My DCMA: Steven Ollek

Photo By Thomas Perry | Steven Ollek is an information technology specialist at Defense Contract Management Agency headquarters at Fort Lee, Va. He is part of a team looking at emerging technologies and generating the path forward for the agency’s information technology infrastructure and capabilities.  

FORT LEE, VA, UNITED STATES

09.07.2016

Story by Thomas Perry 

Defense Contract Management Agency

My DCMA is an opportunity to hear directly from the Defense Contract Management Agency’s experienced and diverse workforce about what being a part of the national defense team means to them. Today we meet Steven Ollek.

My name is Steven Ollek, and this is my DCMA. I am an information technology specialist at DCMA headquarters.

My job duties include capturing great ideas from around the agency, saying “yes” to them as much as I can and trying them out for viability at the agency in the Innovation Lab. In addition, I am part of a team looking at emerging technologies and generating the path forward for the agency’s information technology infrastructure and capabilities.

I have been a part of the DCMA team for 12 years. I started as a quality assurance Keystone in Anniston, Alabama, at DCMA Huntsville in 2004 on the Stryker program. I worked as a software acquisition management specialist and program integration specialist on various missile defense programs in Huntsville and performed as a technical quality assurance representative in Bagram, Afghanistan, for six months in 2009. Most recently I have spent time with the Quality Assurance, Engineering and Analysis, and Information Technology Directorates at headquarters.

I like working at DCMA because of the greater mission it provides to the Department of Defense, the American people and, of course, the warfighter. In today’s world, people are looking for more than a paycheck. I’ve found that people working at the agency care more about the mission, support to the warfighter and enjoy being a part of a purpose that extends far beyond the walls of our cubicles. The passion inside of DCMA is unending and aligning it to various purposes across the agency is my inspiration. It is this passion that led me to collaborate with other fellow members of DCMA to form a grassroots change agent network we call NextGen@DCMA.

I am the independent eyes and ears for DoD because it is important defense leaders understand the key role DCMA plays within the acquisition process. I currently work with the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental team and the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Board to further their knowledge of the great innovations people at DCMA create every day. I help integrate innovation efforts across the Defense Department to help solve problems and to help perpetuate best practices and lessons learned.

I provide actionable acquisition insight to DoD by finding IT solutions that enable the great men and women executing the agency’s mission to be successful. I also continue to ask “why not?” when presented ideas from people in the agency. If it makes sense to try it out and provides a possible increase in the agency’s acquisition insight, who are we to say no to that? I believe in taking more risk in our agency and listening to everyone’s ideas — some of them might not have a viability or work as proposed, but the one in ten moonshot that provides an exponential increase in our acquisition insight is worth the nine that might fail. Empowering everyone to take a chance and say yes to ideas is my personal mission.

DCMA is important to America’s warfighters because who else knows the requirement for a landing gear for the F35? Who else knows the spec for the software guiding the missile inside of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense program? Who else understands the direct and indirect rates a contractor charges the DoD, ultimately the American taxpayer, and knows if they are correct? Who else ensures contractors are delivering products on time and not delaying those parts and pieces against what the contract holds them against? And finally, who else has volunteered to inspect services that feed, protect, and provide water and other services in war zones? There is only one answer to these questions — DCMA.

We enjoy being behind the scenes, knowing when we hear about a successful test flight, launch or military operation — we had a part of that. If you have great ideas to try in our Innovation Lab, I’d love to hear them and, if you want to make positive change at DCMA, NextGen@DCMA is for you.

• Date Taken: 09.07.2016
• Date Posted: 09.08.2016 07:10
• Story ID: 209017
• Location: FORT LEE, VA, US