REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- At the Army Career Program 16 Career Development Day, Functional Chief Representative and Army Materiel Command Chief Technology Officer Patrick O'Neill called on civilian non-construction scientists and engineers to embrace career development as their success yields benefits across the Army.

Held at the Bob Jones Auditorium Thursday, the career development day featured demonstrations of Army Civilian career development tools, like Army Career Tracker and GoArmyEd. Army Career Tracker is a career management site for Soldiers, officers and Army Civilians, while GoArmyEd is a virtual gateway for pursuing educational programs.

Army Career Program 16, one of the largest Army career programs, is comprised of nearly 18,000 personnel across numerous Army commands. At the event, O'Neill and staff from the CP16 proponency office provided the workforce with detailed information on developing a career roadmap.

"You taking responsibility for your career path is going to help the Army and our Soldiers do their job," said O'Neill.

Reflecting on the level of support the Army career programs provide for their stakeholders, Farrell Adkins, a career management specialist with CP16, emphasized, "How we drive engineering is different than human resources."

Participants were provided information on the Army's Civilian Workforce Transformation initiative and its relation to overarching Army strategy, such as "Force 2025 and Beyond." As the Army continues to modernize its technological capabilities, so too must our workforce, said Adkins, adding, "We need to redouble our efforts to invest in you [civilians]."

Following interactive sessions on Army career development tools, participants were provided an opportunity for "speed mentoring" and one-on-one sessions with Army Senior Executive Service leaders to learn more about charting a path forward in their own careers.

In closing, O'Neill commended the hard work of Department of the Army Civilians, sharing his own motto for leadership, "Mission first, people always."