Photo By Staff Sgt. Deven Schultz | Gilbert Clampitt, Logistics Specialist, prepares to relocate logistical supplies at...... read more read more
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. – How do you combine a variety of staff members from resource management, facilities, security, safety, information management/information technology (IM/IT), and logistics into a cohesive division?
Late in 2023, a division was created that combined the heartbeat of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System (AFMES) under one name: Business Operations Division. Neat, right? It didn’t take long for the newly minted Chief of Business Operations, Lt Col Ben Wilson, to grab the reins and start the labor-intensive work of getting all his sections under the same mindset and goals.
“It definitely hasn’t been an overnight kind of thing. These offices have been fairly autonomous this entire time and we wanted to create a more collaborative environment under one umbrella” explains Lt Col Wilson. “Implementing change isn’t always easy, but my priority has been building relationships and buy-in that their requirements and action requests are being fulfilled to the degree they need.”
The Business Operations division, or Business Ops, has a large mission that literally keeps the AFMES running. Each section within Business Ops has an important function that, without it being there, would severely impact the AFMES’s world-renowned capabilities.
Resource Management focuses on programs, services, and systems throughout the Financial Management life cycle model. One of their main functions is ensuring the AFMES has funds for mission critical supplies and travel on government-funded missions while balancing a multi-million-dollar budget for four major divisions.
“They run a really tight ship,” says Lt Col Wilson, “and their contributions to the mission ensure we have people where they need to be with the right equipment to get the job done. Since the inception of the new division, they have developed a tracking mechanism for all of our memoranda of understanding/agreement and created a central contract management function. Managing a budget as large as ours can be stressful, but they never fail to get the job done.”
If you’ve ever enjoyed the comforts of air conditioning or wondered how a critical piece of equipment got fixed so fast, there’s probably a Facilities staff member to thank for that. This team works quietly in the background ensuring key infrastructures stay in working shape.
“Mr. Tom Vallee and his crew are indispensable when it comes to keeping the AFMES running. It would be one thing for his team to come in, do the bare minimum, and then go home,” Lt Col Wilson mentions. “What they do is far more than that. They go above and beyond to diagnose, treat, and fix problems daily using their individual expertise which has identified serious problems within the facility. They are also consistently utilized as subject matter experts for current and future projects throughout the Port Mortuary.”
Of course, you can’t forget the crew of lifelong public servants in the Operations section. The team provides operational planning support, personnel, physical and information security, and training to support the AFMES mission. Additionally, they provide emergency management capabilities, hazardous waste collection, and a plethora of safety education opportunities for AFMES staff.
“Safety, security, and operational readiness are key to mission success,” Lt Col Wilson explains. “This team, led by Mr. Brian Garon, utilize everything from a state-of-the-art security system to a robust network of partners throughout Dover Air Force Base, and safety representatives throughout the building to accomplish their complex mission of keeping Team AFMES safe. This team also ensures staff have appropriate security clearances and active official passports to maintain AFMES’s 24/7 worldwide mission. Of course, this is just scraping the top of the surface of their many duties. I am incredibly thankful to have these individuals on our team.”
Whether you need help logging in to your email or are troubleshooting a Defense Health Agency (DHA) wide network problem, never fear, the AFMES IM/IT section will save the day. But first, did you try unplugging it and plugging it back in?
“Our IM/IT section sets us up for success day in and day out. Monitoring countless programs and daily activities, on top of fixing our problems, it can be a lot,” explains Wilson. “However, the team run by Mr. Dennis Jones, who also serves as the Deputy Division Chief, never lets us down. While maintaining an appropriate security posture and compliance within the Department of Defense (DoD) and DHA policies, the team never fails to support the ongoing identification and repatriation of our fallen service members, on a global scale.”
“Not to be overlooked is records management,” said Wilson. “Ms. Leslie Middleton coordinates all AFMES records for retention and disposition, manages our forms and publications cradle to grave, and ensures family correspondence and FOIA requests are handled in accordance with DoD/DHA/AFMES policy.”
Last, but certainly not least, our warehouse warriors in Logistics and throughout the facility provide responsive, flexible, comprehensive, logistic support to our customers and colleagues. Led by Mr. Mike Fasano, the section manages over 121,000 square feet of real estate ensuring AFMES staff have what they need, when they need it.
“Having only recently cut the ribbon on the military construction project that was years in development, the phenomenal staff in Logistics has never let us down before or after the completion of the project,” says Lt Col Wilson proudly. “Whether they’re ordering reagent chemicals for AFMES scientists or tracking down equipment in the property books, they are the embodiment of professionalism while interacting with individuals both within and outside of AFMES.”
Collaboration is a major focus for this new division. For instance, earlier this year is when Facilities, Safety, and Logistics came together to mitigate a surprise fire inspection in the Division of Forensic Toxicology. The team reached success by relocating pallets of records and supplies in accordance with National Fire Protection Association standards.
“Within only a few weeks after standing up the division, inter-office efficiencies were already coming to fruition,” explains Lt Col Wilson. “Recently, Security and IM/IT collaborated to reconfigure the Secret Internet Protocol Router (SIPR) room and add additional security measures.”
This action addressed a new finding from the annual Dover Air Force Base Information Protection Inspection. Their quick action to address the finding together has made the AFMES SIPR room far more secure and compliant.
Wilson noted, “Resource Management and Logistics have made strides building relationships with the 436th Medical Group and Defense Logistics Agency to implement strategic sourcing techniques that have already saved the organization over $100K in rotating stock and postured to cut over $1M in end of year purchases.”
Summarizing an entire division is never an easy task, and of course there’s so much more to say about each of the staff members within the different sections. At the end of the day, these people keep the AFMES heart beating and with them, their innovation keeps the mission continuously surpassing boundaries and breaking barriers along the way.
| Date Taken: | 08.13.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.13.2024 11:09 |
| Story ID: | 478471 |
| Location: | DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, DELAWARE, US |
| Web Views: | 99 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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