BATTLE CREEK, Mich. –
Employees from multiple Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services sites recently gathered in Battle Creek for the inaugural Functional Block Two Training 6912 Material Examiner and Identifier course.
Jenny Norvey, chief of the workforce development branch, whose team developed the course, acknowledged its lengthy name but emphasized its significance.
“The material examiner and identifiers who will take this training - they’re the frontline,” Norvey said. “They’re the first person a customer normally meets when they come to one of our sites, and they’re the first ones who touch property when it arrives.”
The three-day class combines traditional classroom instruction with hands-on training.
“This course will standardize the process, helping them determine if that property they are receiving is going on the shelf for possible reutilization or if it’s going to scrap,” Norvey said.
DLA Disposition Services Director Mike Cannon told attendees he was excited about the course’s potential impact.
“This is the pivot point for the whole organization,” Cannon said. He explained that errors in identifying, assessing, or counting incoming property could have significant consequences.
“My accounting is wrong, my finances are wrong, how many people I need to do the work could be wrong, our resourcing is wrong, and we run the risk of having controlled property get into the wrong hands,” Cannon said.
Such mistakes could affect military readiness, he added. A misidentified item sent to scrap instead of being placed on the reutilization shelf could mean the difference between a tank, aircraft, or ship being mission ready.
Alvin Rodriguez, a property disposal specialist based at the Battle Creek headquarters, serves as the course instructor.
Rodriguez said the training covers how to research and identify property, the various scrap codes, and the differences between them.
After completing the class, participants will be able to identify property, review customer paperwork for accuracy, account for items, and take possession of them.
“The course is intended for employees with 20 to 60 days on board,” Norvey said. “While the goal is not to reach back and train all on-board employees, we will know success when someone finds enough benefit from attending that they share with their seasoned colleagues, who request to attend even though it may not be required.”