JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq Aca,!" Standing one-half inch over the minimum height requirement for the Army and called Aca,!A"Littlest Big ChiefAca,!A? by some, a 2nd Battalion, 402nd Army Field Support Brigade chief warrant officer controls what may well be the largest property book in the 234-year history of the U.S. Army.
The numbers are huge: $17.6 billion, including more than 587,000 items distributed among 1,800 accounts. By any measure, the theater property book managed by Chief Warrant Officer 4 Cheryl Bartly is unique.
Her property book accounts for all theater-provided equipment across a wide swath of the Mideast and Africa. Bartly said the theater property book is a new concept, since units formerly deployed with all of their own equipment. In todayAca,!Eoes expeditionary Army, however, most units deploy with some of their equipment, then sign for additional equipment managed by Army Sustainment Command and already positioned in the theater of operations.
The geographic area covered by BartlyAca,!a,,cs theater property book is vast. Lt. Col. Joe Hart, 2nd Battalion commander, said Bartly directly impacts the support of every unit possessing theater-provided equipment in Iraq, Kuwait, Djibouti, the Horn of Africa, Qatar and Egypt.
Calling BartlyAca,!a,,cs current job the pinnacle of her career, Hart added, Aca,!A"There is nothing else in the Army that will match the magnitude of her current position. CW4 Bartly is, bar none, the Aca,!EoeLittlest Big ChiefAca,!a,,c in the entire U.S. Army. Aca,!A?
One part of her job is to match equipment already in theater with units requiring equipment to complete their missions. Another aspect of her job is to assist units in acquiring non-standard Aca,!A"commercial off-the-shelfAca,!A? items by cataloging the items, giving them an identification number and issuing them back to the unit.
Retrograde is also part of her job, tracking equipment being shipped out of the theater for other missions, to be repaired or to be replaced with new items. The reports she generates provide critical information to Army decision-makers on how and where to deploy assets.
With an average of 250 e-mails each day, meetings and video teleconferences and a high operational tempo, BartlyAca,!a,,cs days are hardly routine. She said every day is fun and different and that everything is about the equipment because Soldiers canAca,!a,,ct do their missions without it.
Noting that thousands of people depend on her, Bartly said she and her team must provide units the property they need to accomplish their missions while maintaining accountability for the items on the property book. The items can range in size from a cell phone to a Bradley Fighting Vehicle and come in all shapes and sizes. Categorized as rolling and non-rolling stock, the equipment impacts and supports every Soldier, every day.
Bartly supervises 14 property book teams made up of U.S Army and U.S. Air Force service members, Department of Army civilians and contractors, spread across her area of responsibility. She is quick to credit them by saying that she could not o her job without them.
Aca,!A"IAca,!a,,cm surrounded by subject matter experts,Aca,!A? she said.
Aca,!A"Chief Bartly provides a personality,Aca,!A? said Keith Andrews, 2nd Battalion deputy commanding officer. Aca,!A"She has the charisma, charm and skill to pull all the pieces together.Aca,!A?
Aca,!A"I donAca,!a,,ct want them [the Soldiers] to suffer, but I have to account for the property bought with taxpayer dollars,Aca,!A? she said.
Aca,!A"She is the consummate professional in coordinating and managing the critical warfighter assets without any degradation of combat power,Aca,!A? said Hart. Aca,!A"She is masterful in her approach and completely at ease functioning under insurmountable pressures of the job.Aca,!A?
Bartly said the most challenging thing is to balance her mission to support the warfighter while meeting regulatory guidance. In the absence of regulatory guidance, she draws on her 21 years as a property book officer and logistician to make a decision.
She recalled a time recently when a commander on an oil rig off the coast of Kuwait needed equipment. He contacted Bartly who helped him establish a theater-provided equipment account, then was able to get the needed equipment to him.
Aca,!A"Always equipped with a smile, CW4 Bartly is truly the Aca,!EoeLittle Big ChiefAca,!a,,c of the 2nd Battalion, 402ndAca,!a,,cs mission to Aca,!EoeKeep It MovingAca,!a,,c,Aca,!A? added Hart.
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