Mr. James Q. Wheeler

Mr. James Q. Wheeler served a distinguished career of 28 years as a U.S. Department of Army Civilian. Mr. Wheeler unexpectedly passed away on February 5, 2007, ending his tenure as the Director of the U.S. Army Defense Ammunition Center (DAC), February 1, 1998 - February 4, 2007.

Mr. Wheeler graduated from Southwest Missouri State University in 1972. He began his career in federal service in 1979 as a Quality Assurance Specialist (Ammunition Surveillance) (QASAS) intern at the Savanna Army Depot, Savanna, IL. Mr. Wheeler rotated through QASAS assignments at the depot. He frequently served as Branch and Division Chief.

After Savanna Army Depot, Mr. Wheeler worked in the Armament Munitions and Chemical Command (AMCCOM) Defense Ammunition Directorate (1985-86); U.S. Army Materiel Command (AMC) Deputy Chief of Staff for Conventional Ammunition (1986-87); Defense Ammunition Center (DAC) Director for Logistics Review and Assistance Office (1987-89); the Executive Director of the Joint Ordnance Commanders Group (JOCG)/Chief, AMCCOM Joint Activities Office (1989-93); Associate Director for Technology at DAC (1993-98); HQ, JMC as the Deputy for Operations G3/7 (2002-03); and then as the Director of the Defense Ammunition Center (1998-2007).

Mr. Wheeler accepted an assignment at the U.S. Army Materiel Command in Alexandria, VA from 1986-1987. As the Executive Director, JOCG and Chief of the Joint Activities Office, AMCCOM from 1989 to 1993, Mr. Wheeler reported directly to the Commanding General as advisor on Joint Service matters.

One of Mr. Wheeler's most prominent roles began 1 February 1998 when he was appointed Director of the Defense Ammunition Center (DAC). As the DAC Director, Mr. Wheeler was responsible for executing DAC's mission to support the joint ammunition community worldwide with engineering, training, safety, technology development/transition, and technical assistance.

In 2002-03, Mr. Wheeler served a special assignment as Deputy for Operations G3/5/7, HQ Joint Munitions Command (JMC). The assignment was to lead transformation and munitions efforts while executing current munitions readiness operations.

February 5th, 2007 was a sad day for all who knew Mr. James Q. Wheeler. His death came as a shock to everyone, including his family, and everyone who knew him felt the sadness of loss. To honor his career and service a building dedication was held at DAC in June 2008 where Building 4 was officially dedicated and named the James Q. Wheeler Training Facility.