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    QAS finds purpose in tragedy

    QAS finds purpose in tragedy

    Courtesy Photo | The Defense Contract Management Agency Palmdale F-35 Joint Strike Fighter team: (back...... read more read more

    PALMDALE, CA, UNITED STATES

    08.25.2015

    Story by Matthew Montgomery 

    Defense Contract Management Agency

    PALMDALE, Calif. - Life’s most tragic events can provide instant clarity, rededicated purpose and enduring positive change. This was the case when Dustin Stober lost a pilot during Operation Iraqi Freedom — eventually leading him to the Defense Contract Management Agency.

    Stober, now a quality assurance specialist with DCMA Palmdale, was a Navy aircraft maintainer when Navy Lt. Nathan White’s plane was shot down by friendly fire. According to a government investigation report, White was flying an F/A-18 Hornet when his plane was mistaken for enemy fire by a Patriot missile battery. The battery believed the Hornet to be hostile and launched a missile to intercept the aircraft.

    “After learning that this was a known problem with our equipment, I made a decision that I would dedicate my career to making sure that this never happened again,” said Stober, who left the Navy and earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. “My hope was to one day get a position where I would be able to make, or influence, changes that are important to my fellow service members.”

    Stober learned about DCMA through his father-in-law, a retired agency member. “Once I found out about DCMA’s role and the value the agency provides to service members, I applied immediately knowing this was where I could make the difference I was striving for.”

    He found his fulfillment working on the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter program as a lead quality assurance specialist.

    “I’ve had the unique opportunity to help create new approaches aimed at reducing the amount of defects being sent out to my brothers and sisters in arms,” Stober said. “This has also resulted in cost reductions, improved performance and product realization to meet production deliveries.”

    As a quality assurance representative, Stober provides the program integrator, program office and senior management with insight into the processes, trends and capabilities of the contractor.

    “He understands the importance and role DCMA plays with regard to the end items being produced and the influence DCMA has assuring those items meet the contract requirements,” said Doug Jones, quality assurance site lead and Stober’s direct supervisor. “He has been on the user end operating and maintaining products produced for the warfighter, and he puts that knowledge, experience and perspective to use in his current position as the F-35 quality lead.”

    The F-35 Lightning II is the largest weapon system program in Department of Defense history in terms of total cost, number of customers, partners and capabilities, making it the most complex program the agency is currently overseeing. It is also constantly evolving and improving, which means insight provided at Stober’s level directly enhances top-level decision making.

    “DCMA’s role is essential to ensuring products are delivered on cost, on time and as designed,” said Stober. “The best thing about working for DCMA is the ability to make positive changes at contractor facilities before the customers get the product. This not only helps with the manufacturing portion of the acquisition process, but also directly impacts sustainment longevity through the entire life cycle of weapons systems or product lines.”

    Now that Stober has found a place and position where he can make a difference, he’s working to instill a more profound sense of purpose in those around him. His new goal is to mentor and train agency personnel on how they can influence positive change.

    Jones has no doubt Stober can accomplish his goals. “He loves a challenge and excels at taking on complex tasks. When given projects he goes above and beyond expectations and his work always produces excellent results.”

    Stober said he wants everyone to have the mentality that they “are the last line of defense before products ship to our service members and truly believe that they can make a difference. Everyone should strive to do better and lead improvements in our organizational behavior and procedures.”

    To set the example, Stober recently collaborated with coworker Michael Agostini to create a database program to be used on DCMA360 — the agency’s online collaboration site.

    “Never settle for just doing your job — it is the little and big improvements that our people think of that make the difference,” said Stober. “The database wasn’t part of our jobs, but we knew it would make a huge difference to our fellow DCMA personnel. Now it is being used at multiple offices and has positively impacted our ability to achieve the objectives set by our agency and the customers we support.”

    As a DoD combat support agency, DCMA ensures the integrity of the contracting process and provides a broad range of contract-procurement management services for its customers — 14 federal agencies and NATO allies.

    “My story is one of many that drive our service members, veterans and civilians to do exemplary work for the DoD,” said Stober. “Our next step is to make more of those individuals aware of how they can make a difference with DCMA.”

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 08.25.2015
    Date Posted: 09.18.2015 15:28
    Story ID: 176568
    Location: PALMDALE, CA, US

    Web Views: 80
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN