Three ACC-RI interns attend luncheon with Gen. Via

ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. - Gen. Dennis L. Via, commanding general, U.S. Army Materiel Command, met with 12 interns during a lunch meeting held at the Army Contracting Command-Rock Island, July 8.

During the meeting, he listened to the interns' backgrounds, encouraged them to take specific steps in developing their careers, and discussed AMC's 1,000 Intern Initiative, which intends to provide up to 1,000 intern or outreach positions AMC-wide every year for the next five years. The program focuses on creating highly-skilled talent for the future Army.

Three ACC-RI contract specialists represented the center: Mitch Chapman, Jeremie Garrow, and Benjamin Gillen.

Chapman, a member of the U.S. Army National Guard who served one tour of duty in Afghanistan supporting Operation Enduring Freedom and received several medals including a Purple Heart, said it was an honor to meet with Via.

Chapman said he appreciated Via's thoughts, particularly those on relationship building and stepping out of comfort zones in order to broaden experience.

"My comfort zone was in the [contract closeout] warehouse where I first started," said Chapman.

"I stepped out and started doing closeouts, then stepped out of that comfort zone and started writing contracts, and now I am doing a re-compete. The benefit of stepping out of your comfort zone to me is that you learn so much not only about what you are doing but also about yourself and what you can do."

Much of Via's conversation focused on the importance of life-long learning, relationship building and teamwork.

"Your resume gets you your first, maybe your second job," said Via. "Your reputation will get you the rest."

Via also said that because AMC is 96 percent civilian, opportunities for interns coming into the organization are vast.

"There are huge opportunities to serve, and advance your careers and enjoy doing so," said Via.

Gillen said he was impressed with the interest that Via expressed in their success and well-being.

"General Via was extremely fun to listen to and learn from," said Gillen. "For me, his advice on protecting integrity and broadening ones horizons will be useful in both my career and personal life."

While upcoming force reductions are a reality, the need for innovative thinkers from a technologically savvy and connected generation remains. As more people from this generation are hired, Via encouraged them to work on honing their human interaction skills.

"If you become a leader, you'll need to be able to deal with and interact with people," said Via. "You'll be surprised how small the world gets down the road."

Via joined several other senior leaders from AMC; the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology; and the Joint Munitions & Lethality Life Cycle Management Command, all of whom were at RIA for a Joint Acquisition Sustainment Review, also held July 8.

Interns from other AMC commands who participated: David Westbrook, Michael Leal, Tischi Panicker, Julia Winslow and Patrick Wagner from Joint Munitions Command; Laura Arnone from Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center; Lauren Aggen and Paul Armour from Army Sustainment Command; and Robert Davis from Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center.

Related Links:

Army Contracting Command-Rock Island website

Army Contracting Command-Rock Island Facebook