PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. - Picatinny Arsenal officials hosted the U.S. Army Installation Management Command (IMCOM) Sustainment Directorate (ID-S)'s Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (FMWR) forum Nov 13-14.
The FMWR program is a quality-of-life program that directly supports readiness by providing a variety of community, Soldier, and family support activities and services. FMWR offers worldwide support through a comprehensive network of programs and services at each installation—from family, child and youth programs to recreation, sports, entertainment, travel and leisure activities.
The mission of FMWR is to serve the needs, interests, and responsibilities of all people in the Army community. That includes civilian employees, military retirees, and other eligible participants-for as long as they are associated with the Army, no matter where they are located.
Davis D. Tindoll, Jr., Director, IMCOM ID-S, and Command Sgt. Maj. Tamisha Love, the senior enlisted Soldier for ID-S, oversaw the forum that had representation from 18 FMWR Directors within the organization.
Directors from Aberdeen Proving Ground, Ft. Belvoir, Ft. Detrick, Ft. Meade, Ft. Walker, Picatinny, Redstone, Rock Island, and Watervliet Arsenals, and Anniston, Blue Grass, Letterkenny, McAlester, Pine Bluff, Red River, Sierra, Tobyhanna Army Depots, attended the annual event, which was hosted at Picatinny for the first time.
The two-day site visit allowed for directors to receive updates and briefings on a variety of topics to include human resource, talent management, recruiting, development and retention best practices, Army Community Services, Child and Youth Services, and more.
Picatinny was selected to host this year’s FMWR Forum after the garrison was recently named as the “best garrison” in ID-S for the second time in three years. The quality of the installation’s FMWR program was a contributing factor in Tindoll’s decision to award the Picatinny garrison with that accomplishment.
“We brought the MWR teams here to show them what right looks like,” Tindoll said as he addressed the Picatinny Arsenal garrison during a breakout session from the forum.
In 2022, Andrew Ciccolella, director of Picatinny Arsenal’s FMWR, was named a recipient of the Stalwart Award, approved by the Office of the Secretary of the Army, to recognize individuals who have demonstrated the highest standards of performance and significantly contributed to the command’s success and responsibilities. Ciccolella was one of nine recipients across IMCOM, and the only recipient in the Installation Management Command Directorate-Sustainment (ID-Sustainment).
“Picatinny MWR has been leading the way with some best practice among other ID-S installations and across the enterprise,” said Ciccolella.
“We have financially sound business and recreation programs and are consistently meeting and exceeding our annual financial targets,” Ciccolella said of his organization. “We have found efficiencies that have cut costs to operate our programs and grown revenue significantly in each program. The Child and Youth Services (CYS) programs are performing exceptionally well on their annual inspections and assessments.
“The team has excelled with their training and onboarding. Our retention rate for employees is very high. Our CYS staffing is at 98 percent, which is among the highest in IMCOM. We are also being recognized for our execution of special events, conferencing, and catering operations. The level of details in which our team executes events is above standard for MWR.”
While each installation may have its own unique mission within the U.S. Army, the MWR mission is standard across the board.
“The forum is a learning experience for everyone,” Ciccolella said. “We all perform similar functions every day, but it’s common to learn that we all do things differently to meet the mission. We hope that everyone came away with some best practices to either cut expenses, improve service for the customer, or give MWR employee better tools to do their jobs effectively.
“It’s also important that everyone sync up on latest guidance for standards and priorities. The DFMWR’s provided important feedback to leadership on common issues that are slowing progress and impacting our day-to-day operations. We are all hopeful that this direct communication can help us find solutions.”
After business hours had concluded, Picatinny’s FMWR team continued to highlight their program by holding a murder mystery dinner at the Club at Picatinny. ID-S staff and FMWR Directors were invited to attend the wedding of fictional characters Alex and Alexandra. As the joyous celebration unfolded, a shocking murder took place, which quickly turned the night into a thrilly mystery. The guests were asked to use their detective skills to help solve the murder while enjoying a three-course meal.
For more information on Picatinny’s FMWR program visit Picatinny Arsenal - US Army MWR
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