PEO Perspective: February 2022

February is Black History Month — a time to honor the courageous service of Black Americans to our nation. Black Americans make up about 19% of our total Army and serve at every level of military leadership. The Army story cannot be told without reflecting on the historical achievements made by Black Americans, who have served and sacrificed in every conflict in our nation, with more than 245 years of honorable service.

We are grateful for the talent and diversity they lend to our Army workforce.

This month is also the shortest of the year — which means we have just as many activities and deliverables, but we need to get them done in a compressed timeframe!

EIS PRIORITY: TALENT MANAGEMENT

In this month’s Perspective, I’d like to take a closer look at one of our top priorities: talent management. Like many other federal government organizations, EIS faces the challenge of recruiting and retaining talented civilian and military team members. Between the tight labor market, Army budget uncertainties and EIS’s need for acquisition and technology professionals with highly sought after skill sets like cloud engineering and data analysis, we’ve been having a tough time in this area.

To address the situation, we’re stepping up our game in a couple of key ways. First off, our headquarters-level directors have elevated the importance of talent management by making it a biweekly topic of discussion. In coming months, you can expect to see us promote more job openings in different ways and on new platforms.

Second — effective Feb. 15 — the DOD is implementing some changes to Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act certification standards. These changes — part of the DOD’s “Back to Basics” program — are designed to create a modern, continuous learning environment for the acquisition workforce and empower employees to craft their own careers. The Defense Acquisition University is complementing the Back to Basics goal of streamlining training by updating its curriculum to focus on learner-centric content, shorter courses, more variety in course offerings, more online courses, more learning resources and credentialing. Our friends at “Army AL&T” recently published a good overview of the program if you’d like more information. We’re excited about the changes, which will benefit our team members.

With all of the job opportunities available right now, why work for EIS? I can name at least three good reasons: the sense of genuine purpose and pride we feel in helping deliver vitally needed capabilities to our nation’s Soldiers; the opportunity to work with innovative technologies and support “hot” Army initiatives like the unified network and digital transformation; and the ability to work with talented teammates and partners across the world using collaborative technologies that were derived from some of our very own programs. What more can you ask for?

Stay tuned into the Careers section of our website and our social media platforms for future career opportunities with EIS!

UPCOMING EVENTS OF NOTE

AFCEA DC Army Luncheon

EIS’s own Rob Schadey, director of our Business Mission Area, will be participating in a Jan. 9 hybrid panel discussion on the Army’s campaign to gain strategic advantage in the cloud and use data in ways that provide Soldiers a decisive advantage. Other panelists include Dovarius Peoples, chief information officer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Angelica Phaneuf, chief information security officer with the Army Software Factory; Paul Puckett, director of the Enterprise Cloud Management Agency; and Col. Melissa Solsbury, chief data officer with Project Runway/XVII Airborne Corps. This promises to be an interesting discussion.

February Observances: 

Black History Month

America’s diversity is our greatest strength, as people of different backgrounds, culture and heritage share their unique perspectives, skills and talents. Our Army is stronger because of this diversity, and we must ensure that every member of the force has the opportunity to reach his or her full potential. During Black History Month, PEO EIS will both commemorate the observance and feature some of the Black Soldiers and Army civilians who are valued and talented members of our acquisition workforce. Stay tuned to our social media channels this month.

You also won’t want to miss an important online discussion on Facebook on Feb. 24 featuring Brig. Gen. Jeth B. Rey, director of the Network Cross-Functional Team, Army Futures Command. In this “Meet Your Army” segment, Brig. Gen. Rey will host a one-on-one discussion about the service, history and legacy of Black Americans serving in the U.S. Army with great courage and distinction: https://www.facebook.com/USarmy/live.

Lastly, the Winter Olympics kick off in a few days with participation by Army athletes in Nordic combined, luge and bobsled. Go Team Army and Team USA!

Wishing you all the best in the month ahead!

Ross R. Guckert, Program Executive Officer, PEO EIS

Connecting the Army. Working for Soldiers.