PRESIDIO OF MONTEREY, Calif. - The Army recognized the Presidio of Monterey's excellence during an awards ceremony April 18 in San Antonio.
Katherine Hammack, assistant secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment, and Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch, commanding general of the Installation Management Command, presented to Presidio Garrison leaders Col. Darcy A. Brewer and Command Sgt. Maj. Olga Martinez, and other garrison representatives, three Army-level awards during the Army Communities of Excellence ceremony.
Sponsored by the Army chief of staff and the assistant chief of staff for Installation Management, ACOE awards are given annually to three categories of Army installations as well as to special category winners that have excelled at building a high-quality environment, outstanding facilities and superior services.
The ACOE program has been singling out installations for excellence in innovation, strategic planning, ground-breaking initiatives and business process improvements for more than 25 years.
Judging is based on various standards, including the highly competitive Malcolm Baldrige National Quality criteria. The installations that score highest using the Army Performance Improvement Criteria, which are the Baldrige criteria, receive gold, silver or bronze awards.
Additionally, other installations, including the Presidio of Monterey, received honorable mention and exemplary practice recognition.
Unlike the Baldrige Award, the ACOE gold winner receives a check for $1 million, silver awardees receive $500,000 each, and bronze awardees receive $250,000 each. Additionally, for its honorable mention, the Presidio received a check for $50,000. The prize money can only be used for community projects, which supports the purpose of ACOE.
Additionally, the Presidio was recognized with a Secretary of the Army Superior Quality of Life Award for its mass-transit partnership initiative that officials said could be emulated by installations and commands world-wide.
The Presidio mass-transit partnership was also recognized with a Chief of Staff of the Army Communities of Excellence Award, Exemplary Practice.
The Presidio successfully teamed with a local mass transportation company, Monterey-Salinas Transit, under the Mass Transportation Benefit and the Transportation Incentive programs.
The Presidio addressed customer requirements, alleviated parking constraints, reduced pollution and traffic congestion, helped preserve the environment, expanded transportation alternatives and created a safer, more cost-effective mode of transportation for the community.
As home to the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, the premier foreign language institute in the world, the Presidio of Monterey is integral part of the nation's security. The DLIFLC provides culturally based instruction in 24 foreign languages to all four branches of service as well as governmental agencies.
In an effort to reduce pollution and traffic congestion, enhance safety for service members and the workforce, alleviate parking constraints, and expand transportation alternatives, the Presidio of Monterey partnered with Monterey-Salinas Transit in June 2009 to start the first Presidio Express bus line.
Since inception, ridership has increased from 3,000 to 24,000 riders per month. The Presidio of Monterey's use of the program is unique in that the local mass-transportation company, MST, designed 10 lines specifically for the Presidio of Monterey's workforce, with lines traveling from as far as 80 miles away to numerous bus stops across the post.
The partnership between the Presidio of Monterey and Monterey-Salinas Transit has proven beneficial for both organizations involved, but the true beneficiaries are the workforce and the environment.
The results to date:
*A reduction of 3 million privately owned vehicle miles of travel resulting in less vehicle emissions and congestion on the local roads
*An estimated 600 cars have been taken off local roads daily
*2.9 million pounds of reduced carbon emissions lowering the carbon footprint
*Reduced demand for parking
*Enhanced safety and force protection due to fewer vehicles accessing the installation
*$1.4 million in annual fuel savings for service members and staff
*MST created 30 new jobs as a result of the added bus lines
*Approximately $6 million in revenues realized in the local area.
Application of the Presidio of Monterey model improves relations with local communities, advances effective external dialog, enhances environmental stewardship, strengthens safety and security and increases the sustainability of the Army communities.
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