Pantex Blog
John C. Drummond leading the way
John C. Drummond
The building’s initials are mentioned hundreds of times a day around Pantex. The largest and most-populated building at Pantex is commonly referred to as the JCDC, but have you ever wondered how the JCDC got its name?
During construction, site leadership held a Pantex-wide contest while the then-unofficially designated administrative support complex (ASC) was being constructed. Submissions such as “The Triad” or “Pantex Headquarters (PHQ)” were bandied about, along with a handful of other titles or names. But when the final votes were tallied, the runaway winner was John C. Drummond Center (JCDC) to honor the legacy of a beloved Pantexan.
John was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 2, 1905. His early career started with a city field engineer position in Boston before he moved to the Boston & Maine Railroad in the late 1920s.
By the early 1930s, John worked for various companies before becoming the superintendent of construction at Mason & Hanger Silas Mason Company during construction of the Merriman Dam at Lackawack, N.Y.
As the United States entered World War II, John was transferred to Minden, Louisiana, as an engineering assistant at a construction site. That site, the Louisiana Ordnance Plant, would be one of the nation’s largest artillery ammunition- and bomb-loading assembly plants. He continued with them as loading line superintendent and then division superintendent.
When World War II ended, John was made a design engineer on projects converting five munitions’ facilities into ammonium nitrate fertilizer plants. He was then assigned to the Wabash River Ordnance Works at Newport, Indiana as project manager of an ammonia oxidation and neutralizing plant. By July 1947, John was on the move again, assigned as assistant chief engineer on a project at the Iowa Ordnance Plant in Burlington, Iowa.
“We moved to Burlington, which was also in the nuclear business, but also in the conventional business,” recalled son Skip Drummond. “And I think dad was on the conventional side up there, wasn’t he?” he asked sister Joan Hood.
“Well, to start with,” Joan confirmed. “We went to New Mexico and California. And then back to Kansas City to learn about the places that were involved in nuclear weapons, and because the company had visions of coming back and winning this contract, and later to the Fort Randall Dam outlet works and tunnels job at Pickstown, South Dakota, where he developed a saw carried by rail car to cut into granite for blasting – his last move before coming to Pantex.”
With most of the family’s relocations coming to an end, the Drummonds’ sights were set on the Texas Panhandle.
“Procter and Gamble had the operating contract for the first 5 years that the plant was in business,” Skip said. “Mason and Hanger and dad were here the first time in ‘50, ‘51 and a little bit of ’52 and the rebuilding of the plant was completed.”
John was an instrumental leader in the establishment and growth of the Pantex Plant, creating a legacy that continues today. He arrived at Pantex in 1951 to supervise construction as the Army and Atomic Energy Commission transformed the World War II-era Pantex Ordnance Plant into a nuclear production facility.
“So, in ‘56 Proctor and Gamble, for whatever reason, they wanted out. I think the Atomic Energy Commission just picked Mason & Hanger, whose leaders said to dad, ‘You're familiar with the plant. You helped rebuild it, so we want you to run it.’ Dad spent a lot of time on the line, working closely with everyone, he was always so encouraging. I bet dad knew almost 100% of the people out here and probably knew the names of their wives and some of their kids.”
He served as the Pantex Plant manager from 1956 to 1974, overseeing the expansion of Pantex production during the height of the Cold War with the Soviet Union.
Skip also recalled an endearing nickname from a popular radio and film character that was attached to his dad during his time as manager. That character was known as one of the first true heroic leaders in the entertainment industry.
“You know, there was a fictional detective called Bulldog Drummond. And whoever made that connection, though, and then called him Bulldog. I'm not really sure who called him that first,” Skip said.
“I don't think they called him that to his face.” Joan interjected.
Regardless, the nickname stuck — with good reason.
“But he got the nickname because he took care of the employees,” Joan continued. “And it didn't matter whether it was his son-in-law or whether it was Joe Blow; he took good care of the folks.”
John was very involved with community efforts while leading Pantex. He was vice chairman of the Board of City Development, chairman of the Amarillo’s Civil Service Commission, along with being a board member and trustee for the Amarillo Foundation for Health and Science Education, the Amarillo Zoological Society, and St. Anthony’s Hospital.
Following his retirement from Pantex, John was elected mayor of Amarillo and served from 1975 to 1977. He passed away 5 years later in April 1982.
The JCDC held its open house in 2018, and during that ceremony the 343,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility was dedicated as the John C. Drummond Center.
Skip and Joan thought it was the best tribute their father could receive.
“We're a little bit prejudiced, but we think it was a great choice,” Skip said.
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.
Pantex environmental efforts protect wildlife
Monty Schoenhals and Kevin Baird release Owlbert and his rehab partner at Pantex
Wildlife across the Texas Panhandle varies greatly. Different species from the tiniest insect, horned reptiles, tiger-striped amphibians, flights of birds, and a wide range of mammals all call this region, including Pantex, home.
Although the Pantex mission ensuring the effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear stockpile takes place on about 2,000 acres in rural Carson County, the actual footprint of the site covers more than 16,000 acres. Along with hundreds of buildings and thousands of workers, there are open fields, neighboring farms, area ranches...and it’s a natural haven for wildlife.
“We see all sorts of animals out here. Everything you'd expect to see out in a short-grass prairie, rolling high-plains setting,” according to Pantex Wildlife Biologist Kevin Baird.
“I feel like we have really improved the habitat out here at the plant. That's some of my favorite part of the whole thing is habitat improvement,” said Monty Schoenhals, Pantex agronomist.
At times, these animals may be injured, abandoned, or come in contact with humans and need assistance. Anytime help is needed, Pantex personnel and an Amarillo rehabilitation facility join forces to ensure that all is being done help preserve our local wildlife.
“We try to monitor the health of the local wildlife populations, and when we do run across a sick or injured wildlife or orphaned animal we'll work with our local rehabbers here in the Panhandle,” Baird explained.
Baird and Schoenhals recently worked a pair of animal rescues. The first was a bull snake named Gerty that was uncovered by workers when it was very cold. They collected Gerty to make sure it was not injured. The second rescue came after receiving a call about an abandoned great horned owl fledgling that was potentially hours from death.
“I made the decision that I'm going to see if I can capture him. He was extremely emaciated, probably a day or two from death,” Baird said. “We decided to call him Owlbert.”
Pantex has partnered with the Wild West Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in northwest Amarillo, a nonprofit that takes in hundreds of animals each month. Founded by Stephanie Brady about a decade ago, it’s a licensed rehab center serving the entire Panhandle and parts of New Mexico.
”Our relationship with Pantex has really grown over the last year, especially working with Kevin and Monty,” said Wild West Wildlife Rehabilitation Founder and Executive Director Stephanie Brady. “It's been a great collaboration and helping injured and orphaned wildlife and, situations where, you know, there's construction going on and they need to move an animal, but they want to bring it back.”
Along with taking in or gathering up injured wildlife across the region, the rehab center also houses an education center for events and to introduce visitors to animals that cannot be released back into the wild. Last year during the historically worst wildfires in Texas’ history, they received a lone porcupine they named Cinder that’s become a social media sensation.
Every little bit of publicity helps any nonprofit, especially one helping out thousands of animals each year, including the recent Pantex rescues, Gerty and Owlbert.
“The bull snake was pulled from a confined space for a construction project and was very, very cold,” Stephanie explained. “She was barely moving. Once she warmed up, she let us know that she was not happy that we had her, but she's eating great. The great horned owl was a young one, too young to be on its own. We had another owl that came in and actually they have formed a bond. So, we will release those two together back out at Pantex.”
Pantex’s wildlife team is proud of their work and the relationship they’ve forged with the rehab team.
“I think it really shows the public that we actually do have a commitment to maintaining our natural resources and to maintaining our wildlife,” according to Baird.
Schoenhals agreed completely. “I feel like I'm very blessed to be a part of being able to increase and improve the habitat here at the plant for wildlife.”
Both Gerty and Owlbert, along with Owlbert’s new companion and some transplanted prairie dogs that will occupy an abandoned prairie dog town, were released at the Pantex site after a few weeks at Wild West Wildlife Rehabilitation center.
These won’t be the last of Pantex’s animals that need assistance as the environmental stewards at Pantex continue to team up with local wildlife rehabilitation efforts. Plans are now in the works to release abandoned bobcats in the near future. Simply wild.
People of Pantex: Geoff Cormier
Lights erase the audience from sight. A left hand slides across the neck, fingers pinning string to fretboard. Pick between fingers and thumb, as the right hand gives the instrument voice. Geoff Cormier moves to the mic, wiping sweat from his forehead. His gruff but smooth vocals charge in on the heavy riffs crossing the bridge. The bass punches harder and the rhythm drives deeper. Snare, tom, and cymbals cascade into beautiful chaos. Cormier belts the last lyrics as the band erupts into a face-melting finale.
There wasn’t a profound moment that swayed Cormier to pick up a Fender guitar. Passion for musicianship coats his DNA. On his father’s side, almost all 10 of Cormier’s aunts and uncles play the guitar and sing. His dad was in a band in the 70s. At an early age, Cormier received his first real six string from his grandfather and joined in on family jam sessions, reinforcing his blood-tie to music and sparking an unquenchable fire for performing.
“That camaraderie you get when you’re playing with other musicians is indescribable,” Cormier said. “When I was younger, I would play with my family, then later with my friends in middle school. In high school we started a band called Dead Leg. I’ve been in bands ever since.”
After high school, a deeply patriotic Cormier enlisted in the military. The Boston native packed his bags and headed out to boot camp. He was proud to serve his country, but didn’t want to give up his love for music and performing — so he didn’t. Cormier was an airman by day, and a front man by night.
“When I was in the Air Force, I was in a heavy metal band called Winterlock,” Cormier said. “We put out two extended play recordings and were nominated for a music award. I was in the band almost the entire time I was stationed in Albuquerque. I had a lot of fun and made a lot of really good friends.”
Cormier fulfilled his commitment and left the military, bound for Pantex. His time in New Mexico helped acclimate him to the region, yet upon arriving to the Texas Panhandle, he realized he was alone and without a band. Fortunately, Pantex has a strong community of welcoming people. As for the band? Cormier found fellow rockers in Amarillo through the universal language of music.
“Our first band name was Decades Apart,” Cormier said. “All three of us members were almost 10 years apart from each other, so we thought Decades Apart was pretty fun. Then our original drummer left and the next guy we brought on wasn’t from Texas. None of us were, so we came up with the Texas Transplants. We all transplanted from somewhere else.”
Cormier proudly serves as a Program Manager for Performance Improvement and loves that he can continue serving his country in a different way. His work life and hobby have always had their differences, but there are similarities as well.
“You have to be creative to be able to play and write music,” Cormier said. “Having that creativity really helps me with that aspect of my job, of being able to think outside the box to help people.”
Cormier loves his job and doesn’t plan to leave Pantex anytime soon. His career journey to Bomb City has been a fairly straight road. His musical journey, however, has been fast and furious with a few lane changes, but on that rock n’ roll highway, he has crossed paths with some great musicians.
“Back in high school, I met Dave Matthews from the Dave Matthews Band,” Cormier said. “I was working concessions and cooked him a hot dog before they played at Foxboro Stadium. He even thanked me for it on stage that night and autographed a band photo that reads ‘To Geoff, thanks for the hot dogs!’ I also got to hang out with the band Sevendust after one of their shows because my friend in the Air Force was friends with their drummer. And I met Jerry Cantrell, the guitarist for Alice in Chains, while waiting for a cab after their show. He hung out with us until the car got there and gave me a guitar pick.”
With influence from Pink Floyd –– Cormier’s favorite band –– as well as Green Day and The Beatles, Cormier brings a unique musical perspective and sound to the Texas Transplants. The band covers hard rock songs in their genre, but their niche is playing the hits of Prince, Cash, Dylan, Skynyrd, and others but with a killer hard rock or punk twist, like Brantley Gilbert’s “Bottoms Up” performed as a power ballad. The band also plays original material, offering a unique, homegrown taste that they pepper into their well-blended set list. In every song they play –– cover or original –– they work hard off stage to make sure their performances on stage are rockin’.
“We practice once a week and play at least once a month in the Amarillo area,” Cormier said. “As for set lists, it really depends on what I can do vocally. Singing is not an easy thing, especially hard rock and punk. You sing quietly and then you sing loud and you scream sometimes so I have to think about what songs I can sing so that my voice doesn’t go out. Also, we want to keep the ebb and flow of the concert interesting. If you’re just playing a bunch of fast songs in a row, everybody’s going to get bored, or if you play only slow songs, everybody’s going to leave.”
Like a carefully selected mix tape, a Texas Transplant show never drags or disappoints. Practice, practice, and more practice keep the band primed, coordinated, and electrifying. Currently, they are cutting an album, but until then, live gigs are the only way to hear them. Regardless of venue or medium, Texas Transplants, especially Cormier, plan to rock on.
“I love it,” Cormier said without hesitation. “If I could play every night, I would. It’s a passion. You can book us for a gig, but we also do a lot of charity shows to help give back to the community. A lot of times it’s a family who’s suffered a tragedy or accident and accumulated a lot of medical bills. We love being able to put on shows for them and give all the proceeds from that to help people in need. I love that about us, and I love being in the band. It’s an addiction and I can’t get enough of it.”
Watch his People of Pantex video here.
Pages of Pantex History
For many years, Pantex has implemented a summer internship program allowing college students and recent college graduates to gain valuable experience. The current internship program has deep roots, connecting all interns to the site’s past and future.
“We’ve had ‘summer employees’ for a long time, but the program didn’t get formally established as a ‘pipeline’ to a permanent job until about 1959,” said Katie Paul, Pantex historian.
In 1974, a new cooperative study program was established that allowed students to work at Pantex during the semester and gain on-the-job experience as well as credit hours. There is still at least one employee on-site today who was a part of the co-op program. Eventually, a revitalized pre-professional training program emerged in the summer of 1991 — the first formal internship program. The current summer internship program is a continuation of that training program. The summer 2025 interns are a class of 35 students from across the United States. Each student was handpicked from hundreds of applicants, and for 10 weeks these students have had the opportunity to be Pantexans.
An internship can be a transformative experience that provides interns with opportunities to learn more about future career paths and make lifelong connections. The first connection interns make at Pantex is with Human Resources Lead Intern Recruiter Sabrina Perez. She and Steve Sellars in Educational Partnerships are with the interns for the entirety of the program, acting as guides and monitoring the progress of their work.
“The work they do really matters and is literally carried on for years to come. It is not just something they check off a to do list … what they are doing literally impacts employees for years to come. It will impact the mission and how we actually preform it. It is a pretty awesome thing,” said Perez.
To document the interns and their work, and to contribute to the history of the intern program, Human Resources and Communications partnered to pilot an internship yearbook project. The project is being made for interns, by interns. Graphic Design Intern Catherine Vo and Public Affairs Intern Jenna Lopez created the first edition this summer.
The yearbook is themed “Mission Impossible” and contains photos from a variety of different trainings and events that interns attended, as well as photos of interns hard at work. Throughout the yearbook, there are quotes from eight different interns and an interview with Perez and Sellars. The yearbook encompasses as many experiences as possible to make sure everyone feels their time at Pantex is reflected in the pages of Pantex history.
The yearbook is filled with details that document the memories made in this internship and the contributions made to the Pantex mission. It is the hope of everyone who set this project in motion that the yearbook becomes a tradition, and that every future intern will be able to take their memories with them in a yearbook of their own. The summer employees of 1959 were the beginning of a proud tradition that we hope to continue and grow with every new class of interns.
To view the yearbook, click here.