Mentor program participants compete to complete

Photo By Kimberley Capehart | PHOTO BY Kim Gillespie: U.S. Army Security Assistance Command, New Cumberland, Pa., Mentor Program participants from Team 1, Marcia Greise, Brian Erdman, Bruce Franze, and Mark Mirmakhmudov, presented parts of their group’s capstone project to USASAC senior leaders and program mentors on March 8. Two teams presented and received scores and verbal feedback to help them develop additional professional and leadership skills.  

NEW CUMBERLAND , PA, UNITED STATES

02.09.2018

Story by Kimberley Capehart 

U.S. Army Security Assistance Command

Mentor program participants compete to complete
By USASAC Public Affairs Office

The inaugural year of the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command’s Mentor Program ended with a reality television-style competition that pitted the mentees against each other on two four-person teams.

“This competition was developed as the mentor program capstone project to challenge and take the mentees to a new level of growth,” Ann Scott, Chief of the Services and Products Division in USASAC’s G-4, and coordinator for the mentor program at USASAC’s New Cumberland, Pa., office, said. “Each team was required to present military information briefings for judging. Each team selected its own topic and developed its brief based on an area they identified as needing improvement. They also were required to make recommendations,” she explained.

“This competition was extremely close,” Robert L. Moore, USASAC Executive Director, stated before announcing the winner. Moore, along with USASAC Command Sgt. Maj. Gene Canada, and Deputy Executive Director Col. William Krahling, as well as several staff directors scored the competitors based on various factors such as content (research, advice sought) and presentation style (eye contact, clarity), and teamwork.

Coincidentally, both teams selected training as their presentation topic. Team 1, consisting of Brian Erdman, Bruce Franze, Marcia Greise, and Mark Mirmakhmudov, focused on the need to improve functional training at New Cumberland. While Team 2, consisting of employees Eric Bievenour, Brian Keefover, Frank Swanson and Brad Shilke, chose to focus on how training is delivered.

According to Scott, the capstone project was the culmination of multiple assignments and one-on-one mentoring that began last March, and was designed to give mentees the skills and information needed to develop their final presentation. Mentors were also from outside the mentees’ chain of command to allow them to more freely discuss their current career status and goals.

One activity that many of the mentees cited as their favorite was a staff ride to Gettysburg. Each participant was required to showcase their knowledge of the Gettysburg campaign and leadership by providing presentations on key leaders and providing insight into their decision-making. “People actually thought we were part of the tour because of the information we were providing,” said Erdman, a facilities manager for the USASAC G-4.

Mentees also praised the program’s emphasis on mentor-mentee time, which allowed mentors to share their advice and experience, while mentees were free to steer topics and questions to their areas of interest. “I thought the most valuable part of the mentor program was the access to mentors, the relationships, and the opportunity for improvement. I met with my mentor Mike Casciaro (USASAC G-4 Director) every, or every other week,” said Shilke, a central case manager for USASAC’s EUCOM/AFRICOM Division.

Swanson, a logistics management specialist for USASAC’s PACOM/SOUTHCOM Division, felt he benefited from the access to senior leader and “networking” the program provided. “I’ve not only gained knowledge in my career field, but also about the command and the Army,” he said.

Mirmakhmudov, a logistics management specialist for the Performance and Process Management Office, said it might not sound like much, but getting up and briefing senior leaders was a huge step for him because it got him out of his comfort zone and was a tool to add to his skillset.

“I was relatively new to USASAC and this provided me a mentor who knows how the organization works,” said Keefover, who has less than two years with the G-4. His mentor was Marty Cox. Cox has more than 25 years total with USASAC, and has worked in key areas of G-3 and G-4 (where he currently serves as chief of USASAC’s PACOM/SOUTHCOM Division). Volunteering as a mentor and providing a “rookie” employee with his wealth of experience of USASAC and a broader perspective from other organizations was “the right thing to do,” Cox stated.

The mixture of long-time and relatively new employees, along with the various expectations each of the mentees came into the program with and the knowledge they gained from their mentors, created an atmosphere of friendly competition for the capstone project.

“We had some passionate presentations,” Moore noted, before announcing that Team 1 had barely outscored Team 2 as the capstone project winner. But Moore claimed USASAC was the real winner. “We get the benefit of your work,” he said. “This is what is going to continue to make us the gold standard [for the security assistance and foreign military sales programs].”

For Scott, seeing the eight individuals who were willing to give extra time and effort into the first mentor program class complete the last hurdle for graduation, it was not an end but just the beginning. “The Army promotes mentorship through the nature of its mission and training. We hope these mentees will continue to stay involved with their mentors and take it upon themselves to help mentor other up-and-coming young professionals,” Scott said.

• Date Taken: 02.09.2018
• Date Posted: 04.11.2018 16:09
• Story ID: 272697
• Location: NEW CUMBERLAND , PA, US