During a town hall at New Cumberland Army Depot, Pennsylvania, Maj. Gen. Jeff Drushal, commander of the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command, named Kimberly Mays the Employee of the Quarter for the third quarter of fiscal 2018.
Mays is a central case manager on the United Arab Emirates program at New Cumberland. She provides security assistance case management support and guidance in support of the UAE Repair and Return program, program financials, case implementations, case closure and execution.
"This award means so much to me for personal as well as professional reasons," Mays said. "Knowing that management recognizes how much I care about USASAC, and taking the time to applaud it, puts a smile on my face. I want to say thank you to them for taking the time in their busy day to notice me putting my heart into my work."
Mays manages a portfolio of 45 Foreign Military Sales cases with a total value of $20.9 billion and an undelivered value of $8.8 billion. She manages the most robust Repair and Return program within USASAC by quantity and complexity with more than 1,300 assets to track and trace. However, it is not about the dollar value of the FMS case, but the outputs that are produced with allies and partners.
Mays' recognition as employee of the quarter is a reflection of the importance both the Army and the geographic combatant commands (in this case U.S. Central Command) place on building partner capacity to enable strategic readiness.
Mays said it has been very challenging getting acclimated to the FMS arena, but very rewarding as well.
"In the business that we are in, we see new things every day," she said. "You need to rely on the experience and wisdom of your peers, and that is what guides me as I encounter new situations and experiences. Everything in our business is truly a 'team business.'
"Building strong and successful relationships with our foreign customers all begins with our relationships within USASAC. Knowledge sharing is the key to future success. I always try to remember what it felt like seeing the dynamics of FMS for the first time when new employees walk in our door, so I try to help in any way I can. Having good leaders completes our success, and we are so very fortunate to have such wonderful, caring support from our branch chiefs and division chiefs."
Mays went above and beyond to conduct training in the United Arab Emirates on a newly developed web-based platform, WebROR, for use in submitting Repair and Return requests. Use of WebROR will save approximately $25,430 per year.
"The Repair and Return program migrated to the web-based platform in 2016," said Koren Scates, chief of Central Command Branch B, who nominated Mays for Employee of the Quarter. "She traveled to UAE to conduct training on how to use the WebROR program to submit new requests. The time she spent training in the UAE has saved the enterprise hundreds of man-hours.
"Due to the success of the training, the UAE is now inputting R&R requirements into the system independently. This effort was previously done manually by the CCM team. In addition, Mays continues to provide remote support telephonically in regard to the R&R process and numerous other issues when required."
Mays also was instrumental in locating the UAE COMSEC Repair and Return manual that was lost at Tobyhanna Army Depot, Pennsylvania.
"The discovery of this missing material identified a requirement for a standard procedure regarding COMSEC Repair and Return material across the enterprise," Scates said.
While in UAE in February, Robert Moore, deputy to the commanding general, USASAC, made a commitment to do everything possible to accelerate delivery of government furnished equipment in support of the UAE Direct Commercial Sale of three Patriot fire control units. The emergency implementation also was needed to meet the accelerated combined buy opportunity.
"When Mrs. Mays received the request in early May, she coordinated the effort with multiple agencies and stayed past her core hours to ensure the effort was successful," Scates said. "Her efforts ensured we fulfilled Mr. Moore's commitment."
The speed of FMS cases is an area of emphasis for the USASAC commanding general. According to Drushal, the FMS process is extremely responsive and there is a misperception that the process is slow. Mays' work is the perfect example of how the Army Materiel Command security assistance enterprise responds to ensure how Department of Defense, Army and partner requirements are met.
In addition to UAE responsibilities, Mays resolved multiple issues on the Qatar program while filling in for the central case manager. Scates said her quick reaction and diligence resulted in the immediate resolution of the issues and prevented escalation.
"Mrs. Mays is a team player always going above and beyond to assist the team even when outside her core duties and responsibilities," Scates said.
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