ACC-NCR drawdown going 'better than expected'

By Mr. Edward G Worley (ACC)May 29, 2013

"Better than expected" is the way the point man characterized the closing of the Army Contracting Command-National Capital Region contracting center.

"There are 1,001 details, but we are managing every aspect of the drawdown and are on track to successfully meet the Army's July 20 closure date," said Jack Cunnane, deputy director, ACC-NCR, Alexandria, Va., and point man for its closure.

The Army estimates the move will save about $13 million annually, once the transition is complete. The savings will be achieved through increased efficiencies, reduced facilities and information technology costs, reduced turnover and reduced locality pay as the positions are moved outside the region.

Center leadership and ACC staff developed transition processes for employees, supported activities, workload, facilities and property, explained Cunnane.

He praised the staffs of the ACC deputy chief of staff, Human Capital G-1 and DCS, Installations and Logistics G-4 for "leading from the front and executing the personnel, facilities and property efforts," allowing the NCR to put the majority of its effort toward transitioning customers and workload.

He also praised the NCR team.

"The credit is widely spread," he explained. "ACC-NCR's Customer Support Element has been instrumental in coordinating recurring stakeholder meetings and keeping our customers informed and moving in the right direction. ACC-NCR's eBusiness Team has done a phenomenal job managing the transfer process and keeping the transition schedule on track."

John Landry, ACC G-4 Logistics Support and Service Division team chief, said the logistics team has provided assistance from the beginning for the NCR Hoffman facilities and equipment disposition.

"Even though the NCR is scheduled to close on July 20, G-4 will remain to ensure the facilities are turned in and all equipment is relocated or properly deposed of," he said.

When the closure was announced in November, each ACC-NCR employee was given a management-directed reassignment, with almost two months to decide whether to accept it, Cunnane explained. About half of the unit's employees initially accepted their reassignments; that number is down to about 40. Some have already made the move to their new locations. Others have found employment on their own; have entered the Department of Defense Priority Placement Program or the ACC Command Assistance for Placing Employees program.

"Despite the hiring challenges, dozens of employees have been placed locally through the CAPE program and external hires," he added. "Other ACC subordinate organizations with a presence in the National Capital Region have placed about 30 ACC-NCR employees."

Transferring the workload from ACC-NCR to the gaining organizations is an equally high priority for the staff, said Cunnane.

"A major priority for me is knowing exactly what our workload requirements are and being able to track and measure progress," he explained. "As such, we established several metrics that allow us to track where we are, where we need to go and how we're doing."

He said all of the center's requiring activities with active workload have linked up with their gaining contracting organizations, with 70 percent of those customers considered officially transferred. He expects to have 100 percent transferred by June 15.

So far, feedback from the requiring activities has been positive, Cunnane said.

"I think the impact has been minimal on our customer base," he explained. "I am not aware of any instances where a customer requirement fell through the crack due to the transition and distribution of workload. At first, I don't think any of our customers where happy about having to transition their contracting support. With that said, after they established working relationships with their new ACC contracting organization and realized the commitment the command has placed on making this transition work, most, if not all, are satisfied."

He said the most difficult part of the transition is dealing with "a ton of challenges managing the deactivation and the multiple transition efforts."

According to Cunnane, what surprised him the most is the endless number of details that must be considered. One of the most difficult areas is simply maintaining the momentum and staying on track to get the work done.

"For most of our employees, the management-directed reassignment is a life-changing event. It's human nature to want and need to focus on your personal priorities and immediate future. Striking the right balance of allowing/providing folks the time to focus on their personal situations while still getting the job done is more of an art than a science."