An official website of the United States government Here's how you know

Secretary of the Army recognizes SMDC as Army’s Best Place to Work

By Brooke Nevins, USASMDCOctober 18, 2024

Best Place to Work award_AUSA
Secretary of the Army Hon. Christine Wormuth presents a Best Place to Work in the Army banner to Lt. Gen. Sean A. Gainey, commanding general, U.S. Space and Missile Defense Command, Command Sgt. Maj. John W. Foley, USASMDC command sergeant major, and Richard De Fatta, USASMDC deputy to the commanding general, during the AUSA Army Civilian Showcase in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 16, 2024. (Photo by Lira Frye) (Photo Credit: Command Chief Master Sgt. silvia s maria) VIEW ORIGINAL

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- On the final day of the Association of the United States Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition, Lt. Gen. Sean. A. Gainey, commanding general, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, laid out why USASMDC is the best place to work in the Army.

Secretary of the Army Hon. Christine Wormuth recognized the top five commands in the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government survey during the AUSA Army Civilian Showcase themed “Army Civilian Innovations and Changes that Keep Army Top 10 Best Places to Work” in Washington, D.C., Oct. 16. USASMDC has been the Army’s highest-ranking command on the survey for two years in a row.

Gainey, joined by Command Sgt. Maj. John W. Foley, USASMDC command sergeant major, and Richard De Fatta, USASMDC deputy to the commanding general, accepted the first-place banner from Wormuth on behalf of the command.

In his remarks, Gainey said USASMDC civilians have described the command to him as “like a family,” and highlighted how the command both gives year-round opportunities for direct feedback and intentionally implements change based on those comments.

“The command has operationalized feedback in several different ways,” Gainey said. “With the (Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey), we take all the areas that we want to improve upon and the areas we want to sustain, and we break them down into focus groups to get feedback from the individuals within the command…It’s incumbent on the leadership up and down to implement those initiatives.”

The Office of Personnel Management’s annual survey offers an assessment of how federal public servants view their jobs and workplaces, providing employee perspectives on leadership, pay, innovation, work-life balance, diversity and other issues. In 2023, 459 agency subcomponent organizations were evaluated.

USASMDC had the highest Army scores of 83.8 in diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility; 73.6 in employee input; 69.1 in recognition; and 81.7 in professional development.

Other commands ranked second through fifth were U.S. Army North; U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command; Headquarters of the Department of the Army; and the U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center, respectively.

“Our more than 260,000 Army civilians make up an integral part of our force, providing expertise, stability and continuity that contributes to the war fighting effort at home and around the world,” Dr. Agnes Schaefer, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, said.