Photo By Jeanette Steele | Carlin Palmer received the Civilian Service Commendation Medal from Capt. Matt Bolls,...... read more read more
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Three Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) Fleet Logistics Center (FLC) Jacksonville employees recently received civilian service medals in appreciation of innovations that improve the way we do work.
In March, Carlin Palmer was awarded the Civilian Service Commendation Medal, the fourth highest honorary award in the Department of the Navy. It acknowledges a significant achievement such as an invention or improvement in procedure, design or organization.
Palmer, a master logistics support representative, created a training program for Navy Reserve logisticians that could become a model for collaborative training. Between 2021 and 2023, at least 68 Reservists received their journeyman training specialist certification thanks to the program.
Soon after, Willie Blackmon and Edward Betz, two logistics management specialists, were awarded the Civilian Service Achievement Medal, the fifth highest honorary Navy award.
Blackmon and Betz pushed for modernization of a system that previously relied on pencil and paper. Thanks to their efforts, NAVSUP FLC Jacksonville logisticians working at Southeast Regional Maintenance Center (SERMC) can now access the Navywide computer program used to manage ship supplies and reconcile inventories.
“It was especially gratifying to recognize our employees that are making a real difference in fleet support and embodying the spirit and intent of the Navy’s Get Real, Get Better mindset,” said Steven Holmes, NAVSUP FLC Jacksonville executive director.
A Better Way to Train Reservists
Palmer’s training program is innovative in two ways: It takes place over one week, and it includes Reserve units from other Fleet Logistics Centers (FLCs).
Previously, each FLC offered this training in pieces, conducted on various Fridays and Saturdays. But if a Reservist missed a class due to life obligations, it resulted in incomplete training and no qualification.
Also, each unit usually focused on training its own people. Jacksonville leaders had the idea that gathering many Reservists in one place for an intensive one-week class would fill gaps for multiple units.
Capt. Roger Dube, commanding officer of the NAVSUP FLC Jacksonville Reserve unit, said the feedback he receives from Sailors is that Palmer understands how to work with Reservists who are juggling civilian jobs, and that he incorporates feedback from even the most junior members of the class.
“Mr. Palmer has established an empathetic rapport with his students,” Dube said. “Recalling his own experiences as a junior enlisted member -- then SK3 Palmer -- he empathizes with the complexities faced by Navy newcomers in grasping technical Navy jargon.”
To date, the program has trained Sailors attached to Reserve units in Norfolk, Virginia, Sigonella, Italy, and Yokosuka, Japan.
Feedback has resulted in the class being extended to two weeks, incorporating an extra week for structured on-the-job training that is expected to bolster Reservists' knowledge and readiness.
Modernizing Maintenance
For Blackmon, Betz and the NAVSUP FLC Jacksonville team at SERMC, the supply portion of Navy ship maintenance in Jacksonville is faster and more efficient than before.
Previously, logistics managers made a 35-minute drive from their Mayport work site to the private shipyard across the St. Johns River to view the inventory reports and transaction ledgers that help them do their job.
The difference is access to the system called R-Supply, or Relational Supply, which is the database where Navy ships log and track their inventories. Now our logisticians at the Mayport maintenance can connect to a ship’s R-Supply database to view and generate reports.
Due to the sensitive nature of Navy ship information, this access required the cooperation of several commands, dozens of approvals and myriad technical changes, including access to a new server farm in Virginia.
But the team persevered, and the project gained momentum after NAVSUP Business Systems Center stepped in to assist.
After the technical work was done, the logisticians successfully tested the process with USS Farragut (DDG 99) while the destroyer was undergoing maintenance.
NAVSUP FLC Jacksonville is one of eight FLCs operating under NAVSUP. Headquartered in Mechanicsburg, NAVSUP employs a diverse, worldwide workforce of more than 22,500 military and civilian personnel. NAVSUP and the Navy Supply Corps conduct and enable supply chain, acquisition, operational logistics and Sailor and family care activities with our mission partners to generate readiness and sustain naval forces worldwide to prevent and decisively win wars. Learn more at www.navsup.navy.mil and www.facebook.com/navsup.
| Date Taken: | 04.25.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 04.25.2024 15:22 |
| Story ID: | 469554 |
| Location: | JACKSONVILLE, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 42 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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