MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE ALBANY, Ga. -- Catchphrases and buzzwords make any game-plan sound top-of-the-line, but in the end, group goals are achieved through a common thread: individuals enhancing and contributing their knowledge on a continual basis.
Such is the case with two Naval Support Management Branch employees at Blount Island Command.
Ms. Jerry A. Moore, Program Analyst (Navy Financial Manager), and Kathy Bank, Logistics Management Specialist, arent the only two with Better Business Practices on their minds.
However, their recent completions of educational courses continue to strengthen their personal skills, which in the long run pay off for the Maritime Prepositioning Ships program overall.
Moore recently attended the Professional Military Comptroller School from the Ira C. Eaker College for Professional Development at Air University, Maxwell AFB, in Montgomery, Ala.
For six weeks, her studies provided an understanding of financial and strategic planning controls within the Department of Defense, Moore said, as well as covering the legal basis and responsibilities of the defense comptroller in the Planning, Programming and Budgeting process.
Gaining the knowledge of analytical costing and materiel resource management decision techniques is enabling Moore to play her role in Better Business Practices.
The course enabled me to expand the Navy Activity Based Costing techniques implemented with (contractor) Honeywell for depot maintenance of Navy Sealift and Navy Mobile Construction Battalion equipment, Moore said.
It provided me with knowledge of the Navy and Marine Corps strategic planning for the future with limited resources.
Such information is extremely helpful for Moore, who has seen continuous upgrades in her position from just execution of Navy Beach Group fundsto Centralized Funding through the Navy Facilities Engineering Command to BICmd, Moore said.
Moore also has a vision of implementing a Total Partnership Annual Financial Statement for Blount Island Command.
I want to support the Marine Corps and Navy in being a leader in Better Business Practices, Moore said.
With the implementation of the contractors new accounting system by Fiscal Year 2002, the Blount Island Command (Marine Corps and Navy) assets and costs could be combined into an auditable financial operating statement.
This would reflect the total MPS effort at Blount Island Command, and respond to the DoD financial management reform acts implemented by Congress for accountability to the taxpayers, Moore said.
Another time-honored avenue toward Better Business is the use of strong leadership skills, recently honed by Bank through the Womens Executive Leadership Program.
According to Bank, the course is designed for non-supervisory government employees at the GS-11 through GS-13 levels, and is instructed by the Leadership Development Academy, Graduate School, United States Department of Agriculture.
The 12-month program addresses Leadership Effectiveness competencies developed by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Bank said.
Although I was going to Jacksonville University in pursuit of my bachelors degree, I felt I was lacking in any type of leadership training, Bank said. This program covered a wide spectrum of opportunities for me to acquire and enhance tools in meeting short and long term goals in the government workplace.
The leadership tools Bank gained were simply not through textbook instruction.
In addition to daily training on competencies such as Presentation Skills, Team-building and Problem Solving, Bank and more than 300 other participants were required to conduct interviews with management personnel above the GS-13 level, a one-week shadowing assignment of a federal manager or executive, a 60-day developmental assignment to get her out of the box, and a 30-day developmental assignment to gain experience in areas which were unfamiliar to her.
I shadowed Sandra Lemke, who is the Maintenance Directorate at Albany, to gain exposure to her outstanding managerial skills in performing her duties and responsibilities, Bank said of her shadowing assignment.
Additionally at Albany, Banks 60-day developmental assignment was at MatCom Headquarters.
By working on the Headquarters staff with the Plans and Analysis Division, I gained exposure to setting policy and procedures for the entire Marine Corps, Bank said, noting she was able to participate in team meetings at Quantico, Va.
What effect did all this have?
I have more confidence in decision making and problem solving, Bank said.
Ive also always been a big fan of communication, but through this program I realized how vital it is in meeting our command mission.
If I can improve my relationship with co-workers, management and our contractor, it will add value to our customers satisfaction, Bank said.
Neither Moore nor Bank intend on foregoing future instruction, as they see it as an individual commitment to support the whole.
Moores next task will be preparing to take the Certified Defense Financial Management course, as well as passing a three-part exam to gain Department of Defense financial management certification.
Bank continues pursuing a degree in General Business, and in so doing is learning about the real-life situations that pop up in daily business settings.
Although the commitment may be individual toward helping the team, Moore and Bank recognize the reverse role of team support.
I am very grateful to the command for allowing me the opportunity to participate in the (Womens Executive Leadership) program, Bank said.
I received endless support from leaders and co-workers in meeting the most difficult of the requirements. I hope to always be an asset to the MPS program, he said.