WARREN, Mich. (September 21, 2012) -- Like many organizations within the U.S. Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command (LCMC), the Logistics, Engineering, and Environmental Office -- otherwise known as the G-4 -- faces the challenge of trying to handle a large work load with a very small staff. One way in which the G-4 is trying to do this is by having an Army Reserve detachment provide support to them while fulfilling their annual training requirement.
A five-member team from Detachment 6, Commanded by Colonel Rick Giles, have been working in the G-4 this week. The five member team from Detachment 6 is led by their Officer in Charge Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Michelle Link and Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge (NCOIC) Sergeant First Class Lori Whitaker. Other Detachment 6 team members in support of the G-4 are: Major Mike Lafata, Sergeant Bryan Przybranowski, and Sergeant Joseph Leigh.
The team's effort has been focused primarily on the development of a Command Maintenance Discipline Program (CMDP), in response to a recent Army-wide mandate. This is truly a pioneering effort for them because the TACOM LCMC is the first Major Subordinate Command within the Army Materiel Command (AMC) to develop such a program.
The CMDP is a commander's program designed to assist subordinate commanders, directors, and supervisors on TACOM installations in getting back to basics in maintenance management and maintenance operations responsibilities. The CMDP establishes command, supervisory, and managerial responsibilities to meet regulatory requirements and validate that TACOM organizations are adhering to existing AMC and Army policies. The CMDP will also become the precursor to rewarding excellent performance by recognizing and nominating exceptional TACOM Depot, Arsenal, and Fleet Management Expansion (FMX) organizations to participate in the Army Award for Maintenance Excellence (AAME) Program.
"The team has been an invaluable help to us in carrying out this project," said Logistics Division Chief Matt Vanderkin. As a result of the team's hard work, he says he expects to have the document outlining program procedures 80 to 90 percent completed by the end of the week, and 100 percent by the end of this month.
In a recent interview with Whitaker, the Detachment 6 G-4 Team NCOIC, she stated "Working in the G-4 has been very rewarding and a learning experience." She has been assigned to TACOM since April 2010, including a one-year deployment to Afghanistan. During her deployment, she established the first Redistribution Property Accountability Team (RPAT) yard in Regional Command North, which provided space for storing billions of dollars worth of equipment in support of the 10th Mountain Division. She was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for her efforts. She also was part of the Color Guard and carried the TACOM LCMC colors during the retirement ceremony for outgoing AMC commander, Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody.
In addition to her Army Reserve duties, she is working on an online Masters Degree in transportation and logistics management through the American Military University. She is also enrolled in a Lean Six Sigma black belt course and doing a project in support of the G-4 Environmental Division. Her future goals include becoming a First Sergeant of a reserve unit. She also is a single mother of two teenagers.
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