After 45 years, Cary Griggs still enjoying the journey
A thin, smiling man circled the table, extended his hand and introduced himself. He sat down, his blue coveralls zipped up to his chest, barely exposing his plaid, button-up shirt underneath. He smiled ever-so-slightly, and humbly asked, “Okay, so what do you want to know?”
Not long after, several members of the man’s team would pass by, lightheartedly heckling him on their way to another table.
“Be sure to tell him who your favorite teammate is,” one said, laughing with the rest of the group.
“I guess it’s you,” the man said jokingly in return.
“And what about me?” another one replied, feigning disappointment.
“Oh, well, I guess you’re my second favorite,” the man said without hesitation, sending the other table into a fit of laughter.
In only a few moments time, it was evident that this man was respected, admired, and a friend.
This man is Cary Griggs, who is in the midst of a long and illustrious career as one of the proud production technicians (PTs) who work tirelessly to keep our country safe. But Griggs’ road to Pantex was anything but a straight one.
“I had no idea what I wanted to do, so I joined the Army,” he said. “I got out in ‘71 and then went to Amarillo College to study commercial electronics. After that, I worked for a long time as a TV repairman.”
While in this role, Griggs worked with two former Pantexans. Thus, his journey toward Pantex began.
“They told me what Pantex was and what kind of help they needed,” Griggs said. “It sounded like something I would be interested in, so I applied, and was hired.”
That would mark the beginning of a career 45 years long, and counting. Through the decades, Griggs has experienced firsthand many of the changes that the Pantex site has undergone.
“There are way more PTs out here now than when I first started,” Griggs said. “The facilities were also a lot more limited. There’s been so much growth and expansion.”
Griggs has spent most of his Pantex career assembling Joint Test Assemblies (JTA), which are nuclear explosive look-alikes. These mock-ups look and respond like the real thing, but lack necessary equipment and other components that would make them, well, real. Instead, they’re used exactly as their name would suggest – for testing. These units provide data to verify that everything works as it’s supposed to while in flight.
“It’s a very gratifying thing, and one of the main reasons I love to work on the JTAs, because it’s cool to have built something that’s actually going to fly,” Griggs said. “And then, when you get the feedback on that testing, it helps you get better, and learn how to be better.”
With such a long career at one place, one might think fatigue or a desire for something new would emerge, but Griggs wouldn’t think of it.
“Pantex really is just a great place to work,” he said. “It’s blessed and provided for me and my family, and I really do just love what I get to do every day.”
In his free time, Griggs might be caught on the links trying to improve his golf swing, or travelling to one of the many exciting places on his bucket list with his sweetheart.
With hobbies that he loves and many places still to see, is retirement in the near future? Don’t count on it.
“One day, I was off and I was running around the house doing this and that, and my wife asked, ‘Is this what it’s going to be like when you retire?’ So, I said, ‘Well, I suppose so.’ She just shook her head at me and said, ‘I don’t think you should retire,’” Griggs said, laughing. “But I’ve always joked that the day I get out of bed and just don’t feel like coming out here, well, that’ll be the day I retire. But I love what I do, so I’m just not there yet.”
Cary Griggs has walked the ramps of Pantex thousands of times, and has probably forgotten more about his contribution to national security than most will ever have the privilege of experiencing themselves. And that’s why he’s a prime example of what it means to enjoy the journey.