Contractors have been a part of military formations dating back as far as the American Revolution, and doing it well requires a systemic training methodology.
Setting aside time to assess the work being done to improve performance is a military tradition that applies to any war fighting function, to include contract support. Conducting After Action Reviews is, after all, step seven in the doctrinal eight-step training model.
Leaders from 413th Contracting Support Brigade executed an offsite event with military and civilian participation to evaluate Fiscal Year 2024 and set goals to drive further progress into FY25.
The 413th After Action Review was an opportunity to assess the past year's efforts, successes, and challenges. This structured review allowed brigade leaders and the workforce to gain insights into performance metrics, contract outcomes, and procedural efficiencies, enabling a clear understanding of what worked well and where improvements can be made.
The AAR also emphasized the power of efficient staff crosstalk and collaboration the importance of military/civilian collaboration, reflection, and forward-thinking to ensure that contracting support for U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) remains adaptive, efficient, and ready for contingent challenges. For example, based on the event, the 413th CSB plans to push Task Management Tool (TMT) access down to the Contracting Battalion (CBn) to improve task completion timeliness and ensure tasks are managed at the lowest level, building trust.
Col. Jason Miles, Commander of the 413th Contracting Support Brigade, said, "As we move forward into the next fiscal year, this event is critical to our success; allowing us to collectively assess, refine, and set conditions for theater challenges ahead."
Future planning and operations were the focus of the events second day. Ms. Sharon Oishi, the 413th CSB Deputy Commander, led the discussion. “Crisis readiness is to ensure that the civilian workforce clearly understands their roles and responsibilities so that we can respond effectively, no matter the scenario, if and when the military deploys." This discussion underscored the importance that the brigade civilians are fully resourced, equipped, and prepared to support operations under demanding conditions.
Additionally, the team dedicated time to reexamine our mission statement and realigned our Lines of Effort to support the vision and mission of the U.S. Army Contracting Command, the 413th’s higher headquarters. The brigade's updated LOEs are designed to better support ACC's priorities.
During the offsite, brigade leaders took the opportunity to present performance awards and brigade coins to military and civilians who had demonstrated outstanding performance.
"Boosting morale underscores the brigade's commitment to its people, rewarding hard work drives mission success," said Command Sgt. Maj. Julio Calzada, the senior enlisted leader of the 413th CSB.
Despite the 413th's demanding schedule, skipping one of the eight steps is not an option. With clearly defined LOEs, goals, mission focus, and a committed workforce, the 413th CSB is poised for another impactful year. This AAR and FY25 goal-setting event not only reinforced the brigade's readiness but also set a clear roadmap for achieving excellence, further solidifying its role as a critical enabler of U.S. Army Pacific’s mission success.
Date Taken: | 11.07.2024 |
Date Posted: | 11.14.2024 16:21 |
Story ID: | 485336 |
Location: | US |
Web Views: | 20 |
Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Learning and Leading: Theater Contracting Officials Striving to be Better, by MAJ Thomas Groom, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.