From onboarding to offboarding: Patrick "Lee" Cummings retires after more than 27 years at USARIEM
Lee Cummings has been many things in his life, but recently he retired from two of them: serving as a Colonel in the Army reserves for 26 and a half years and working as the head of human resources at the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine for just a year more. As Cummings walks away from the reserves, he also walks away as one of the key people who helped hire and support hundreds of people be part of the USARIEM community.
"I'm proud to believe that I have helped make USARIEM a better place," Cummings said. "I think I helped everybody to the best of my ability."
After carrying on his family's generational military dedication of wearing the uniform and protecting America's freedom, Cummings found himself working as a compliance officer at the institute and helping to build a better community with like-minded individuals.
"When you are in human resources, you are in the middle of everything," he said, reflecting on his experiences, challenges and accomplishments.
What began as an unusual experience, Cummings says, was also the start of a hard but engaging career. For a few years, Cummings worked on protecting the welfare of people in research studies in the Office of the Human Protections, but then in 2004 was deployed to Kosovo. When he came back, he was named the head of human resources.
"I had a lot of experience in the Army, but a lot of training was involved to learn my new job," he said. "Hiring people is not as simple as one may think. It can be very complex, very difficult, very detailed and with lots of systems and people involved."
On his dual retirements, Cummings said the reserves can be a very challenging job but he was able to have a successful career with the support from USARIEM.
Now for the first time, Cummings will be able to focus on himself and even work on his family business.
"It was time," he said. "After having found out I had cancer in 2023, it was time for my wife and I to start focusing on ourselves, do some traveling. I'm okay now, but when your health is at risk, it really puts things into perspective."
After a lifelong career in the military and working for the government, Cummings has constantly challenged himself and put himself on the line for others. He recalls how he is happy to have supported a place like USARIEM that strives to improve the health and performance of Soldiers.
"I'm proud of my career and what I have done for this country," Cummings said. "In a moment's notice, folks in uniform could be sent away and sacrifice themselves for our freedom. The mission we have at USARIEM is to use science to protect and make our Service Members better."
USARIEM is a subordinate command of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command under the Army Futures Command. USARIEM is internationally recognized as the DOD's premier laboratory for Warfighter health and performance research and focuses on environmental medicine, physiology, physical and cognitive performance, and nutrition research. Located at the Natick Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Massachusetts, USARIEM's mission is to provide solutions to optimize Warfighter health and performance through biomedical research.