Photo By Christine Mitchell | Marion Whicker, AMC's executive deputy to the commanding general, speaks at an AMC G-1...... read more read more
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REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. – Like many Army stories, Marion Whicker wasn’t expecting her Army career to be of much consequence when she started as an intern in September 1984. She planned to get some basic experience and then move on to another job, likely in the auto industry.
“That never happened, and I never looked back,” she said.
Exactly 40 years after starting as an intern, Whicker is retiring from her role as the executive deputy to the commanding general for Army Materiel Command, the senior civilian serving in the Army’s largest logistics and sustainment organization.
And again, like many Army stories, she reflects now on how it was the Army’s possibilities that led her to discover her passion and build her career, which she also passionately believes the service can do for anyone else who welcomes it.
“I’m the luckiest person around,” Whicker said. “I signed up for a job that I thought would last a couple years, and I grew a career. You’re only limited by what you’re afraid to try.”
One of 10 children, Whicker was born and raised in Michigan. Her family worked in the auto industry, and she’s a self-proclaimed “defector” for straying away from the family business.
The path between her start as an intern and now, as a Tier-III member of the Senior Executive Service, which is the civilian equivalent to a three-star general, was made of grit and opportunities. She continued her education and took on roles with increasing responsibilities.
“I took assignments that got me more well-known throughout the Army, and the positions came to me. I didn’t rush to them,” she said.
Her purview at AMC includes managing the Army’s global supply chain for its weapon systems and industrial base operations, making sure those systems and facilities are successful — ensuring their consistent workload and modernization, and that they’re ready and available when they’re called upon.
“They are our national insurance policy,” she said. “We’re constantly looking at risk of the parts we manage, for obsolescence, risk assessments, just to get ahead of it. We keep a pulse on our industry partners, just as they stay informed of our needs and demands.”
Many of the Army’s 23 Organic Industrial Base facilities, consisting of depots, arsenals and ammunition plants, are averaged at 80 years old. In 2021, Whicker was tapped to lead an OIB modernization effort, and within six months, she developed the Army’s strategy in an $18 billion plan phased over 15 years.
“There’s a saying,” she said. “Chance favors the prepared mind.”
Because of her plan, the Army was ready to answer an unexpected call.
“With the outbreak of the Ukraine war, Congress knew we had a strategy already and asked us if we could ramp up production. It’s only because we already had an executable plan that we were able to deliver that readiness for the current conflict,” Whicker said.
Additionally, Whicker is in charge of the enterprise’s personnel and resource management, also known as its people. She personally leads “All Things People” meetings and supervisor town halls, which identify and train gaps in supervisory duties.
The career development of AMC’s workforce is also a fierce part of her modernization plan. And while AMC employs more civilians than any other Army organization, she had to consider development opportunities for everyone, from wage-grade to senior employees.
“We need to take care of them from a multi-perspective,” Whicker said. “Everyone’s plans look extremely different. Making sure all of that is taken care of is a pretty big responsibility, but one that I absolutely love.”
Her family roots also helped generate solutions for a workforce plan in modernized facilities.
“I took the approach I saw in the auto industry,” she said. “We came up with a plan to reskill and upskill our employees. If we bring in robotic welding, well, the person who was the welder will now be the employee who runs the machine, calibrates it, is the expert on it.”
Out of her many great achievements at AMC, Whicker considers her role in Operation Warp Speed as the most impactful. From June 2020 to May 2021 she served as the deputy chief for supply, production and distribution for the mission, which was the federal government’s vaccines and therapeutics response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She devised a plan and packed the first official vaccine box at Pfizer to launch the distribution initiative.
“Being able to work on something that impacts your entire country is like nothing I’ve ever done,” she said. “We were dealing with 50 states, all major cities and U.S. territories. That would have to be the best thing I’ve ever done.”
Whicker believes when you’re in the Army, it’s part of who you are to be a servant leader. She considers herself that, as well as a transformative leader.
“I’m good at helping people manage through a change, recognize where they have apprehensions, and I excel at alleviating those fears,” she said. “I believe in sharing with the workforce, because change is inevitable. It’s how you communicate it to the workforce— the why, the how.”
Whicker’s decision to retire is a personal one, but even as she exits her 40-year career, her intent for her future is clear: “The Army is in my blood, they’re stuck with me. I will absolutely find a way to continue serving the Army.”
Whicker will retire at a ceremony Oct. 4 at 10 a.m. CDT at AMC Headquarters on Redstone Arsenal. The ceremony will also be broadcast live at www.dvidshub.net/webcast/35070.
| Date Taken: | 09.30.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.30.2024 10:33 |
| Story ID: | 482074 |
| Location: | REDSTONE ARSENAL, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 34 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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