Richmond, Va. –
The “Wheel” started turning Oct. 29 in the McKeever Auditorium as Julia Roquemore, division chief, Aviation and Airframes Division, Supplier Operations Commodities Directorate, Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, opened the pilot session of a new supervisors’ overview that has been a year in the planning.
The Wheel began as the Junior Leadership Consortium. According to Roquemore, consortium members realized that new supervisors rarely have exposure to processes outside of their area of technical expertise and were not aware of how their technical area impacted other areas in DLA Aviation or the goals and mission of those areas.
“This led to a lack of understanding of the enterprise’s Strategic Plan and how these processes were linked to support it,” she said. “We also didn’t have a quick method of teaching these new supervisors some of the basics in human resources and labor management.”
Cathy Contreras, Defense Logistics Agency Aviation acquisition executive, serves as the program champion and opened the session.
She introduced herself to supervisors in the initial session, highlighting different aspects of the program that might be beneficial to them like wholesale versus retail and overviews of the DLA Aviation directorates located in Richmond.
“I didn’t understand at first the impact my decisions had on other areas. As you learn more about the different processes, you can make those impact connections,” she said. “Ask questions. The more questions you ask, the more knowledgeable you become.”
During the two-week program, supervisors gained a better understanding of basic supervisory functions, the internal organization, as well as how the different organizations support the DLA Strategic Plan through individual organizational briefings.
Program attendees also received basic Human Resources training for new supervisors, such as EAGLE timekeeping, daily supervisory tasks, Department of Defense Performance Management System training, union agreements, and the agency’s hiring and promotion process.
During the second week, new supervisors traveled to DLA Aviation at Oklahoma City for a more in-depth overview of DLA Aviation’s industrial support activity co-located at the Oklahoma Air Logistics Complex.
“I’m very excited to host the first offering of this program,” said Roquemore. “We hope to offer it on a quarterly basis and travel to a different DLA Aviation industrial support activity for each offering.”
The goal of the Wheel is to show new supervisors how all of the disciplines (the spokes) are attached to the strategic plan (the hub) and supported by areas such as the Command Support, Business and Procurement Process Support Directorates and Human Resources (the tires).
To register for upcoming offerings, please contact Pamela Frederick at pamela.frederick@dla.mil or 804-279-6680.