For Jennifer “Jenn” Fleming pursuing a Civilian career with the Joint Munitions Command (JMC), which is headquartered in Rock Island, Illinois, but has installations across the United States, made perfect sense.
One of JMC’s subordinate ammunition plants — Radford Army Ammunition Plant (RFAAP) — is near Fleming’s hometown of Blacksburg, Virginia.
The 26-year-old attended Virginia Tech University, located in Blacksburg, and about a half hour drive from Radford, Virginia, which is where RFAAP is located.
Plus, Fleming has family ties to the Army. Her grandfather and grandmother on her father’s side met during the Vietnam War, and they’ve been married for almost 60 years. Fleming also has numerous friends who have a connection to the military in some way.
“Given the opportunity, of course, I wanted to work for and support my country,” Fleming said.
RFAAP is a government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) facility, which means the government owns the property, but a contractor is responsible for the daily operation, maintenance, and upkeep of the facilities. The GOCO operational model has been used successfully since World War II.
Fleming has been employed at RFAAP as an industrial engineer for just over three and a half years, and Army Materiel Command (AMC) recently recognized Fleming for exceptional service, as she was named an Employee of the Quarter for the fourth quarter, Fiscal Year 2022. Fleming is one of 11 Civilian employees who will have a placard on display in the north hallway at AMC’s headquarters in Huntsville, Alabama.
“I am super honored,” Fleming said. “It came as a big shock to me. There were some things in 2022 that involved getting the staff together and learning from each other. We started a technical sync this past year for all the non-supervisors to get together and talk about what they’re working on and invite people to join them in the plant.
“For example, if I was going to do a maintenance audit, because that’s the area I oversee, I invite people from quality or safety or environmental to come with me and point out any issues that they might see,” added Fleming. “I feel good that the kind of stuff I’m passionate about matters enough that I could receive this honor. I’m super thankful for my team here at Radford. They’re awesome people, and they motivate me every day to be better.”
Jeff Howell, the chief of operations of RFAAP, notes that Fleming goes above and beyond.
“Jenn’s oversight of Performance Work Statement 7 far exceeded expectations. She met with the staff multiple times per week to review the backlog and perform root cause analyses,” Howell said. “She works well with government and contract staff to mitigate issues and develop innovative ways to improve performance.
“Jenn has been pivotal in defining work to be performed under the modernization projects,” he added. “She exceled as the lead in the creation of the process for major maintenance projects at RFAAP. She identified the best way to vet and score projects to ensure that the most beneficial ones for RFAAP were being executed. Her work really speaks for itself, and she is setting the standard for exceptional contractual oversight across the organic industrial base.”
And Fleming has sound advice for new and recent Civilian employees.
“I’ve been really lucky, because the team that I work with has encouraged asking questions,” Fleming said. “Starting any career there is just so much that you don’t know. With the Army and JMC there is so much more to know. People talking and they’re throwing out these acronyms and you have no idea what it is.
“Don’t be afraid to ask questions, which is pretty cliché,” she added. “Also, I’ve found that you learn the most when you ask people to tag along with you when you have to go somewhere or ask them to show you how to do something.”
When Fleming isn’t at RFAAP, she works part-time as a fitness instructor. Fleming teaches weightlifting and cycling.
“I love teaching fitness classes,” Fleming said. “I’m super passionate about wellness. I also love long distance running – the longer the better.”
Date Taken: | 04.11.2023 |
Date Posted: | 04.14.2023 08:30 |
Story ID: | 442362 |
Location: | ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, ILLINOIS, US |
Web Views: | 28 |
Downloads: | 0 |
This work, JMC’s Fleming receives Army Materiel Command honor, by Matthew Wheaton, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.