BATTLE CREEK, Mich. –
Incoming Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services’ employees will take a foundational training course providing them with knowledge on the “why” behind the processes they perform in their day-to-day jobs.
“This course will give employees a true understanding of who we are as an MSC [Major Subordinate Command],” said Disposition Services Resource Management Director Chris Judd. “It will show them why we do what we do, and how important and unique we are to DLA and the DOD.”
The foundational course is under development with input from each Disposition Services’ directorate as well as several subject matter experts – specifically targeted to employees new to Disposition Services.
A pilot course took place September 22 and 23 with new hires to those that have been with the MSC for less than a year from various sites. Feedback was collected by the participants to improve the final course iteration.
“The purpose of this training is to teach people why we do the things we do,” said DLA Disposition Services Chief of Staff Peter Foreman. “This training will show our workforce why those things are important and why we exist as an organization and provide baseline knowledge that is common to every Disposition Services employee.”
Regardless of job title, anyone joining the Disposition Services team will learn about how their job affects the organization. The course will present participants with an understanding of how important they are and how critical their daily tasks are to supporting the warfighter.
Course topics include a history of the agency, overview of the current mission, safety, controlled property verification, inventory, receiving usable property and scrap, hazardous material public sales, hazardous waste disposal, contracting metrics, and more.
“It was our goal to ensure our employees know how important they are and how critical their day-to-day mission is,” Judd said. “We are working very hard to make the training interesting, valuable and specifically targeted to new employees while at the same time trying not to overload them with too much information.”
By February 2023, each new Disposition Services employee – regardless of their prior time spent in the DOD or DLA – will take the course.