Photo By Kari Hawkins | Marion Whicker is bringing her management and logistics experience to Army Materiel...... read more read more
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REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- Marion Whicker’s Army civilian career has been defined by “needs of the Army” since her intern days at the Tank-automotive and Armaments Command.
So, when the Army was in need of a senior government executive with the experience, knowledge and ability to lead a world-wide logistics organization, Whicker responded to the call. As the Executive Director of TACOM’s Integrated Logistics Support Center, Whicker’s experience overseeing the readiness of the majority of Army maintenance, fielding, new equipment training, supply chain management and system readiness gave her the credentials to be an ideal candidate to serve as the executive deputy to the commanding general at Army Materiel Command.
“To be the most senior civilian executive at AMC is an honor. At the same time, it is humbling,” she said. “I’m a product of great leaders who invested time and energy in me, civilian teammates who helped me along my career, and an organization that provides educational and professional opportunities for its civilian employees.”
Whicker, a Tier 3 Senior Executive Service member, joined the AMC executive leadership team in June, following the retirement of Lisha Adams. She hopes to continue the AMC tradition of providing top-notch support for the Army’s people, modernization and readiness priorities in the areas of materiel life cycle management, acquisition support, personnel and resource management, and industrial base operations with an enterprise integrating the missions of 10 major subordinate commands and a workforce of 175,000 military, civilians and contractors, located in all 50 states and 152 countries.
“AMC has many strategic initiatives, including the Ready Army campaign plan, modernization of equipment and facilities and supply chain management,” Whicker said. “AMC is also focused on operational readiness in regards providing support to Soldiers on any mission.”
In the area of modernization, Whicker said the focus is not only on equipment and facilities, but also on processes and talent management.
“We want to make sure our people are trained and have the opportunities to grow professionally,” she said. “With 23 organic industrial base facilities and four major life cycle commands and several other major subordinate commands, I am committed to visit these organizations and understand our equities and see the employees. It’s important to see things in person and to connect with the workforce, both civilian and military.”
Every mission, every challenge, is an opportunity to develop employees, she said.
“People are always at the forefront of what this command is all about,” Whicker said. “This is a roll-up-your-sleeves kind of organization with employees who hold themselves accountable for meeting timelines and goals.”
Making connections and building employee capability have been priorities for Whicker since the early days of her career.
“I grew up in supply chain management and was involved in the entire acquisition process,” she said. “I started at TACOM as a GS-5 intern. Most of my family works in Detroit’s auto industry. But in 1984, after graduating with a degree in Business Administration from Iowa Wesleyan College, I came back home and the auto market was down. I saw an ad for the Army in the Detroit papers, applied and never looked back.”
The years that followed offered good leadership and mentorship, training opportunities and assignments that allowed Whicker to be involved in the entire acquisition process. As she took on new assignments, she learned what it means for organizations to be strategically engaged, how to prepare for all contingencies and what it takes to support Soldiers engaged in missions all around the world.
“The outstanding support that AMC gives its employees in terms of leadership and mentoring and training opportunities has been a hallmark of this command,” she said. “AMC support is really foundational in the areas of people, modernization and readiness, and is always Soldier focused.”
Most of Whicker’s career has been in support of TACOM missions. But, from June 2020 to May 2021, she served in a temporary assignment as Deputy Chief for Supply, Production and Distribution for Operation Warp Speed, the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics response.
“The challenge was what was at stake, and learning the medical side of logistics,” she said. “We used all the same logistics principles and practices we are familiar with in the Army and the collaborations of government agencies, the medical industry and academics really made a difference. Learning the medical vernacular and translating it to Army logistics terms was the challenge.”
Now, the AMC mission presents her with another opportunity to challenge her leadership skills.
“The life cycle management commands – TACOM, Aviation and Missile Command, Communications-Electronics Command, and Joint Munitions Command -- are so nested with AMC that the transition is not so difficult,” she said. “The linkage between AMC major subordinate commands is exceptional and they all excel at supporting each other and working together for Soldiers.
“But there is still a lot to learn, primarily within the broader communications with Department of the Army and the Secretary of the Army.”
Whicker comes from a large family, being the ninth of 10 children, most of who have lived in Michigan their entire lives. Whicker’s wife Kellee will remain in Michigan through December, when she will retire from her career as a middle school teacher and join Whicker in Huntsville. Their daughter MacKenzee married in June and will remain in Michigan, where she is a pre-school teacher.
With nearly 40 years as an Army Civilian, Whicker is proud to continue the tradition of women leading at AMC.
“Three out of the last four executive deputies to the commanding general were female. It speaks well for women in leadership within the Army and certainly for the opportunities AMC provides to women,” she said. “Both Gen. (Gus) Perna (former AMC commander) and (AMC commander) Gen. (Ed) Daly have encouraged me to reach for even greater heights in my career. I truly believe that working hard and taking on the jobs nobody else wants to do grows your knowledge base and gets you noticed, too.”
| Date Taken: | 08.26.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 08.26.2022 12:25 |
| Story ID: | 428123 |
| Location: | REDSTONE ARSENAL, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 237 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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