Courtesy Photo | Air Force Lt. Gen. Wendy Masiello, Defense Contract Management Agency director,...... read more read more
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Phoenix Armstrong is a self-described 'geek' who relishes the company of friends and family, but to limit her personal description to such a confined characterization would be a disservice.
The contract administrator is a humanitarian who traveled to Guatemala to provide medical assistance, food, water and hope to more than 150 children. She is a volunteer at a local homeless shelter for women who are pregnant or have small children. She is a committed worker described by leadership as an exceptional team member. And she is a dedicated daughter — inspired by her mother Beverly, who continues to serve the Defense Contract Management Agency as a management analyst after 36 years.
“Growing up she never heard me complain about my job, while others would say they hated their jobs; I only said good things and praised the agency as a whole,” Beverly said. “I was able to attend all of her school events and activities, and this was a positive influence for her. So I believe that was her inspiration to apply for a position with the agency.”
Just five years removed from college, Armstrong has already spent seven years with the agency after joining the Student Career Experience Program in 2008 as a junior. Upon graduation, she joined the Keystone program with DCMA Lockheed Martin Fort Worth. At the start of her second year, she was assigned to the F-16 Fighting Falcon program — where she stayed until April 2015 when she transferred to Special Programs South in Dallas.
Within her current role, she performs contract receipt and review, payment processing and review, funding reconciliation, cancelling funds, and contract closeout. It is a new challenge with new people, but Armstrong is approaching it with an old philosophy ingrained in her by her mother.
“I strive to come in every day and do my very best,” Armstrong said. “And when I leave for the day, I like to walk out knowing I accomplished something great. Whether that be in my day-to-day interactions with the customer, helping my coworkers accomplish their goals or knowing that I supported the mission of the agency. Our job is so important. It’s about the lives of the men and women who fight for us every day. The warfighter depends on us to do our job and do it well.”
Armstrong also understands how demanding the work can be. Her first major professional challenge involved one of the Department of Defense’s most established programs, the F-16, which first flew in 1974. Thanks to the guidance and professional sacrifice of her mentors, she excelled.
“I was truly helped by a few great people who took time out of their busy schedules to mentor me during my Keystone years,” she said, listing Traci Briscoe, Yanira Colon-Torres and Tyler Allen as mentors. “I went into their office on a daily basis asking question after question. I am so grateful to them for their answers and all that they’ve taught me.”
Her positive experience working through adversity led to her early successes. It is also a main reason she enjoys serving as a mentor herself.
“It was so great to be able to pay forward all that I had been shown before,” Armstrong said. “My former supervisor Gary Templin always said, ‘it’s not about the individual, it’s about the team. Because when one person shines, we all shine.’”
Templin, who called Armstrong exceptional, said his former contract administrator faced an insurmountable workload while working on the F-16 program, and that only someone of Armstrong’s caliber and talent could have succeeded.
“Ms. Armstrong was responsible for provisioning order items — a critical component of maintaining and flying the F-16 aircraft,” said Templin, DCMA LM Fort Worth contracts supervisor. “She served as a key player in our Provisioning Reconciliation Meeting at Hill Air Force Base. Several foreign governments depended on Ms. Armstrong’s skills to get excess funds de-obligated and promptly returned.”
Templin was so impressed by Armstrong’s work he nominated her for a DCMA LM Fort Worth Employee of the Quarter award earlier this year. In his write up, he noted she had “consistently proven her loyalty and dedication to the agency and F-16 program. Her solid work ethic will surely lead her to a prosperous and successful career within DCMA. Her efforts in working various assigned tasks and her contract administration of over 587 contracts totaling $1.9 billion have proven that she is an invaluable part of this contract management office and the agency.”
She won, and eventually earned agency employee of the quarter. Air Force Lt. Gen. Wendy Masiello, DCMA director, presented her with the award in May, and Armstrong, already in her new role with Special Programs, returned with a heavy heart to accept.
“I learned so much during my years with the F-16 program, but I knew it was time to move on,” Armstrong said. “I worked with some amazing people in my DCMA team, in the program office that I supported and with the contractor. But, I think it adds so much depth to your career the more you move. The more you move, the more you broaden your knowledge and the more well-rounded you become.”
While her professional life is fueled by service to the warfighter and the collective pursuit of excellence, her personal life runs on the simple concept of appreciating life and the people she cares about each day. Armstrong enjoys reading, crafting, scrapbooking and going to the movies; but her most emotionally rewarding activity is her volunteer work.
During her visits to the local shelter, she encourages the women and sometimes takes them to a lunch or a movie. Armstrong found that many of the women were there through little fault of their own — often victims of the actions and poor decisions of others. She also discovered something amazing; the women were helping her more than she was helping them.
“It’s been so amazing to get invested in the lives of these women for a short period of time,” Armstrong said. “I have been so blessed in my life; why not take time to bless others? I’ve received so much more than what I’ve given those women. I’ve gained a whole new perspective on life. For every struggle we face, there’s always someone worse off. It helps you realize that even when things are tough you are still more blessed than you could ever know.”
| Date Taken: | 09.10.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 09.10.2015 08:03 |
| Story ID: | 175575 |
| Location: | FORT WORTH, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 84 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Contract administrator inspired to serve others by mom, warfighter and homeless, by Thomas Perry, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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