In 1994, Lt. Col. Dustin G. Bishop decided to enter into the United States Army. A Hot Springs, Ark. native, Lt. Col. Bishop thought that he would enjoy the Army due to his love of the outdoors.

“I also loved the respect that it [the service to country] brings,” he explained while sitting in his office located on the Hawthorne Army Depot.

Lt. Col. Bishop is an “Army of One” on the instillation. The depot, which turned 90 years old this year, was created after an accident at the Lake Denmark Naval Ammunition Depot in New Jersey were 21 people were killed and many more were injured.

The depot was first under the command of the United States Navy and in 1977; it was transferred to the United States Army as part of the single manager for conventional ammunition.

The commander took control of the base this year while his children Maya and Jake participated in the formal ceremony.

No stranger to the desert after having served three tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, Lt. Col. Bishop joked that he received “fun t-shirts” while deployed.

Commanding a 147,000 acre facility, Lt. Col. Bishop explained that this is a unique and different opportunity but before taking command, he had attending schooling to prepare him.

His main directive for the base is to continue to improve. “I would like to continue the success. This is an awesome depot and we will continue to meet the need of readiness of the Army and warfighter,” he explained.

When not in control of the world’s largest ammunition depot, Lt. Col. Bishop enjoys traveling to places such as Yosemite.

“I attended Hot August Nights and the Cantaloupe Festival [in Fallon],” he said. The colonel was also present at the Schurz Pinenut Festival Powwow.

When asked what he likes most about Hawthorne and Mineral County, he said, “I like the friendliness of the people and the close knot of the community. The scenery is awesome.” He went on to say that he had spent the Labor Day holiday exploring around the New Bomb area. He also professed his amazement of Mt. Grant which towers over the depot.

Outside of his uniform, Lt. Col. Bishop is like many in the community who enjoys exploring Mineral County and off-roading on either ATVs or his Jeep.

“I’m an outdoor guy. I like to tinker with things,” he concluded.