RM

1st Quarter 00 PB 48-00-1

Resource Management

Publication approved for public release; distribution unlimited

In this issue

Investing in Human Ca esting in Human Capital

Award winner d winners

Army recognizes top

notch people

page 6

Why Register?

ACCES update

page 21

Grow leader w leaders

Reflections on leadership

page 15

Special Edition fold out

Comptroller Civilian Career Program Strategic Plan
MEMORANDUM FOR DIRECTOR, ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT

DIRECTORS OF THE DEFENSE AGENCIES

ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE ARMY (FINANCIAL

MANAGEMENT AND COMPTROLLER)

SENIOR CIVILIAN OFFICIAL, ASSISTANT SECRETARY

OF THE NAVY (FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND COMPTROLLER)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE

(FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND COMPTROLLER)

SUBJECT: Professional Development of Comptroller Personnel

Our financial community is in the midst of a major reform in financial management

policies, procedures, operations and systems, with the goal of producing financial statements that

receive unqualified audit opinions. This effort has been focused primarily on two structural

defects: a broad decentralization of operations, and an unmanageable number of financial

systems. To address the first problem, financial management operations have been consolidated

into the Defense Finance and Accounting Service. With regard to the second problem, the

Department has embarked on a major effort to streamline the number of finance and accounting

systems, working down from 327 different systems in place in 1991, toward a goal of 32 by

2003. With these two efforts well underway, the Department is driving to meet the goal of

producing accurate financial statements that receive favorable audit opinions.

Continuing this progress, however, will require the hard work and support of our highly

competent financial management professionals. For our people to continue meeting the many

challenges resulting from financial management reform, we must be committed to their continuous professional development. To that end, we should encourage our financial management

personnel to participate in professional development activities, such as the American Society of

Military Comptrollers, Association of Government Accountants, and the educational activities of

the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program. Such organizations can enable our

people to increase their knowledge and skills, and stay current on fast-breaking issues. Professional organizations offer an excellent opportunity for employees to receive up-to-date training

on current issues. Participation in activities of professional organizations and in training and

development programs enhances the professionalism of the comptroller work force and prepares

us to meet present and future challenges. I strongly endorse participation, at all ranks and grades,

in these activities.

William J. Lynn

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY

OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND COMPTROLLER

109 ARMY PENTAGON

WASHINGTON DC 20310-0109
A message

from the Assistant Secretary

of the Army (FM&C)

Helen T. McCoy

Last Fall I announced to the Financial Management and Comptroller staff a theme for the year

2000 that I want to sound throughout the Army Comptroller communityInvesting in Human

Capital. Its also the theme of this issue of Resource Management. Most of you are familiar with our

Mentorship Program slogan Grow People. We often think in terms of training when we hear that

phraseas well we should. But Investing in Human Capital goes far beyond the training of our

workforce.

No two individuals are alike. Everyone has different hopes and dreams, likes and dislikes, and

strengths and weaknesses. But it is these very differences that create value in our overall work

environment.

Our Comptroller career community of military and civilian members is a diverse, knowledgebased workforce. It is made up of individuals with a broad spectrum of technical skills as well as

institutional memory. The value of our professional community is dependent on the value we place

on our people. By becoming and being Investors in Human Capital, we create a win-win goal for

both the individual members and the community as a whole.

We must work harder to recognize the value of each of our soldiers and civilian careerists. We

must recognize that this value can be, and should be, enhanced by nurturing and investment. We

must recognize that individual people vary in their talents and motivations.

And we must be open-minded to a variety of strategies and working arrangements that will help

enhance everyones contribution. Only by appreciating the diversity of our peoples needs can we act

in ways that make sense in both human, as well as business, terms.

When Secretary Caldera was sworn in over a year ago, Secretary of Defense Cohen charged him to

ensure that ours is an Army where professionalism reigns, where intolerance is not tolerated, and

where harassment is not given safe harbor. Every organizational element within the Army must take

that charge as a shared goal.

And so here, today, as you read this, I bring the same charge forward to the entire RM readership.

Investing in Human Capital begins by investing in one anotherin each persons dignity, pride and

sense of self-worth, personal as well as professional. It starts with little, everyday things like, Good

job, Thanks for your help or Sure appreciate the fast turnaround. It builds from there, through

teamwork, shared ideas, innovation and formal recognition.

Inside, youll find some of our best success stories from the past year. These are the results, not

only of peoples notable accomplishments, but of investment in the recognition of those accomplishments by other people who took the time to make them known and to uphold them before the

community at large. I want us all not only to share in one anothers successes, but to proclaim them

as things that are possible through mutually Investing in the Human Capital that collectively we form.

RM n 1st Qtr 00 3
Resource Management is an official professional

bulletin published quarterly and sponsored by the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial Management and

Comptroller. Unless otherwise noted, material may be

reprinted provided the author and RM are credited. Views

expressed herein are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Department of the Army or any element

thereof. RM provides a forum for expression of mature,

professional ideas on the art and science of resource

management. It is designed as a practical vehicle for the

continuing education and professional development of

resource managers through thought-provoking articles.

Send all correspondence to: Editor, Resource Management, ATTN: DFAS-IN/EU, 8899 E. 56th St., Room 207E,

Indianapolis, IN 46249-0150. Queries may be made by

phone to DSN 699-1138 or commercial (317) 510-1138.

Please send a copy of each submission to Tony Polzak,

SAFM-PO, ASST SEC ARMY FIN MGT, 109 ARMY

PENTAGON, Washington, DC 20310-0109.

POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to

Defense Finance and Accounting Service -- Indianapolis

Centers, Editor, Resource Management, ATTN: DFASIN/EU, 8899 E. 56th St., Room 207E, Indianapolis, IN

46249-0150.

MANAGEMENT

Contents

Investing in Human Capital

This medium is approved for official dissemination of

material designed to keep individuals within the Army

knowledgeable of current and emerging developments

within their areas of expertise for the purpose of

professional development.

By order of the Secretary of the Army:

ERIC K. SHINSEKI

General, United States Army

Chief of Staff

Administrative Assistant to the

Secretary of the Army

JOEL B. HUDSON

0006802

Official:

DISTRIBUTION: Special

Assistant Secretary of the Army

(Financial Management and

Comptroller):

Helen T. McCoy

Managing Editor,

the Pentagon:

Tony Polzak

Editor,

DFAS Support Activity - Indianapolis:

Chuck Gordon

Asst. Editor,

Myra Hankins

Second class postage paid

at Indianapolis, Indiana

ISSN 0893-1828

RESOURCE

1st Quarter 00 PB48-00-1

Memorandum from the OSD 2

Message from the ASA (FM&C) 3

Message from the PDASA (FM&C) 5

Army Resource Management award winners 6

 Top notch people achieving goals

Write Right! 11

Writing the right way can be fun and easy.

Grow leaders! Reflections on leadership 15

Growing leaders that will guide us in the next millennium.

Modern Defense Civilian Personnel Data System 20

Modernizing supporting automated systems to provide more

cost-effective and efficient service.

Why register? ACCES update 21

Take charge of your career if you expect to be marketable

in todays Army.

Perspectives

Guidance, information from OASA(FM&C) deputies 24

Tri-fold pullout

Comptroller Civilian Career Program

(CP-11) 1998 Strategic Plan

X

Comptroller Civilian Career Program (CP 11)

1998 Strategic Plan

GROW PEOPLE
A message

from the Principal Deputy

Assistant Secretary

of the Army (FM&C)

Erin J. Olmes

RM n 1st Qtr 00 5

Succession Planningwhat is it? Simply put, its planning for the future by grooming a

corps of competent replacements to succeed the current workforce. Just as in pro sports, it

involves anticipating members departures and retirements, and strengthening the professional bench that will ultimately replace them. Sounds easy, right? Wrong! Its much

easier said than done.

If you turn to the foldout brochure in this issue of Resource Management, you will find

the Career Program 11 Strategic Plan. Notice that Succession Planning is the second

major strategic objective under Implementing the Vision. This is a testament to the

emphasis that the Command Career Program Managers, who wholeheartedly support the

plan, have placed on it. They all recognize the need for this type of planning; but, what does

it really mean, and what can we do about it?

First, what does it really mean? Shortly after publishing the CP 11 Plan in 1998, we

commissioned the U.S. Army Audit Agency to survey our CP 11 community in terms of

formal education, promotion qualifications, years of service and age of the workforce. The

latter two, in particular, have a lot to do with planning for the development of the future

workforce. The results were startling.

We found that about two-thirds of our CP 11 careerists were at least 45 years old,

meaning they could retire in 10 years or less if they had 30 years service. About half our

workforce had at least 20 years service, meaning they could retire in 10 years or less if they

reached age 55. Either way, a significant number of our experienced colleagues will be

eligible to retire in 10 years or less. So what it means is that we need to pay close attention

to succession planning if we are to maintain a viable career program. Our goal is that by

2005, just five years from now, 75 percent, or three out of every four careerists, will be

qualified for selection to the next higher grade level.

What can we do about it? One of the ways we hope to achieve this is through a robust

program of formal education which is outlined under Workforce Proficiency, the first

major strategic objective under Implementing the Vision. Notice that by the same year,

2005, our goal is that all promotees to GS-15 and above will have graduate degrees and have

completed other required training and certification.

If you happened to see my message on the value of formal education in the last issue of

RM, you can see how it fits into the larger scheme of succession planning. Its important

that every supervisor and every mentor encourage our CP 11 careerists, at all levels, to

develop their professional credentials through appropriate education and training. We

seniors owe it to ourselves and to our organizations to develop a quality workforce to

succeed uswe must begin that process now.

The best legacy we can leave is a team that comes off the bench and outperforms us!
6 RM n 1st Qtr 00

News and Notes

Army Resource Management

award winners

by Maj. David A. Knowlton

The Armys Resource Management Annual

Awards Program made public some of the finest

Army stewardship achievements in fiscal year

1999 from field and staff resource managers.

Competition was announced last May for recognition of the years most noteworthy accomplishments in each of several civilian and

military RM categories for organizations, teams

and individuals. Senior subject-matter expert

panels evaluated the award nominations by

category. Top-ranked individuals then competed

for the capstone individual awards: the ASA

(FM&C) civilian award, the ASA (FM&C)

military award and functional chief representative or FCR special award. The program

features awards at two levels, major command

and above and below major command.

Honorable Helen T. McCoy, Assistant

Secretary of the Army for Financial Management and Comptroller, recently announced

these 1999 award recipients:

ASA (FM&C) Civilian: Linda Crouch of the

Armys Training and Doctrine Command

(TRADOC) at Fort Sill, Okla., excelled in

pinpointing problems with the Armys modified

automated standard financial inventory accounting and reporting system, known as

STARFIARS-MOD. Her installation was the

first to convert to this system with a large

Forces Command tenant unit, the Third Armored Corps Artillery. Due to her efforts, Fort

Sill was the driving force behind the ASA

(FM&C) offices pressure on Defense Finance

and Accounting Service (DFAS)-Indianapolis

Center to write and test emergency change

packages that would make the system work

correctly. Crouch also identified a multi-million

dollar cash deficit in the Armys working

capital fund from improper processing of

cancellations, in-transit actions and certain

shipping statuses. In addition, she found and

freed up millions of dollars worth of unprocessed customer credits that had been tying up

critical unit training and readiness funds.

ASA (FM&C) Military: Lt.Col. Douglas

Shipp led a contingency operations or CONOPS

cell in the assistant Army secretarys office for

financial management and comptroller. In this

position he single-handedly garnered the Army

billions of dollars for a variety of contingency

operations by applying acquired technical

knowledge, clear strategic thinking and effective communication skill. In what was termed

the Armys most turbulent CONOPS year

everunplanned operations in Kosovo, a

severe flood in Korea, other lesser disasters and

on-going operations in Bosnia and southwest

Asiacosts exceeded $2.5 billion. Shipps

personal defense to Congress of detailed

estimates for Korea flood damage gained a

quarter billion in emergency funding. The

alternative would have been severe readiness

problems, with CONOPS costs having to be

funded from within existing training resources.

Functional Chief Representative Special

Award: William Guillaume of Armys Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) at Fort

Monroe, Va., in a developmental assignment

with Army headquarters, worked on a project

called the Multi-Disciplined Financial Analyst

Initiative with a goal of developing current and

future CP 11 careerists through formal education, training, performance enhancing job

experiences, professional development and

accreditation. He condensed hundreds of

knowledge, skill and ability elements for private

and public sector financial management professionals into three groups totaling 17 core

competencies which formed the basis for the

initiatives five career path components.

Outstanding Resource Management

Organization (major command and

above): The Army Materiel Command

(AMC) headquarters Business Resources

Division did a superb job of preparing four
RM n 1st Qtr 00 7

particularly complicated working capital budget

reports for prior, current and next years. The

1999 execution and 2000-01 formulation and

submission of AMC budgets for supply management, depot maintenance, ordnance and

information services all got to Army headquarters on time. Each involved significant challenges that division members met and satisfied

through hard work and creative solutions. The

result was a notably successful and excellently

managed working capital program in the

Armys most resource-intensive command.

Outstanding Resource Management

Organization (below major command):

The 8th Finance Battalion excelled as the Army

Finance Commands most widely deployed

battalion in executing diverse financial and

resource management missions all over Europe.

The entire unit maintained extremely high

operating tempo by supporting several NATO

peacekeeping and joint task force missions,

conducting FM and RM operations in eight

different countries using 13 different currencies

and accounting for over $300 million in dollar

resources. As an example, the battalion supported a 5000-soldier task force that provided

deep-strike capability to NATO force air strikes

against Yugoslav occupation of Kosovo. In

addition, key unit officers managed over $33

million in funds, disbursed over $50 million in

cash and identified and corrected 8,000 improper supply transactions worth nearly $2

million.

Outstanding Resource Management

Team (major command and above):

Dr. Morteza Anvari and David Henningsen of

the Army Cost and Economic Analysis Center

joined the Army Audit Agencys Joseph

Mizzoni, Anthony Pirrera, Anita Bales and

Roland Dimos to analyze, evaluate and costcompare competing proposals for prime vendor

and in-house support of the Apache aircraft

program. The team also acted on an Apache

program manager waiver request to keep the

operation in house. The teams analyses were

very clear that contract support of the Apache as

proposed could have cost the Army more than

$200 million in five years. Their work set a new

standard and established critical guidelines for

reaching future competitive-sourcing decisions

that would ensure optimum Army cost efficiency in supporting weapon systems.

Outstanding Resource Management

Team (below major command): A document processing system team at the Army

Soldier and Biological Chemical Command

streamlined document flow processes affecting

funds and accounts, in order to give managers

timely and accurate financial management data

in user defined terms from a user-friendly,

easily accessible system. As a result of their

work, by fiscal years end most document flow

processes at the command had been automated

and were automatically recording commitments

and obligations in the accounting system

making Soldier Systems Center virtually a

paperless organization.

Outstanding Intern (below major command): Liz Miranda of AMCs Communications and Electronics Command helped develop

and instruct courses and seminars in Year-End

Closing, Fiscal Law and Financial Matters for

Acquisition Personnel. She developed and

published on the commands web site financial

charts on basics of appropriations and funds

(purpose and availability periods of different

appropriations) and on long line accounting

classification definitions (definition and information on each element of an accounting

classification). The Army Finance School

accepted and adopted the two charts as part of

its instructional literature, and they are in wide

use throughout acquisition program executive

offices, the AMC community and the Defense

Finance and Accounting Service. Mirandas

charts helped CECOM organizations curtail

negative unliquidated obligations, problem

disbursements and vendor pay interest payments, and that enabled the command to meet

key AMC financial performance goals for the

fiscal year.

Outstanding Author (below major command): Articles by William Washington of

AMCs Communications and Electronics

Command were published twice in the Acquisition Review Quarterly, and he received a

Second Place Paper award for a work at the

February 1999 DoD Cost Analysis Symposium.

His papers have contributed to improving

resource management and reducing costs in

processes such as competitive sourcing and

improved acquisition, further enabling other

Defense components to save money, do more

with less and manage financial risk.
8 RM n 1st Qtr 00

Civilian Individual Award, Accounting

and Finance (major command and

above): Michael Hamilton of the Army

Intelligence and Security Command

(INSCOM), who develops the commands

directives from Defense and Army accounting

policy, played a decisive role in INSCOMs

exceeding its Army joint reconciliation program

goals. His work led directly to zeroing out

nearly $8 million in canceling account unliquidated obligations and to reducing prior year

travel advances 88 percent, from $1.11 million

to $0.13 million. Hamilton also researched and

reconciled numerous prior-year obligations and

problem disbursements to recover millions of

dollars for re-use Army-wide.

Civilian Individual Award, Accounting

and Finance (below major command:

Maureen Kelly, lead joint reconciliation program accountant with Forces Commands Army

Signal Command at Fort Huachua, Ariz., set

new Army and personal records by zeroing out

again in 1999 $17 million of unliquidated

obligations or ULOsher fourth and the

commands seventh consecutive zero-out, an

Army record. Kellys previous three years

reconciliation results totaled $47, $17 and $17

million in cost avoidance for not having to use

current year funds to pay for canceled-year

obligations.

Military Individual Award, Accounting

and Finance (below major command):

Sgt. 1st Class Flor Sanchez of AMCs TankAutomotive and Armaments Command is the

military pay advisor to Koreas 19th Theater

Army Area Command. His quarterly unit-level

pay-related training to the 19ths soldiers

focused closely and effectively on travel claims

and proper use of government travel cards.

Sanchezs instruction virtually eliminated

returned travel documents (less than 1 [percent)

and cut travel card delinquencies more than 25

percent while significantly enhancing command

readiness and retention.

Civilian Individual Award, Budgeting

(major command and above): Rosemary

Thompson of the U.S. Army Special Operations

Command (USASOC) tracked over $12 million

during the year in logistical and financial

transactions for the Special Operations Support

Commands supply support activity. Her

vigilant maintenance of outstanding line records

resulted in several million dollars credit to the

activitys account. Her most dramatic result was

$2.7 million in credits to USASOC for special

commercial off-the-shelf equipment turn-ins.

For the year, Thompson and the command

recycled and reused a total of $4 million in

obligation authority that might otherwise have

been lost.

Civilian Individual Award, Budgeting

(below major command): Betty Koch,

with Forces Command at Fort Bliss, Texas,

adroitly overcame serious problems in the

modified standard Army financial inventory

accounting and reporting system

STARFIARS-MODwhile successfully

supporting three regular and two emergency

task force deployments to southwest Asia.

Learning the new system as she went, Koch

nonetheless was able to recognize and work

around system errors and to identify, track and

help develop solutions that ensured accurate and

true financial status for deploying units. She

quickly and accurately captured and reported

the emergency deployment costs and succeeded

in obtaining over $4 million that allowed the

units to quickly transition back to normal

training schedules with adequate resources.

Military Individual Award, Budgeting

(major command and above): Sgt. 1st

Class Esther Jones, as chief of vendor pay in the

office of the Chief of the Army Reserve,

applied superb organizational skill and technical

expertise in cutting late-payment interest 68

percent and achieving 100 percent accountability of prepared vouchers while paying out $40

million to over 500 vendors. As agency government travel card program coordinator, she

streamlined the process for obtaining new travel

cards, reducing administrative efforts throughout the entire organization, making the cards

more accessible to all, and powering down more

control to intermediate commanders.

Civilian Individual Award, Auditing

(major command and above): Tilden Jio

of the U.S. Army Europe internal review office

succeeded in handling an extraordinarily heavy

command workload that covered the full range

of internal review and audit compliance tasks.

He significantly exceeded performance expectations, concurrently directing work of up to

seven senior auditors and completing 19 single

and multi-location audits for the yeara level
RM n 1st Qtr 00 9

of productivity seldom exceeded anywhere in

the Department of Defense.

Civilian Individual Award, Auditing

(below major command): Joseph

Galanthay of AMCs Communications and

Electronics Command excelled in a variety of

important year-2000 compliance efforts that

assured all command infrastructure equipment

would be ready for the year changea critical

priority at the time. He provided outstanding

audit support and advice to the AMC lead for

business systems, exceeded customers expectations, identified key issues to be resolved and

authored numerous team reports.

Civilian Individual Award, Cost Analysis

(major command and above): Andrew

Pozda of the Army Cost and Economic Analysis Center provided most competent technical

leadership in overseeing efforts to develop for

the $75 billion life-cycle Comanche program an

independent cost estimate and an Army cost

position that withstood DoD scrutiny within 3

percent. His sound analysis plan, his cost

analysis working integrated product teams

close interaction with the program management

office and his detailed cost estimating requirement description led to the first such approval in

eight years and vindicated his hard work,

determination, diplomatic skill and expert

analysis. As a result, the Army position was

closely aligned and prevailed almost totally at

DoD level.

Civilian Individual Award, Cost Analysis

(below major command): Matthew Viola

of the program executive office for Command,

Control and Communications excelled in

concluding a most difficult and complicated set

of cost-related activities in support of the

military satellite communication program. He

prepared, presented and defended several

comprehensive and complex cost documents

that earned approval by all participating service

principals. He reconciled divergent interests to

reach a joint cost position proposal that the

whole cost review board working group approved. The result was a Milestone III decision

review that the Army systems acquisition

review council approved in November 1998.

Civilian Individual Award, Resource

Management (major command and

above): Thomas Mike Petty, the Armys

DoD travel card program action officer in the

Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army

(Financial Management and Comptroller),

creatively negotiated informal, no-cost contract

work-arounds that obtained for the Army the

information and data services it needed that

werent officially part of the contract. He also

devised a method for assigning restricted

travel cards to individuals with substandard

creditworthiness that activate for a specified

travel period and deactivate afterward

allowing DoD to maximize card efficiencies

while minimizing risk of possible misuse.

Civilian Individual Award, Resource

Management (below major command):

John Valluzzi of AMCs Communications and

Electronics Command put a smile on the face of

command management control by creating an

atmosphere conducive to surfacing potential

problems without retaliation, allowing managers

to identify problems early and thus save substantial Army resources. Through better organization and more prior homework, he cut the

top-level annual assurance statement summit

meeting process from four hours to two and

won top-level approval for all program recommendations.

Military Individual Award, Resource

Management (major command and

above): Sgt. 1st Class Eugene Bartholomew of

INSCOM reviewed unliquidated obligations in

detail and coordinated findings with functional

and contracting officer representatives and

contract specialists. He identified over $300,000

that the command successfully realigned prior

to year-end, thus increasing its purchasing

capability toward mission priorities.

Military Individual Award, Resource

Management (below major command):

Capt. John Chverchko of the 1st Infantry Division formulated, programmed, allocated,

tracked, analyzed and reported a $190 million

annual budget that covered operations in

Germany, the former Yugoslavia, surrounding

areas, Kuwait, and other contingency operation

areas throughout Europe. Using detailed

synchronization plans, the current version of

which he developed, Chverchko accurately

translated the divisions training program into

quantitative matrix format for input to the

parent V Corps automated budget. He also

personally formulated cost estimates and

budgets for more than ten Joint Chiefs of Staff,
10 RM n 1st Qtr 00

Joint Contact Team Program and Partnershipfor-Peace military exercises.

Civilian Individual Award, Analysis and

Evaluation (major command and above):

Kenneth Freund of AMC led efforts to determine the cost and financial impacts of proceeding with a prime vendor support (contracting

out) proposal for the Apache aircraft program.

He also led command development of the best

case government cost for comparing the revised

contracting proposal against an improved inhouse Apache sustainment effortfulfilling

requirements for a waiver approach and ensuring that an improved sustainment concept,

whether contract or in-house, would be selected.

Freunds financial analysis became the benchmark for subsequent Army/DoD pilot programs.

His baselines have stood the test of time and

been provided to other program man-agers to

help them more easily understand how to assess

sustainment management initiatives.

Civilian Individual Award, Analysis and

Evaluation (below major command):

Linda Crouch of TRADOC at Fort Sill, Okla.,

won the top civilian resource management

award, described near the beginning of this

article, for her work in analysis and evaluation.

Military Individual Award, Analysis and

Evaluation (major command and above):

Capt. Mark Bennett of TRADOC, while on

voluntary detail with the Army budget office for

the annual budget review, developed a tracking

system to monitor status of program budget

decisions or PBDs. Covering initial staffing in

the budget office to subsequent submission to

DoD, his system included highly informative

displays for the 6-year budget plan or POM

showing requirements for TRADOC information technology modernization and for training,

leader development and soldier support.

Bennetts hard work and superb analytical

abilities earned accolades from senior Army

financial leaders, who accorded him an impact

award for exceptional duty performance.

Civilian Individual Award, Education and

Training (major command and above):

William Guillaume of TRADOC won the

Functional Chief Representative Special Award,

described near the beginning of this article, for

his work in education and training.

Civilian Individual Award, Comptroller

(below major command): George Chant of

AMCs Communications and Electronics

Command served with distinction as the

commands acting senior resource management

official for 4-1/2 months, not only surviving a

senior headquarters major resource review but

also succeeding in several notable areas. While

Chant was in charge, (a) all appropriations were

executed at or above Army goals; (b) unliquidated obligations for the closing year were

reduced to zero by June, a major command

record for so early in the year; (c) all travel

advance goals were met or exceeded; (d) travel

delinquent accounts were reduced to less than 2

percent; and (e) additional high-priority

unfinanced requirements received funding.

Military Individual Award, Comptroller

(major command and above): Lt. Col.

Douglas Shipp of the Office of the Assistant

Secretary of the Army (Financial Management

and Comptroller) won the top military resource

management award, described at the beginning

of this article, for his comptroller work.

Military Individual Award, Comptroller

(below major command): Maj. Byron

Cherry of USASOC repeated a nearly flawless

performance in leading his command with a

99.9% percent obligation rate without an

unfinanced requirement in either a $30 million

Reserve Personnel Army appropriation or a $32

million major force program 11 operation and

maintenance budget. He excelled in responsively serving the field by expertly managing

funds for 69 reserve and two active units in 26

states and at several deployed locations that

collectively were at the Armys highest operating

tempo.

About the author

Maj. Dave Knowlton, a single-track Functional Area 45 (Comptroller) officer, is a

Proponency Officer in the Comptroller

Proponency Office, OASA(FM&C). A 1985

U.S. Military Academy graduate, he has also

completed Army Command and General Staff

College and earned a Master of Business

Administration degree from Long Island

University in 1995.
RM n 1st Qtr 00 11

by John Di Genio

Since brevity is the soul of wit, then let me be

brief. Shakespeare

Introduction  Imagine reading this: I

employed a portable, graphite transcription

device with erasure capability to encode the

numerical identification of my friends dwelling

unit on a petite parcel of scriptural papyrus

intended for refuse. Of course, the person

writing this clumsy sentence could easily have

written: I used a pencil to write my friends

address on a small piece of scrap paper.

I am sure that the first sentence caused a

chuckle or two. However, there is a sad truth

behind the humor. Many action officers are

guilty of turning out such ponderous, impenetrable prose. With force reductions, decisionmakers do not have the time to read through

superfluous writing. Therefore, a concise,

thorough, well-written memo that immediately

gets to the point often gets the required response, without a lot of phone calls or e-mail

messages asking for additional guidance and

clarification. An individuals writing style is a

reflection of that persons ability to think

clearly. Consequently, people who constantly

display the ability to succinctly write in a

logical manner have a better chance for career

progression.

Below are some characteristics of government writing that I call the seven deadly sins,

and I even have an acronym for them:

PIILOWS, for pomposity, incoherence, imprecision, lifelessness, obscurity, wordiness and

sloppiness. Left unchecked, these attributes can

make correspondence spongy and fluffy,

wasting readers time and possibly causing

costly mistakes and misunderstandings. Lets

look at them in detail.

Pomposity  Something strange happens to

down-to-earth, regular people when they start

writing memos. Suddenly theyre using grandiose expressions, language and grammatical

construction that they would never think of

using in a conversation. These individuals

would meet their colleagues at their desks and

say Here is the information you wanted. They

write, As per your request, enclosed is the

information sought.

These people never use the short, conversational word when they can find a long, impersonal, three-dollar one. For example, it is

utilize instead of use, endeavor instead of

try, attributable to instead of because.

These writers decorate their writing with fancy

bureaucratizing expressions ending in -

ment, -tion, and -ance. A typical sentence

is These modifications will lead to the enhancement of the system. In everyday conversation, these writers would probably say:

These changes will improve the system.

Some writers compound pomposity by using

the passive instead of the active voice. For

example, these action officers would tend to

write: A comparison of the authorization

documents was made by the Manpower Division. In a conversation, these people would

likely say: The Manpower Division compared

the authorization documents. This pomposity

may not be deliberate. After reviewing the

organizations files, newcomers may feel that

this is acceptable government writing. Others,

however, deliberately use the passive voice as a

way to avoid responsibility and accountability.

Then, of course, there are those who believe the

authority of their position demands a writing

style that distances them from the rank and file.

Some writers have a foolish notion that using

foreign words and expressions makes them

appear bright and educated. However, many

writers who regularly use such words and

expressions do so improperly, thereby embarrassing not only themselves but also their

organizations. Avoid foreign words and expressions wherever possible. They only create

confusion, misunderstanding and sometimes a

laugh at the writers expense.

Write Right!
12 RM n 1st Qtr 00

To avoid pomposity, try these tips:

(1) Use plain, conversational language. Avoid

grandiloquent expressions. Remember, a

shorter, conversational word is more precise

than a longer, three-dollar word. Consider the

following sentences:

I saw an elephant at the zoo.

I saw a pachyderm at the zoo.

In the first sentence, it is clear that the writer

saw an elephant. However, since a pachyderm

is any thick-skinned, hoofed animal, it is not

clear in the second sentence if the writer saw an

elephant or a rhinoceros.

(2) Use a verb, such as, we evaluated, rather

than a noun made from a verb, like we conducted an evaluation.

(3) Use the active instead of the passive voice

wherever possible. For example:

Active Voice: The manpower analysts

surveyed the Headquarters Activity Branch.

Passive Voice: The survey of the Headquarters Activity Branch has been completed by the

manpower analysts.

Incoherence  A disorganized document

confuses rather than informs. Yet, many writers

send their readers off on a word trek, without

any friendly guideposts along the way to tell

them where they are going or how they suddenly jumped from one thought to another.

These inconsiderate writers provide no introductory statement to tell their readers what the

document addresses, no reiteration of the key

topics throughout the document, no transitions

to tell the readers that they jumped from one

thought to another, and no concluding summary

to wrap up what has been discussed.

To avoid this pitfall, try these ideas:

(1) Develop an outline to organize your

thoughts in a logical sequence.

(2) Tell the readers up front what the point of

the document is.

(3) Use the outline to write a topic sentence

for every paragraph, stating the main idea in

general terms. Using topic sentences allows the

writer to stick to the main theme of the paragraph and not scramble two or more distinct

ideas within one paragraph. Topic sentences

also serve as friendly guideposts for readers,

enabling them to easily recognize the different

points contained within the document.

(4) Use transitional words and phrases to bridge

between sentences and paragraphs. Transitional

phrases allow the reader to know when the

writer is continuing along the same line of

thought, or if the writer has changed the line of

reasoning. For example, transitional phrases

such as additionally and furthermore indicate

that the writer is continuing along the same

road. Phrases like however and on the other

hand signal a U-turn. With transitional

phrases, a document will have the continuity

and coherence necessary for readers to logically

follow a writers argument.

(5) Summarize the information in a conclusion. Briefly tell your readers what you have

told them.

Imprecision  In Alice in Wonderland, the

Mad Hatter tells Alice and the other guests at

his tea party that when he chooses a word, it is

exactly the word he wants to use, and no other

will do. Precise words avoid any confusion

caused by the reader putting his or her own

meaning to vague instructions and reports. A

thesaurus and a dictionary, either electronic or

paper, are excellent tools to help writers select

the right word. Furthermore, using the right

word makes the document more interesting.

Consider these examples: Plummet is more

precise than decline, direct more forceful

than suggest, volatile more radical than

changing, grotesque more horrible than

ugly. Writers should strive to be on target with

their choice of words, not merely get into the

ballpark.

Lifelessness  A document that is lifeless

causes the reader to quickly lose interest. After

all, who wants to read a document that has all

the excitement of a telephone directory? Without doubt, this is the hardest sin to overcome.

However, with a little practice, it can be done.

A writer can effectively fight dullness by

focusing on readers concerns; that is, generate

more interest in your writing by expressing

ideas in the terms of the readers needs. For

example, a typical writer-focused statement

about a new Access database program may

read: We developed a new automated procedure for keeping track of unfinanced requirements. Now, compare this statement with a

reader-focused statement: Do you feel overwhelmed when it comes to keeping track of

your UFRs? If so, you might be interested in the
RM n 1st Qtr 00 13

new program we developed for tracking them.

Notice how the second statement grabs the

readers attention by extending a helping hand.

Writers can increase the vitality of their

writing by using strong action verbs. Challenge

every use of the verb to be and its many

forms. These verbs convey existence, not

action. Substitute the verb to be with an action

verb whenever possible. For example, That

organizations emergency essential civilian

program is in serious need of a complete

revision. Now, look what happens when we

change the verb to be to an action verb: That

organizations EEC program cries out for

complete revision.

Take advantage of punctuation. Let your

writing express feelings and emotions. A wellplaced question will help your manuscript

because it makes the document more interactive. What better way to perk a readers interest

than to ask a question?

Seek out creative ways to express an idea.

Readers tend to respond more readily to concepts expressed in verbal images, partly because

such images help them understand your ideas

more thoroughly. This technique requires the

writer to be an artist and poet. That is, the writer

needs to visualize the action behind the concept

and put the image into words. When you

describe an organizations staffing as bareboned or survey results as bottom-line, you

are using visual images to invigorate your

writing. Dont be afraid to use metaphors,

similes, or even oxymorons (like the ones

below) to make your writing more interesting:

An action officer wants his or her readers to

read the entire document, pay attention to what

is being communicated and take desired actions

such as accept the writers ideas or supply

requested information. The above techniques

should prove helpful in perking up writing to

get desired results from readers.

Obscurity  Writers need to consider their

intended readers. Using abbreviations like

TEMP and TER may be suitable within the Test

and Evaluation community. However, using

these acronyms in a memo going to the budget

officer, for example, could cause confusion.

Professionals want correspondence that enlightens, informs and motivates; they do not want to

be bothered with a document that is full of

mysterious abbreviations and meaningless

jargon.

The writer shouldnt assume that readers will

know, for instance, that TEMP stands for Test

and Evaluation Master Plan, and that TER

stands for Test and Evaluation Report. Therefore, writers should spell out acronyms the first

time they are used in a document. This will

avoid confusion and misunderstanding.

Remember, in professional military writing,

less is more. Writers should not underestimate the intelligence that readers have on a

particular subject. However, by the same token,

a writer should not overestimate the amount of

background that readers have in a specific

subject. Therefore, it is good practice to give

readers only the information they need to

understand. Too much information will cause

readers to become bored and subsequently lose

interest (information overload). Too little

information gives readers a chance to play fill

in the blanks, which can lead to a serious

misunderstanding of the written information.

Ward off the obscurity bug by using

language that readers will understand. Make the

message clear by repeating key ideas, describing them, illustrating them and explaining them

in a variety of ways.

Wordiness  Verbosity can kill more than a

readers afternoon. It can also kill his or her

interest in the document and its author. Nobody

has time to read wordy memos and reports.

Often documents that look too lengthy are put

aside for later. In professional military

correspondence, less is more.

To avoid this trap, cleanse your writing of

expressions that are longer than they need to be,

such as in the event that and I am of the

opinion. Simpler expressions like if and I

think say the same things in fewer words, and

they are not pompous. Eliminating unnecessary

words in every sentence cuts away the trivial

fat, leaving the reader with the meat. This

places greater emphasis on the key topics

addressed within a document.

Sloppiness  Nothing turns a reader off

faster than a document riddled with errors that

should have been caught and corrected, had the

writer and a proofreader taken the necessary

extra time to find them. Readers neither forgive

nor forget sloppy writing. They do not tolerate
14 RM n 1st Qtr 00

documents that look as if they had been prepared

during happy hour at the club.

Careful proofreading catches misspellings

and grammatical errors. Unfortunately, people

have come to depend on spell-check programs

to find misspellings for them. Although the

computer catches many misspellings, it does not

catch correctly spelled wrong words such as

homophoneswords that sound like the

intended word but are spelled differently and

have a different meaning. Additionally, a spell

checker doesnt catch correctly spelled words

that dont make sense in the sentence. Spellcheck programs also let malapropisms slip by

ludicrous misuses of words such as take for

granite instead of take for granted.

Consider also the following (real) e-mail

message a division chief sent to his budget

analysts: This new CRA guidance makes the

one we received yesterday mute. I am sure the

writer meant moot. Punctuation and grammar

often go unnoticed; however, an improper

punctuation mark or the wrong form of a verb

will stand out like pasta sauce on a white shirt.

(See? You can write stuff like that, too, with a

little practice!)

Any documents physical appearance is

critical. Before reading a single word of it, a

reader has already received a message from its

author. Too many words crammed together on

one page and pen-and-ink changes make a

manuscript uninviting. A red flag goes up in a

readers mind whenever there is too little white

space on a page. Crowded words make readers

word weary. Putting readers in the right frame

of mind with an appealing looking document

can influence their response and reaction to its

content.

Conclusion  Professional military writing

needs to be thorough, well crafted, logically

arranged, brief and to the point. Manuscripts that

are pompous, wordy, jargon-filled, illogically

laid out or vague create confusion and misunderstanding. Documents that are simply too dull and

sloppy wind up on the back burner. Writers

can greatly help readers by using active voice,

stating the purpose up front, using a topic

sentence for each paragraph, stating and reiterating key concepts, using transitional phrases

when changing topics and summarizing in a brief

conclusion. Authors can add gusto to their

writing by using action verbs and creatively

transforming visual images to writing. Similes,

metaphors and oxymorons do much to enliven

writing. Sloppiness has no place. Despite

mechanical aids, proofreading will still be

necessary to eliminate grammatical errors and

misuses of words. By applying these techniques

and continually practicing them, action officers

can master the ability to Write Right.

About the author

John Di Genio is an operations research

analyst in the joint Manpower and Organizations

division of the office of the Assistant Chief of

Staff, at the joint and combined military headquarters in Seoul, Korea. He is a frequent RM

contributor.

AMSC SBLM Class 99-3 Graduates

The Army Management Staff Colleges Sustaining Base Leadership and Management Program Class 99-3 graduated last December. The

Comptroller Civilian Career Program had 18

students, from seven commands or agencies and

the Headquarters. During the intense course,

students worked on creative and unconventional

solutions to familiar problems. They focused

on big-picture issues like why we have an

Army; how we design it; how we staff, equip,

sustain, support, and station the Army; and issues in leadership, management, decision-making and stewardship that Army civilian leaders

have to deal with. Congratulations and an outside-the-box salute to all graduates!

Name Command

William L. Anderson INSCOM

Ramona L. Butler TRADOC

Terrence L. Clay AMC

Doreen DeBenedictis USAREUR

James H. Fish AAA

Gary J. Garland AAA

Bennett W. Hall, Jr AAA

Amelia B. Hatchett AAESA

Michael S. Hutchinson AAA

Deborah A. Hutton PERSCOM

Sharlynn P. Kaina USARPAC

Gary A. Lewis TRADOC

Virginia A. McNary TRADOC

Lynn W. Melland FORSCOM

Marie C. Powell INSCOM

Margie R. Robinson MDW

Cara L. Schay AMC

Annette M. Vettese USAREUR
RM n 1st Qtr 00 15

by John Reardon and John Di Genio

There is a marshals baton in every soldiers

rug sackNapoleon Bonaparte

A popular expression throughout the Army

financial management and comptroller community has been Grow People. Truthfully,

we do not need to grow people. Instead, we

need to grow the leaders that will guide us in

the next millennium. College and professional

courses, various types of training, and on-thejob experiences concentrate more on management than on leadership. However, in these

times of force reductions, and a larger reliance

on a seamless Army to accomplish its

diverse mission, demands for effective leaders are ever increasing.

Some may argue that leadership traits are

found only in a select few. This is hogwash. It

is not the event that makes a great person,

but, rather, it is the individual that makes an

event great. Given the proper environment,

leadership skills can be taught and nurtured.

Consequently, managers of human resources

need to aggressively look for ways to develop

and groom creative, hard-working personnel

for future leadership positions within DoD.

Here were going to look at some common

characteristics of good leadership and address

some pitfalls and consequences of poor leadership. Hopefully, our ideas will serve as a guide

to both present and aspiring leaders.

Management Versus Leadership

A leader knows whats best to do; a manager

knows merely how best to do it.

Ken Adelman

People mistakenly use the two terms interchangeably, but theyre very different. You can

lead a horse to water, but you cant manage

him to drink. A good manager is not necessarily a good leader, nor vice-versa. For example,

General Dwight Eisenhower was a very

capable manager; however, he lacked some

leadership skills. Likewise, General Douglas

MacArthur was a very charismatic leader, but

his management skills were limited.

Management refers to the day-to-day

oversight of programs, whereas leadership is

more intuitive, entailing creative skill to make

sense of uncertainty. Managers work in the

known world where there is little gray area,

whereas effective leaders are comfortable

living in the gray area. Managers have

traditionally concentrated on the here and now,

but leaders have a much broader lens and tend

to look beyond tomorrow. William Heddleson,

an Army instructor, said it well: We want our

(Army) managers and supervisors to become

better leaders. Managing is getting things

done through people. Leading is inspiring

people to want to get things done. The two are

not necessarily mutually exclusive, but true

greatness at both in one individual is rare. The

true leader manages him- or herself first and is

then ready to lead.

A Leader Versus a Follower

A man who follows a crowd will never be

followed by a crowd.R.S. Donnell

leadership is the art of accomplishing

more than the science of management says is

possibleGeneral Colin Powell, in My

American Journey

A follower is content with simply doing his

or her daily assignments. These people are

normally technically strong in their subject

matter. However, as one progresses through

the grade or rank structure, one immediately

notices that the higher ones station, the more

is the reliance on

interpersonal skills

and the less on

technical abilities.

A leader is a

risk taker, a bold

entrepreneur who

Grow leaders!

Reflections on leadership

Skills

People VS

Technical

GRADE
16 RM n 1st Qtr 00

uses dynamic personality to sell ideas to

executive decision-makers and the rank and

file. A follower lacks the fortitude to stand out

in the crowd but rather puts faith in the powers

that be. A follower doesnt make things happen

but instead waits to see which way the wind

will blow.

Roger Enrico, PepsiCo Chairman and CEO,

summed up the difference between a leader

and a follower this way: You have to lead.

You have to come up with big ideas and

express them forcefully. I have always been

encouragedor sometimes forcedto confront the very natural fear of being wrong. I

was constantly pushed to find out what I really

thought and then to speak up. Over time, I

came to see that waiting to discover which way

the wind was blowing is an excellent way to

learn how to be a follower.

Vision

The very essence of leadership is that you

have a vision.Theodore Hesburgh

An effective leader focuses on the future.

An organization may be well structured to

satisfy todays needs. However, an organization has to be flexible enough to support future

requirements. A leader needs to have the

creative ability to predict tomorrows environment today and the gumption to guide and

structure the led organization to meet those

future demands. If a leader fails to plan for

tomorrow, then that leader should also plan to

fail. Without leaderships foresight, an organization will become obsolete. Other organizations, striving for growth, will assume the

responsibility for accomplishing the functions

and tasks previously accomplished by the

outdated entity. The members of the organization will no longer have the skills necessary to

successfully compete in the market environment. Consequently, the organization will

become an unnecessary organ that will eventually be offered up as a budget efficiency.

Service

To command is to serve, nothing more and

nothing less.Andre Malraux

A leader is first and foremost a servant. A

leader helps to improve the lives of the people

in the group or to improve the system. Leaders

who behave like cartoon characters, barking

out frivolous orders to hapless subordinates,

have no place in the real world. Skilled subordinates will become weary of working for such

individuals, and simply leave the organization.

Others may decide to file grievances.

Organizations run by petty bureaucratic czars

experience large numbers of vacancies and

lengthy hire lag, because nobody wants to

work for such despots. An inordinate number

of complaints, high personnel turnover, and

lengthy hire lag are extremely costly to an

organization. The entity is constantly going

through a learning curve. High turnover

prevents any sort of team from ever forming.

Although lengthy hire lag may help an organizations budget, it hurts the morale of onboard employees left to do the work. Taken

collectively, these occurrences usually spell the

end of a bureaucratic czars reign of terror.

Effective leaders strive to ensure subordinates success in their endeavors by giving

sound guidance and removing potential

stumbling blocks. In essence, a good leader is a

facilitator of subordinates career advancements. Effective leaders encourage their

subordinates to attend career-advancing

courses such as the Army Management Staff

Colleges Sustaining Base Leadership and

Management Program. They also regularly

coach and mentor subordinates on technical

and interpersonal skills toward growing them

to assume leadership positions. Competent and

confident leaders grow future leaders. Incompetent individuals thrown into a leadership

position grow worthless office stooges.

Selfless service is an integral part of being a

leader. Those who assume the roles of leaders

are expected to put the interests of their

subordinates and the organization above their

own. Subordinates lose respect for a leader

who fails to lead by example. For example, a

leader who demands that subordinates stay

until 5:30 every evening, but leaves promptly

at 4:30, will quickly have vacant positions.

Responsibility

A real leader faces the music, even when he

doesnt like the tune.Anon
RM n 1st Qtr 00 17

A good leader places no value on that old

expression about garbage flowing down hill

but rather takes responsibility for personal

actions and the professional actions of subordinates. Inept people haphazardly thrown into a

leadership position regularly blame subordinates for work that achieves less than desired

results. Senior executives see right through

such a ploy, and more importantly they frown

on the practice. Needless to say, individuals

who imprudently believe that passing the

blame onto their subordinates will prevent

them from getting counseled are actually

fooling themselves. Such wannabe leaders

will soon be looking for other jobs.

The leader would take a hit, then get

together with action officers to correct the situation. A true leader would not say to the subordinate: The Boss isnt too happy with your

product, but would be more likely to say, We

missed the target on this one; lets see if we can

fix it. Should the leader need to take an adverse

action on a subordinate for poor performance,

the leader does so professionally by focusing on

the performance problem and offering remedies.

Personal attacks against an individual help no

one but only cause bad feelings.

Respect

But most of all respect thyself.John

Milton

Respect is a two-way street. Subordinates

expect to be treated with the respect due any

human being. Basically, individuals in a

leadership position should treat a subordinate

with the same courtesies that they expect and

want. Unfortunately, many leaders have the

foolish belief that they can treat a subordinate

like some hapless serf. Vulgarities, burlesque,

and expressions such as Im the division

chief; now, you go suck the egg are inappropriate for a professional office environment.

Frankly, subordinates respect themselves too

much to tolerate this kind of abuse. Moreover,

they find such language to be demeaning,

pompous, and downright offensive. Those in

leadership positions should always remember

that unlike feudal serfs, who were economically fixed to the land; a professional Resource

Manager is never tied down to any specific job.

Treating subordinates like mere peons will

cause the organization to have vacancies.

Worse yet, once the word gets out that a leader

treats people like the scrapings from the

bottom of a boot, that person will likely incur

long hire lags. Groucho Marx once said: Time

wounds all heels. Sadly, the stinging, bitter

wound of being treated like cheap labor may

never heal.

Loyalty

Like respect, loyalty is also a two-way

street. Leaders demand that their subordinates

remain loyal to them and the organization.

Leaders likewise need to be loyal to their

subordinates. This loyalty manifests itself in

trust and integrity. A subordinate places his/her

career in the hands of the leader. In essence, a

subordinate trusts that the leader will look out

for his/her professional needs, such as career

advancement and training opportunities. This

is the very heart and soul of a professional,

trusting relationship and the bond between

supervisor and employee.

Regrettably, some leaders believe that

loyalty flows only from the bottom up. As

such, they often misuse, abuse and betray

subordinates trust and confidence placed in

their hands. Very damaging to an organization

is a supervisor the subordinates dont trust.

Subordinates will not openly discuss situations,

news from the grapevine, office policies or

issues with a supervisor they do not trust;

thereby cutting him/her off from the information flow. Even worse, subordinates may begin

to feed the supervisor misinformation in the

hopes of causing embarrassment in front of

senior leaders.

A boss creates fear;

a leader instills confidence.

A boss fixes blame;

a leader corrects mistakes.

A boss knows all;

a leader asks questions.

A boss makes work drudgery;

a leader makes it interesting.

A boss is interested in him or herself;

a leader is interested in the Group.
18 RM n 1st Qtr 00

Some individuals in leadership positions

may mistake bootlicking for loyalty. An

obsequious bureaucratic bootlicker is an

incompetent, servile, self-serving flatterer. A

typical bootlicker will support the leader as

long as (1) the leader remains in favor with the

senior executive body, and (2) the leader can

continue to foster the sycophants career

progression. Once a leader falls from grace or

simply cannot help the flatterers career

progress any longer, the parasitic toady will

move on to another host in the supervisory

chain. Hence, a flatterers support is only

temporary. Sincere loyalty, on the other

hand, is enduring.

Leaders should immediately and sternly

reject a smooth talking flatterers advances to

gain favor. An unscrupulous bootlicker may try

to make inroads with feel-good information

for a leader, but a flatterer can also do irreparable damage to the organization. Trust and

unit cohesiveness will quickly disintegrate.

The office climate will erode into them

against us factions, the environment increasingly uncomfortable, productivity hampered.

Members of the unit may aggressively explore

ways to discredit both the bootlicker and the

leader in front of superiors. Honest, productive

subordinates will look for employment elsewhere. Harmful rumors and gossip about backstabbing office politricks, cronyism, and

closed-door cloak and dagger episodes will

feed the grapevine, thus damaging the credibility of the organization. The cost of having a

professional flatterer in the organization far

outweighs any benefits.

 A leader nurtures team building. Our division

chief, Casimir (Casey) Nitkowski, shared this

advice for our work here: Getting people

together is easy; the leadership skill is in

making these people play together as a

team....Loyalty is the cornerstone to team

building....Leaders and subordinates search for

sincere loyalty; insincere loyalty, aimed at

gaining favor or using someone to foster a

personal agenda, should be avoided.

Charisma, or the Cult of Personality

The leader seeks to communicate his vision to

his followers. He captures their attention with

his optimistic intuition of possible solutions to

their needs. He influences them by the dynamism of his faith. He demonstrates confidence

that the challenge can be met, the need resolved, the crisis overcome.John Haggai

Much has been written about this fascinating topic. Why was Beatle John Lennon a

leader of the peace movement back in the

1960s? What causes people to want to follow

leaders like Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte

or even Adolf Hitler? How can one explain the

huge masses that followed Gandhi and Martin

Luther King? Why have so many been attracted to Pope John Paul II? These leaders

have a common trait: charisma.

A leader has to be accepted by his/her

subordinates. Without this acceptance, a

supervisor will just be another boss and not

ever be viewed as a leader. Charisma, the

ability to energize and motivate people, legitimatizes a leaders position in the organization.

A leader has to believe in his/her own cause,

position or ideas. A leaders firm beliefs

inspire subordinates and senior leaders to

accept and embrace the leaders ideas. Without

such strong convictions, the leader may be

regarded as nothing more than an abusive,

hypocritical, self-serving demagogue. Subordinates and senior leaders of the organization

will see right through someone who is feeding

them a bunch of nonsense. Like the petty

bureaucratic czar, an office demagogue will

also have an extremely short career as a leader.

Openmindedness

Now theres a man with an open mind; you

can feel the breeze from here!

Groucho Marx

The boss drives people; the leader coaches

them.

The boss depends on authority; the leader

relies on good will.

The boss inspires fear; the leader breeds

enthusiasm.

The boss says "I"; the leader says "we."

The boss fixes blame for a breakdown; the

leader fixes the breakdown.

The boss orders, "Go"; the leader exhorts,

"Let's Go!"  H. Gordon Selfridge
RM n 1st Qtr 00 19

There are many people in leadership positions that fit Grouchos description of having

an open mind. The inability of such people to

listen to and accept another point of view

limits their growth potential. Being muleheaded also denies the organization the opportunity to reap the benefits of really worthwhile

ideas. An effective leader empowers subordinates to come up with alternative methods,

procedures and processes. Allowing subordinates to contribute to an organizations success

nurtures an esprit de corps and permits the

group to readily adapt to the changing (future)

environment. Remember, a leader asks

questions to make improvements. How can

any leader improve a system or organization

without listening to the worker-bees ideas?

Ethics

Leadership is established from top down.

Ethics begins at the top of an organization. It

is a leadership issue, and the leader must set

the example. . . . Loyalty is the pillar of all

leadership traits. . . . Without loyalty, there can

be no ethics. . . . Without loyalty and ethics,

there is nothing. . . . Casey Nitkowski

Leaders have to be staunch advocates of

ethical decision-making. It is not enough for a

leader to do things right; they also have to do

the right things. Subordinates emulate leadership practices. How can leadership within an

entity preach about integrity while some in its

ranks are involved in various scandals and

imbroglios? Fundamentally, leaders have to

practice what they preach. They have to talk

the talk and walk the walk.

Unfortunately, some occupying leadership

positions pompously believe that they are

above any type of ethical code of conduct. In

reality, leaders have to be held to a higher,

more rigid standard. Leaders are constantly

watched by their subordinates and by senior

executives. Leaders who stray from the ethical

path will soon lose credibility. Senior executives will no longer take them seriously, and

their subordinates will lose all respect for

them. Without respect and credibility, a

leaders career is soon ruined.

Conclusion

Leaders arent born; they are made. And they

are made just like everything else, through

About the authors

John Reardon is a branch chief and John Di

Genio is an operations research analyst in the

joint Manpower and Organizations division of

the office of the Assistant Chief of Staff, U/C/

J-1 at the joint and combined military headquarters in Seoul, Korea.

hard work. And thats the price well have to

pay to achieve that goal, or any goalVince

Lombardi

Leadership and management are distinctively different. Managers are focused in the

present, while effective leaders tend to be

visionary. Leaders are risk takers. A good

leader will ask questions to see where the

system can be improved. As leaders expect to

be treated with respect, subordinates demand

the same courtesies. Loyalty is the cement that

holds the entire organization together. Without

subordinates being loyal to their leaders, and

leaders loyal to their subordinates, the organization will quickly erode into a model of

inefficiency and ineffectiveness. Bootlicking

should not be mistaken for loyalty. Flatterers

only use those in leadership positions to foster

their own agendas. True loyalty is long-lasting.

Insincere loyalty is nothing more than temporary lip-service. Leaders arent afraid to take

responsibility for their own decisions and

actions and the professional actions of their

subordinates. A true leader will never pass

blame on to a hapless subordinate. Leaders

have to be the standard-bearers of ethics in the

organization. An unethical leader will lose

credibility and respect. A leader uses personal

charisma effectively in motivating others to

accept his/her ideas and to join in a cohesive

team. Skill in the art of communication is

crucial to a leaders success in accomplishing

nearly anything. Leaders have to possess a

sincere conviction in their ideas and beliefs.

Without these convictions, a leader is nothing

more than a dime-store demagogue. In todays

uncertain environment of lengthy deployments,

organizational drawdowns and workforce

privatization, todays Defense leadership at all

levels has much to gain by focusing on growing tomorrows leaders now.
20 RM n 1st Qtr 00

by Carole Johnson

The Army continues as acknowledged

leader in the Defense-wide civilian personnel

regionalization and modernization programs.

Civilian personnel operations across the

Defense Department are modernizing supporting automated systems to provide more costeffective and efficient services.

In Oct. 1999, selected DoD civilian human

resource offices began pre-deployment testing

of a new system called the modern Defense

Civilian Personnel Data System or DCPDS.

They tested the system in an operational

environment before deciding whether to

proceed with further deployments. Participating test environments were the Armys Pacific

region, converting in Oct. 1999, and the Navy

northwest region (Silverdale, Wash.) and Air

Force single region (San Antonio, Texas), both

of which converted in Nov. 1999.

Following conversion, the test sites closed

down operations under the older version of

DCPDS (known as legacy DCPDS) for U.S.

appropriated fund employees and began using

the modern system. Assuming successful

evaluation at the test sites, full DoD-wide

deployment would begin after a Milestone III

decision that was expected in March or April

2000 and finish by calendar years end.

The modern DCPDS will support regionalized services by automating previously manual

processes and allowing direct access to up-todate information by managers, supervisors, HR

specialists and resource analysts. Certain

authorized resource managers will also be able

to annotate Army management structure or

AMS code and table of distribution and

allowances (TDA) paragraph and line numbers

in the data files. Reporting capability will

enable managers and resource officials to track

actions and obtain documentation on their

functions. The Oracle-based modern system

harnesses new technology capabilities to

improve and simplify processing personnel

actions, accessing

civilian work force

information, and delivering personnel services.

DoD officials said the

architecture of the

modern system, which

features a Windows

format with easy pointand-click maneuvering,

was designed to be easier

to use and to reduce reliance on paperwork and

redundant operations. Deployment planning is

being carefully orchestrated, from procuring

the equipment to training everyone involved.

Representatives of the Deputy Assistant

Secretary of the Army for Civilian Personnel

Policy are working closely with the Armys

Civilian Personnel Operations Center Management Agency (CPOCMA), the Defense Civilian Personnel Management Service (CPMS)

and the other military services and agencies to

ensure successful deployment.

To prepare for Armys full conversion to

the modern system, CPOCMA is coordinating

an extensive training effort, including trainthe-trainer workshops in each region, followed

by multiple training sessions for users at that

region as they prepare to deploy.

A modern system deployment conference in

February 2000 prepared other Army regions

for full deployment of the modern system and

included a demonstration on system capabilities. For more information and current up-todate guidance and information on the modern

DCPDS, please see our web site at http://

www.cpol.army.mil under modernization.

About the author

Carole Johnson is Chief of the Regionalization Project Management office in the

assistant Army secretary office for Manpower

and Reserve Affairs

Modern Defense Civilian

Personnel Data System
RM n 1st Qtr 00 21

Why register?

Army Civilian Career Evaluation System Updated

Table 2

by Cynthia L. Dawson and Terry J. Quander

By registering in Easy ACCES on line at

www.cpol.army.mil, you become part of the

centralized automated worldwide Army career

referral system. That system lets the Army

know your qualifications and interests, such as

types of jobs, grades and geographical locations for which you would like to be considered as vacancies occur within the Army. You

must take charge of your career if you expect

to be marketable in todays Army. As of

January 2000, about 4,000 of the 7,500 eligible

CP 11 careerists were registered, an overall

rate of 53 percent. Table 1 shows that within

that total, registration rates vary widely by

grade.

Grade #Eligible #Active Rate

GS-11 2,438 826 34%

GS-12 2,658 1,584 60%

GS-13 1,612 1,119 69%

GS-14 568 424 75%

GS-15 165 75 45%

Table 1

Within CP 11, competitive recruitment and

filling of vacant positions at the GS-12 through

GS-15 grade levels are accomplished using

Easy ACCES. An inventory of CP 11 ACCES

registrants is centrally maintained by OASA

(M&RA), and at the time a permanent Army

vacancy is identified, a career referral list is

provided to the selecting official through

servicing civilian personnel channels. While

registration is voluntary, it is the established

means of competing for promotion in CP 11.

Although the number of referrals fluctuates by

year, Table 2 shows that downsizing has not

frozen ACCES referrals.

ACCES referral notification letters are

mailed to the best qualified individuals who

have indicated that they are geographically

available for promotion, lateral or change to

lower grade at the location of the vacancy. For

each person who indicates availability but does

not respond to the referral notice, another

careerist is denied the opportunity to compete,

and the selecting officials options are reduced.

Availability can be updated with minimal

effort, and the system will serve everyone

involved better if the information realistically

reflects each careerists mobility. Please be

considerate of your fellow careerists.

Accomplishment Rating Sessions

CP 11 Easy ACCES registration requires the

careerist to write five accomplishment statements covering the abilities listed on the next

page. Suspense dates for submitting accomplishment statements can be found at

www.cpol.army.mil (Frequently Asked Questions), Question and Answer #6.

Trained accomplishment raters who are CP

11 subject matter experts meet quarterly to

review and assign ratings to the submitted

accomplishment statements. The five narratives are rated independently on a scale of 1-5

(5 being the highest); however, ability #1

carries a weight factor of 3 and ability #5 a

weight factor of 2. Abilities 2-4 each have a

weight factor of 1. Upon completion of a rating

Annual Referral Lists by Grade

Series FY92 FY93 FY94 FY95 FY96 FY97 FY98 FY99

 343 65 48 88 63 88 108 119 192

 501/505 17 29 23 22 32 30 29 49

 510 32 37 41 35 53 26 50 82

 511 29 57 42 23 30 24 40 71

 560 46 52 88 83 95 95 115 214

1515 19 4 24 20 23 17 27 7

208 227 306 246 321 300 380 615
22 RM n 1st Qtr 00

session, two averages are provided, the average

of eight abilities and the average of five

abilities. The average of five is simply a oneon-one ratio of the above five abilities. The

average of eight includes the weighted factors

for ability numbers 1 and 5.

Ability Weight Factor

1) To plan, organize and direct 3

2) To analyze 1

3) To communicate orally 1

4) To write 1

5) To innovate (includes

 ability to originate action) 2

CP 11 accomplishment raters work without

knowing the name, grade or series of those

being rated. Ideally, their blind ratings should

reflect equity across series and increase when

moving up the grade structure. Table 3 shows

recent accomplishment averages of the eight

abilities. These averages provide a strong

validation of the effectiveness of the rating

system.

Average Panel Rating by Grade

Grade Avg. Rating of Eight Abilities

15 3.60

14 3.49

13 3.34

12 3.10

11 2.82

Table 3

When preparing accomplishment statements,

the careerist should complete two narratives for

each ability. Accomplishment raters will assess

both narratives, and the careerist will receive

the higher of the two scores.

The submission of focused, objective and

quantitative descriptions of accomplishments

that address the specified evaluation factors for

each of the five abilities is the key to maximizing your accomplishment average(s). Again,

the higher of the two ratings always will be

reflected on Part D of your Easy ACCES (online) registration. The rating factors considered

by the accomplishment raters can be reviewed

by clicking on the Part D Help key. The

number of characters allowed is defined online when stating your Problem or Objective;

What I Actually Did and When and What The

Outcome Was. You must also provide Verifying Person information.

The following suggestions are provided for

the careerist to consider when writing accomplishment statements:

· Do not abbreviate; spell each word, and

avoid using acronyms. What might seem a

common acronym for the careerist may not be

a familiar acronym for the accomplishment

raters.

· Include the position title of the individual

who tasked the careerist to accomplish a

particular problem/objective, e.g., immediate

supervisor, director or deputy director, division

or branch chief, commander or deputy commander.

· Ensure the accomplishment is clearly

articulated and doesnt read like a summary of

a careerists position description.

· Quantify as much as possible. Do more than

relate to the accomplishment raters that the

problem/objective was completed successfully

or in a timely manner.

Recent events. In Aug. 1998, approximately 50 CP 11 careerists received training in

how to rate accomplishment statements. Their

names now expand the duty roster of available CP 11 raters who are asked from time to

time to serve on the quarterly accomplishment

rating sessions held in Alexandria, Va.

In June 1999, CP 11 converted to Easy

ACCES, through which all registrants and their

supervisors and reviewing officials should now

be inputting ratings, evaluations and changes.

Last September, the names of those who had

not revalidated their ACCES records on line by

June 1, 1999 were moved to the inactive side

of the database. To reactivate, or to initially

register, one should visit the www.cpol.army.

mil web site and step through the menu

choices to get into Easy ACCES for CP 11.

Conclusion. Easy ACCES provides

careerists an excellent platform from which to

focus on career goals. The Armys goal is to

attract and retain quality employees and

thereby ensure top performance by a smaller

workforce. Promotion opportunities will be

more competitive in an environment with less

job security than in the past.

Willingness to move from one job to

another, whether for promotion or lateral

assignment, whether or not a permanent
RM n 1st Qtr 00 23

The Army had two military and four

civilian students among the Nov. 1999 sixweek graduates of Professional Military

Comptroller School Class 00-A and 11

military and two civilian students in the twoweek reserve component class 00-R, which

graduated in December. Students completed

graduate instruction in contemporary resource management issues and problems

facing financial managers throughout DoD.

The November graduating class also included

students from Air Force, Navy, Marine

Corps, DFAS and other DoD organizations.

If you are a GS-12 or a Major or higher

and havent yet been to this course, note next

fiscal years class dates and submission

deadlines in the box below. Apply through

chain of command to the Army Comptroller

Proponency Office by faxing to DSN 223-

PMCS Classes 00-A and 00-R Graduate

7162 or (703) 693-7162 your supervisors or

raters memorandum of nomination and a

work history statement such as DA form

2302, free-form resume or officer record

brief.

Class 00-A

Army Graduates Command

Velorie F. Bukosky MEDCOM

Walter D. Houck MTMC

Lt.Col. Cedric C. Minor FORSCOM

Maria A. Monroe USACE

Everett H. Nagel FORSCOM

Maj. David D. Phillips FORSCOM

Class 00-R

Graduates Command

Col. James V. Bedard NGB

Lt.Col. Paul D. Brower, Sr AZ ARNG

Maj. Klement J. Caron MI ARNG

Col. Timothy L. Dilliplane 94th RSC, USAR

Joseph D. Haseltine 94th RSC, USAR

Maj. William I. Kelly UT ARNG

Lt.Col. Theodore R. Lammot AK ARNG

Lt.Col. Rodney D. McKitrick SC ARNG

Lt.Col. Jimmy O. Miller NC ARNG

Maj. Joseph F.X. ODonnell 1st Army

Joel L. Sketers 81st RSC, USAR

Col. Michael B. Smith NJ ARNG

Lt. Col. James R. Smith, II IN ARNG

Class Start Finish Suspense

01-A 10 Oct. 17 Nov. 11 Aug.

01-B 16 Jan. 23 Feb. 9 Nov.

01-C 26 Mar 4 May 26 Jan.

01-D 4 June 13 July 6 April

01-E 6 Aug. 14 Sept. 8 June

Class dates and application suspense

dates for FY 2001 PMCS offerings

change of station is required, is an important

factor for progression. The mobile careerist

will seek and be challenged to perform under

different Army missions, conditions and

leaders.

Varied assignments are an important means

to develop essential skills, knowledge and

abilities for steady upward progression in the

Comptroller Civilian Career Program (CP 11).

A diverse experience background provides the

extensive professional expertise expected of

top-level managers and executives. The first

step toward such a professional background is

to register in Easy ACCES. That move is up to

you, the reader and CP 11 careerist.

About the authors

Cynthia L. Dusty Dawson is a program

analyst in the personnel planning and resource

management office at Army Audit Agency

headquarters. A former military personnel

administration specialist and recent CP 11

intern graduate, she used the internship experience to achieve proficiency in financial management core competencies while pursuing

off-duty undergraduate study.

Terry J. Quander is chief of the OASA

(M&RA) Career Management Operations

Branch, which convenes accomplishment

rating panels and issues referral lists for

ACCES-based Army civilian career programs.
24 RM n 1st Qtr 00

OFFICE, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE ARMY

(FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT & COMPTROLLER)

The following sections were written by different

OASA(FM&C) deputies. Not every deputy will provide input for this feature.

PERSPECTIVES

Fiscal Year 2001 Army Budget

by Maj. Gen. Jerry L. Sinn

As resource managers, each one of us plays

a role in developing and defending the Armys

budget. The more we know about the budget

and how it supports the Armys mission and

our leadership priorities, the better we can

fulfill that role. I welcome the opportunity to

share just some of the highlights for fiscal year

2001, and I encourage you to learn more by

checking the FY01 Army Budget Materials

on our web site, http://www.asafm.army.mil/

budget.htm.

The presidents budget for fiscal year 2001,

submitted to Congress in February, includes

$70.8 billion in total obligation authority for

the Army. That is $0.8 billion over this years

appropriation levels, but it represents about a

1.5 percent decrease in real buying power, due

to one-time funds and mission transfers.

Figure 1 shows the total $70.8 billion distributed by appropriation.

The Armys 2001 budget stands on two

fundamental tenets: protection and change.

Under the first, the Army will continue to

protect critical readiness, quality of life, and

modernization in order to provide combat

ready forces in support of national security and

national military strategies. This budget

protects readiness improvements initiated last

year, maintains the critical combat overmatch

that ensures the Army remains capable of

winning two near-simultaneous theater wars,

and sustains quality-of-life improvements for

our soldiers and families. It also continues

critical modernization programs necessary to

maintain our ability to defeat any current or

foreseeable military threat.

Under the second tenet, change, the Army

begins its transformation into a force strategically responsive and dominant at every point

on the spectrum of operationsa force that

can not only fight and win our nations wars

but also help to shape the global environment.

We have programmed $1 billion for the

transformation in fiscal 2001, as shown in

figure 2.

Centerpiece of the transformed Army

ultimately will be an objective force that is

responsive, deployable, agile, versatile, lethal,

survivable and sustainable. As advances in

science and technology make possible the

fielding of that force, the Army will strive to

reach ambitious goals that include deploying:

s A combat brigade anywhere in the world in

96 hours.

AFH

2%

MILPERS

40%

Procurement

14%

RDTE

8%

O&M

34%

MILCON

2%

FY 01 Budget Distributed by Appropriation

Figure 1

Equip Brigades

67%

S&T for

FCV

4% Figure2

Enablers

10%

Recap Legacy

Systems

19%

$1B Cost of Transforming the Army in FY01
RM n 1st Qtr 00 25

Let me give you my personal perspective on

this. The current contractor has failed to meet

requirements. They are working to catch up,

but they are starting from deep in their own

end zone. Over the past year, youve all

experienced the same problems with their

inability to provide the tools you need to

manage your cardholder accounts. Why, then,

do the Army Materiel Command and the Corps

of Engineers stand head-and-shoulders above

other commands in managing delinquencies?

The answer is simple. The commander of AMC

and the Chief of Engineers have taken a

personal leadership interest in delinquent

cardholder accounts. They have established a

climate in which delinquencies are unacceptable

and where delinquent accounts are flags to

trigger command involvement.

The same was true during our American

Express days. Each delinquent cardholder

account represents a soldier or civilian who

P E R S P E C T I V E S

Government Travel Card

by Ernest J. Gregory

Since the Armys government travel charge

card program began in the 1980s, delinquent

cardholder accounts have been a pervasive

problem for the Army. We saw the transition to

our new contractor in Nov. 1998 as an opportunity to finally get a handle on our delinquency

problem. Based on our previous experience, we

helped build into this new contract a number of

delinquency management tools, like an on-line

account management system, credit checks and,

for some, cards with more restrictive charge and

cash limits. These tools were intended to help

commanders and managers minimize the

delinquency rate among their cardholders. We

are now 14 months into this new contract and,

in general, our performance in managing

delinquencies is still poor  things havent

changed much from the days of American

Express.

s A division anywhere in the world in 120

hours.

s Five divisions anywhere in the world in 30

days.

Inherent in designing and fielding the

objective force are concomitant efforts to:

s Reduce or eliminate distinctions between

light and heavy units.

s Use common vehicle platforms that incorporate a 50-70 percent weight reduction but retain

the survivability of todays heavy forces.

s Reduce logistical footprints using a systems

approach and common chassis.

s Provide a force structure that can rapidly

transition through full-spectrum mission

requirements without loss of momentum.

This budget ensures the Army will continue

to be a strategic instrument of national policy

and serve our country well in peace and war, as

it has for over two centuries.

To restate, the Army budget for fiscal year

2001 ensures that readiness, quality of life, and

modernization are funded at sufficient levels to

support national security and national military

strategies. It also reflects Armys continuous

process of changing and growing as necessary

to fulfill its commitments to the American

people. The 2001 budget supports a transformation of the Army into a more deployable,

versatile and responsive full-spectrum force.

It is both one of ensuring the continued

excellence the Army has attained in the past

and one devoted to changing the Army into a

full-spectrum force that is strategically responsive and dominant for the future.

Army Budget for Fiscal Year 2001

Total Obligation Authority in Billions of Dollars

Appropriation FY01

Military Personnel $28.4

Operation and Maintenance 23.8

Procurement 9.4

Research, Development,

 Test and Evaluation 5.3

Military Construction 1.0

Army Family Housing 1.1

Base Realignment and

 Closure (BRAC) .3

Environmental Restoration .4

Total (does not add due to rounding) $70.8
26 RM n 1st Qtr 00

P E R S P E C T I V E S

Pilot Test of Meal Check Program

by Robert W. Raynsford, Ph.D.

Early last November, the Defense department began a 4-month test of meal checks

for new recruits to use in paying for restaurant

meals en route to their military entrance

processing stations or MEPSs. Because they

process large numbers of recruits into active

and reserve components of the Army, Air

Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard,

MEPSs at Fort Hamilton, N.Y.; Chicago, Ill.

and Milwaukee, Wis. are serving as pilot test

sites. If the test succeeds, meal checks will

replace the current meal tickets.

Meal tickets are prepared manually. The

applicable recruit information, cost data and

accounting codes are typed on the meal ticket

to identify the correct appropriation or fund

source. This takes an inordinate amount of

time and may result in errors. The procedures

to obtain reimbursement for the meal tickets

accepted by the restaurant are time-consuming

and inefficient. The process to pay the restaurant for the meal is costly to DoD. Payment is

not always timely. This causes restaurants to

be reluctant to accept meal tickets.

The meal check uses private-sector tools and

state-of-the-art technology. Under the new

automated process, the meal checks are linked

to the Military Entrance Processing Command

(MEPCOM) integrated resource system

(MIRS). There is no need for any data entry or

typing. Recruits are issued computer-generated meal checks based on MIRS data that

clear through the banking system. The checks

contain a magnetic ink character recognition

(MICR) line code to identify the appropriation

to be charged.

Chase Manhattan Bank, our private sector

advisor and partner, provides DoD meal check

processing services, including accounting

reconciliation, payment and reporting of meal

check transactions. Internal controls are

enhanced. Restaurants treat the meal checks

like any other check and receive payment

through the banking system within 48 hours of

presentment. Ultimately, more restaurants will

participate, giving the recruits more restaurant

choices. The administrative cost of preparing

and processing the meal checks is substantially

less.

Representatives from my office led development of the meal check concept to improve

business practices within the Army and DoD.

MEPCOM provided the computer programming support and built the critical automated

interfaces and internal control mechanisms for

the process. The Treasury Department and

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond are

providing the financial platform to ensure

checks are paid correctly and in accordance

with private sector banking timeframes.

The Defense Finance and Accounting

Service, DFAS, and the Army Finance Command, FINCOM, ensure checks are properly

recorded in DoD accounting reports. In

addition, FINCOM is closely monitoring the

entire test process and will recommend any

needed refinements. Meanwhile, Army, Navy,

Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard

appropriation managers supply the funds for

the appropriation codes shown on the MICR

line code, and they monitor execution against

their appropriations.

At years end, the test sites had issued 748

meal checks, with much positive feedback

may be in personal financial trouble. I realize

that some of these folks are simply deadbeats,

but I believe a much larger number simply need

our leadershipour guidance, our mentoring

before they get into deeper trouble. We must

focus our attention on minimizing delinquencies, not for the sake of the contractor, but for

the sake of our soldiers and civilians.
RM n 1st Qtr 00 27

P E R S P E C T I V E S

received. According to Fort Hamilton MEPS

representatives, The meal check process is

much faster than the meal ticket process. It

cuts down on a lot of manual paperwork.

Logistically, the meal check is easier, and

accountability and control are enhanced. In

follow-on interviews, recruits said they had no

problems with restaurateurs honoring their

meal checks and had the freedom to choose to

eat where they wanted.

Most meal checks have been used at Host

Marriott Corporation airport restaurants.

Marriott representatives have praised the meal

check process and test results to date.

FINCOM expects a successful test and full

implementation, according to an official: The

meal check system provides greater accountability of the amount of funds used for meal

checks without sacrificing any governmental

accounting requirements. Through the joint

cooperation of personnel from MEPCOM,

Treasury, Federal Reserve Bank, Chase

Manhattan Bank, DFAS and appropriation

managers, we are on our way to replacing an

antiquated meal ticket system with a meal

check process that will operate at a significantly higher level of efficiency.

The Army Audit Agency plans to do an

independent evaluation of the meal check

process following the test. Factors to be

evaluated include cost, accountability and

control, promptness of payment to restaurants,

and restaurant and recruit satisfaction. Once

the test ends successfully and is validated, the

nations 65 MEPSs will eventually switch from

meal tickets to meal checks for new military

recruits first coming on duty.

Name Command

Lt. Col. Thomas W. Beeson NGB

Vicki L. Bice TRADOC

Capt. Carmelo M. Borges FORSCOM

Gloria F. Clement DFAS

Lt. Col. Michael S. Curry DOD

SFC James Eric Davis TRADOC

Charles J. de Melker ATEC

Jo-Ann F. Evans USACE

Elsie M. Fitzsimmons FORSCOM

David M. Fraczek DFAS

Vernon E. George USACE

Melinda G. Graves DFAS

Mary M. Hall USACE

Maj. Francis L. Holinaty EUSA

Chin Suk Hong EUSA

Lenell Lucas TRADOC

Hye Kyong O EUSA

Susan E. Padgett TRADOC

Virginia E. Quirin USARC

Maj. David P. Savold ODCSOPS

aj. Randy G. Stevens FORSCOM

Kwang-Won Yi EUSA

Lt. Col. F. Doug Young OCAR

PRMC Class 2000-II Graduates

Eight military and 15 civilian students

from five major commands, Army headquarters and the Defense Finance and Accounting

Service graduated Feb. 18 from Professional

Resource Management Course class 00-II at

Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y. Students

completed four weeks of graduate instruction

in the process and the environment of resource management. They also worked group

exercises to improve communication and

decision-making skills. Congratulations to all

on finishing this challenging instruction.

Syracuse Universitys School of Management recently announced a new look in its

Army Programs Office homepage. Initial favorable comments from viewers include

Excellent look, feel and content. Very user friendly. Readers can visit the site at

http://sominfo.syr.edu/facstaff/army/suarmyrm/index.htm. Retired Army Colonel

Dave Berg, Syracuse Army programs director, invites visitors comments and suggestions.
PIN: 077894 000

DFAS-Indianapolis Center

Resource Management

Professional development bulletin

(ISSN 0893-1828)

Attn: DFAS-IN/EU

Room 207E

8899 E. 56th St.

Indianapolis, IN 46249-0150

n

1