde has demonstrated tremendous leadership in providing the facilities we needed to provide an effective and efficient commissary benefit for our patrons,” said Michael J. Dowling, DeCA COO and deputy director. “Our infrastructure – stores and central distribution centers – is second to none and helps put us in a great position to support our military communities. We are grateful to him and his team for their dedicated and professional work in that regard. I wish him all the best in the next chapter of his life.”

Reynold served at DeCA during a whirlwind of engineering activity. Examples include:

• Leading the process of constructing new state-of-the-art commissaries at Fort Rucker, Alabama (2015); Spangdahlem, Germany (2016); Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida (2017); and Camp Humphreys, South Korea (2018)

• Renovating existing stores like Camp Carroll, South Korea (2016) or rushing repairs to DeCA buildings wrecked by bad weather like those serving Marine Corps bases in North Carolina ravaged by Hurricane Florence in 2018

• Helping the agency protect store associates and patrons alike in 2020 from potential COVID-19 exposure through facilitating the installation of Plexiglass shields at store checkouts

“Engineers are nothing if not flexible and robust,” Reynolds said. “We have weathered every storm and overcome every challenge because of the outstanding professionals in the directorate, always focused on accomplishing our mission. The engineering directorate is a great organization.

“My time with DeCA is the favorite part of my career,” he added. “I will forever be grateful and indebted to [former chief of staff] Vicki Archileti and Michael Dowling for their faith in me and their tremendous support.” 

Reynolds came to DeCA from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where he served as chief of its San Antonio office from 2012 to 2014. There, he supervised a mission that provided headquarters strategic-level support to various headquarters elements located at Joint Base San Antonio.

From 2009 to 2012, Reynolds served as engineer advisor for the U.S. Army Mission & Installation Contracting Command (MICC) at Fort Sam Houston, Joint Base San Antonio. There, he provided technical engineering expertise and guidance on a variety of Army command-wide and installation-specific utilities, and energy-related privatization and acquisition issues. 

While assigned to the MICC, Reynolds was also detailed to developmental assignments in the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology and the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy, and the Environment.

From October 2011 to January 2012, he also served as an acquisition subject matter expert on the Energy Initiatives Task Force. There, he helped develop the acquisition components of the Large-Scale Renewable Energy Project Guide, which accelerated one gigawatt of renewable energy projects for the Army.

During another Army developmental assignment from July to October 2011, Reynolds assisted with the standup of the new Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army - Services office to oversee services acquisitions Army-wide. This effort saved $2.5 billion annually by streamlining and optimizing Army acquisition services.

Reynolds’ government career began in 1983 while he was in college. By 1986, he was a civil engineer for the Directorate of Public Works at Fort Hood, Texas. For the rest of his career he would serve in various engineering assignments of increasing responsibility.

Reynolds has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Texas, Austin, (1986); a master’s degree in management science, University of Central Texas, Killeen, Texas (1992); and a master’s degree in national resource strategy, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Fort McNair, Washington, D.C. (2011). He also completed the Defense Senior Leader Development Program in 2012, the Senior Acquisition Course in 2011 and the Harvard Senior Executive Fellows Program in 2007.

His most recent awards include his fifth Superior Civilian Service Award in 2011, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Bronze DeFleury Medal in 2008 and back-to-back selections as the Government Engineer of the Year in South Carolina by the American Society of Civil Engineers for 2007 and 2008.

In 1999, Reynolds led a team that developed several measures to save or avoid spending more than $4 million annually in managing solid waste on Fort Hood. These efforts earned him and his team Vice President Al Gore’s Hammer Award for that year. 

-DeCA-

About DeCA: The Defense Commissary Agency operates a worldwide chain of commissaries providing groceries to military personnel, retirees and their families in a safe and secure shopping environment. Commissaries provide a military benefit, saving authorized patrons thousands of dollars annually on their purchases compared to similar products at commercial retailers. The discounted prices include a 5-percent surcharge, which covers the costs of building new commissaries and modernizing existing ones. A core military family support element, and a valued part of military pay and benefits, commissaries contribute to family readiness, enhance the quality of life for America’s military and their families, and help recruit and retain the best and brightest men and women to serve their country.