REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. (March 13, 2015) -- Mike Criss is quick to say that he is a civil servant, with emphasis on the servant.
To Criss, his job is to serve the Army mission, his employees and co-workers. Criss, an Army veteran, took over as at Redstone Test Center's Missile Flight Test Division chief in the fall of 2014.
A Kansas native, Criss enlisted in the Army in 1978 at 18, with no long-range plans, just youthful optimism. While in the Army, Criss earned his engineering degree and routinely traveled to Alabama with his work as a combat developer and decided that Redstone Arsenal was where he would put down roots after leaving active service. Joining the RTC in 1995 as a contractor, he later moved over to become a civilian government employee at the center in 2003.
After spending his career either as a Soldier or supporting them, Criss relishes the opportunity to work on a team that he calls, "the best people on the planet."
Criss had some advice for the next generation of civil servants. While directed at young engineers, his advice is beneficial to anyone on the cusp of their professional lives.
"We can't afford for our folks to be just engineers," Criss said. "We need our folks to be well-rounded civil servants. Engineering is just one component. Folks like to say, 'Well, we blow stuff up.' But it is a lot more than that."
And while Criss himself is quick to tell you that he enlisted because he was young and needed a job, like most engineers, he expounds the benefits of always having a plan. Although as he said, "a successful career is not always a straight line."
Criss' advice to up and coming engineers:
• If you continually strive to do the next right thing, you will be okay.
• Always be curious. Continue to be a student of your profession.
• Be ambitious, but never at the expense of anyone else.
• As you mature in your career, your engineering skills -- which are perishable -- are not as important as your ability develop relationships, build influence and be a leader.
Although a veteran employee of RTC, Criss himself is still learning and challenging himself. Growing up in a family that valued a strong work ethic, he said that has a hard time separating himself from the boot camp mentality of his Soldier days.
"My problem is that I enjoy working," Criss said. "The work/life balance is going to ebb and flow, but work doesn't have to be the most important thing of the day."
Looking back over a multi-faceted career that includes a Soldier, an Army reservist, a government contractor and a civil servant, Criss has done pretty well for someone who when he enlisted as a teen, never intended to be an engineer.
"Every opportunity and every thrill that I have had (in my career) has been associated with the Army," he said. "It has been the most exciting, worthwhile undertaking that an individual can have."
RTC, a subordinate command of the Army Test and Evaluation Command, provides technical expertise, state-of-the-art facilities, and capabilities to plan, conduct, analyze, and report the results of test on missile and aviation systems, sensors, subsystems and components.
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