Photo By Matthew Wheaton | In early July, Marion Whicker, the Executive Deputy to the Commanding General at the...... read more read more
Marion Whicker spoke frankly during a visit to the Joint Munitions Command’s headquarters, located at the Rock Island Arsenal in Rock Island, Illinois, in early July, as she nears the end of her Army Civilian career.
Being open and honest is nothing new for the Executive Deputy to the Commanding General at the U.S. Army Materiel Command, as Whicker has been that way for the entirety of her Army career, which concludes Sept. 30 at just over 40 years.
Whicker, who began her path as a Tank-automotive and Armaments Command intern, wasn’t just at JMC’s headquarters to say goodbye. She also had official business to conduct.
The Tier III Senior Executive, comparable to a three-star flag officer, attended briefings as part of quarterly Management Business Review Level III meetings. In the afternoon, Whicker also had an open dialogue with Minority College Relations Program interns.
After a working lunch, Whicker sat down for a question-and-answer session and reflected on her journey.
Q: As you approach retirement, what accomplishments are you most proud of during your tenure with the Army?
Whicker: “There are several. No. 1, I was able to work on Operation Warp Speed, which was the Department of Defense working with Health and Human Services and the development of vaccines/therapeutics and then the overall distribution of those and getting them out to the American public. Second, I was fortunate enough to follow on right after that to lead the development of the Army's 15-year, $18 billion Organic Industrial Base strategy. Third from a personal perspective, to be able to culminate my career as the Executive Deputy to the Commanding General of AMC. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought I would have held this position.”
Q: What motivated you to pursue a career with the Army?
Whicker: “I'm from Detroit originally - my entire family works for the auto industry - and when I graduated from college in 1984, the auto industry was on a downward trend. They weren’t hiring, and there was an ad in the newspaper for TACOM. I didn't know what TACOM was, and I had never been there. I applied to the ad, got a job, and thought ‘hey, I'll do this job for about three years.’ I never looked back. I never applied for a job outside of the Army. I found my calling.”
Q: How much will you miss making trips to JMC’s headquarters and the Rock Island Arsenal?
Whicker: “I went to college in Southeast Iowa at Iowa Wesleyan (in Mount Pleasant, Iowa). I love this part of the country. I’ve been coming to JMC for a number of years.
“JMC is a great organization to come and work with. I have met all kinds of different people every time I come here, and it’s just a very special place to me. It’s like a second home.”
Q: How has the Army changed since you first began your career, and what do you consider to be the most significant advancements?
Whicker: “The Army has definitely changed from an automation perspective. When I first came in as an item manager, and when we worked our supply control studies, everything was a printout and stubby pencils. When I first started, we had one computer. It was an input and output terminal. There wasn’t a computer at every desk. Today, everybody has a computer, and it’s really changed from a data analytics perspective. A lot of times we would use gut feelings and intuition, and we are using data to drive the decisions we are making today.”
Q: What do you hope your legacy will be within the Army?
Whicker: “Someone that loved the Army, took on the tough jobs and generated results. There wasn’t a job or a challenge that I wouldn’t take on.”
Q: How do you believe your contributions have shaped the Army’s direction and capabilities?
Whicker: “I think they've helped shape them in a couple ways. No. 1, in terms of furthering logistics. You know logistics is a thing that you must have, but what we've really done is help emphasize the need for logistics and planning logistics up front. The need for executing logistics as you go.
“The other thing I think I've really shaped a lot is our Organic Industrial Base and making sure that people understand the importance of it from a readiness perspective, from a national insurance policy, and why it's important to not only maintain it from a field facilities perspective, but then workloaded from a production perspective.”
Q: What advice would you give to those aspiring to leadership roles within the Army?
Whicker: “Don’t say no to any opportunity. I tried not to say no to anything. When the Army calls your name, be ready to go out there and do it. The other part is to become multifunctional. I think that’s probably one of the keys to my success. I’ve held a variety of different jobs and use skills from each of them to this day.”
Q: What advice do you have for your successor?
Whicker: “No. 1 is you have to remember that we are working for Soldiers. Never lose sight of that, because everything we do impacts them. No. 2, take care of the people, and they’ll take care of you. Another thing is to be brave in the face of adversity. I have taken on the challenges. I won’t accept the status quo. A lot of it is telling people what they need to hear and not necessarily what they want to hear.”
Q: Can you share any key lessons or insights you’ve learned over the course of your career?
Whicker: “Ask questions. Don’t be afraid to raise your hand to volunteer for something, but also don’t be afraid to provide ideas, too.”
Q: What are your plans for retirement? Do you have any specific goals or projects you are looking forward to?
Whicker: “First and foremost is getting back with my family. I have been away from them for over four years. No. 2, I am a grandma, and my granddaughter is about to turn one. I am really looking forward to doing things with her, and just getting back to home and family.”
Q: Do you intend to stay involved with the Army or military community in some capacity after retirement?
Whicker: “I will always be involved with the Army. I would love to be able to continue to support the Army in some kind of volunteer capacity.”
Q: Is there any project or goal you wish you had more time to complete before your retirement?
Whicker: “Our current OIB modernization strategy. We are off to a great start, but this is only the first year of a 15-year plan, and I would have loved to been able to see a couple more years of that. However, I am confident in the leaders we have that are taking it over and moving it forward. I think it's one of the great Army initiatives that has the support of not only the Army, but also academia and certainly Congress.”
| Date Taken: | 07.23.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 07.23.2024 09:08 |
| Story ID: | 476797 |
| Location: | ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL , ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 62 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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