Aviation and Missile Command leadership welcomed the newest member of the Senior Executive Service Aug. 8 when John Smith was sworn in by commander Maj. Gen. Doug Gabram during a ceremony at the command's Redstone Arsenal headquarters.
Smith, the acting executive director for the AMCOM Logistics Center, has been detailed to the Senior Executive Service position for about a year. Smith has worked for AMCOM for about 10 years. He is a retired Army colonel with 30 years of service as a logistician. His last military assignment was as the chief of staff for AMCOM.
As an SES member, Smith joins a group of senior level employees who lead the Federal civilian workforce, and are committed to public service and to the continuing transformation of the government.
"You are doing a tremendous job with a tremendous team every single day fighting for our Soldiers," said Bill Marriott, AMCOM's deputy commander.
As AMCOM's highest ranking SES, Marriott described the symbolism behind the SES seal and flag, which depicts a keystone.
"It's the last stone placed in an arch or vault, and allows other stones to bear weight," Marriott said. "The keystone is much like a single column that unifies us. The keystone serves as the weight-baring structure above and the structural agent below."
In a similar fashion, SES members interpret policy, and then turn it into action and reality, Marriott said, and they are the strength that carries an organization through transitions.
The Senior Executive Service was formed by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 as a corps of federal executives selected for their leadership qualities.
"It is the foundation, the pillar and the transition between general officers, who move quite a bit, and the civilian workforce," Gabram said before administering the SES oath.
Gabram congratulated both Smith and his wife Sharon, saying "thank you for what you've done and for what you're going to do, and thank you to your family."
For Smith, the SES designation is a culmination of the 10 years he has worked for AMCOM and the years he served in the Army.
"Nobody gets to this point without a great team," Smith said. "I've never worked with more dedicated professionals than the ones here at AMCOM. I'm looking forward to working with the team as we move forward."
Smith thanked his wife of nearly 44 years, who managed the family, including two children, and continued her own Army civilian career through 24 moves during her husband's military service.
"She's been the foundation that's kept us going. It's the family that keeps you going and that lasts forever," he said.
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