Navy Pay, Personnel Support Center Holds Change of Command

Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Jared Catlett | 191028-N-FK733-1017 MILLINGTON, Tenn. (Oct. 28, 2019) Capt. John Popham speaks to guests during a change of command ceremony held in the base chapel at Naval Support Activity Mid-South. Capt. Mike Whitt relieved Capt. John Popham as commanding oficer of Navy Pay and Personnel Support Center. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jared Catlett/Released)  

MILLINGTON, TN, UNITED STATES

10.28.2019

Story by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jared Catlett 

Navy Personnel Command

MILLINGTON, Tennessee – Navy Pay and Personnel Support Center (NPPSC) held a change of command ceremony at Naval Support Activity Mid-South, Oct. 28.

During the ceremony Capt. Mike Whitt relieved Capt. John Popham as commanding officer (CO). Popham will take over as chief of staff for Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa.

“Operating with confidence in unchartered territory, John and his team have forged innovative ways to reorient our pay and personnel processes around the customer and are setting the pace for high velocity learning across the entire MyNavy Human Resources (HR) enterprise,” said Rear Adm. Jeff Hughes, commander, Navy Personnel Command. “Beginning with the consolidation of personnel support detachments through becoming part of the MyNavy Career Center (MNCC) tiered service delivery model, John’s vision and diligence resulted in providing a greatly improved customer experience to our Sailors and their families. Outcomes that they expect and deserve.”

Popham led 31 different personnel detachments comprised of more than 2,000 Sailors and civilians across the globe in implementing significant changes impacting the entire Navy pay and personnel system, representing a major portion of the ongoing MyNavy HR transformation. Overall, Popham guided Navy wide pay and personnel transformation efforts that affected four million personnel and pay transactions and laid the foundation for a tiered service delivery model that improves the way the Navy supports the fleet, warfighters, and families. He and his team brought to life the three major MyNavy Career Center (MNCC) Transaction Support Centers (TSC) that enabled centralized and standardized transaction processing across the entire network. His team integrated the entire Pay and personnel Administrative Support System (PASS) team into the MNCC Customer Relationship Management (CRM) network, improving workflow management and back office processing that has resulted in unprecedented transaction timeliness and accuracy. Under Popham’s watch, Permanent Change of Station (PCS) travel claim timeliness during the summer surge move season improved by 67% from previous years.

“The ongoing transformation of MyNavy HR is incredibly important and long overdue, but what is of greatest importance to NPPSC, day in and day out, is paying Sailors and their families correctly.” said Popham.

Popham, a Minneapolis native, enlisted in the Navy in 1986. He advanced to chief yeoman in 1994, and was commissioned as an administration limited duty officer (LDO) in October 1996. He assumed command of Navy Pay and Personnel Service Center in March 2018.

“It’s an honor to be working with such an amazing group of professionals at NPPSC and all supporting commands. We cannot fail at providing pay and personnel support services to the Sailor!” said Whitt.

A native of Columbus, Ohio, Whitt joined the Navy in June 1983, two weeks after graduating from high school. After recruit training, he attended Yeoman "A" School and Basic Submarine School. Whitt achieved the rank of chief petty officer, and in 1994 he was commissioned as an ensign through the LDO program. In March 2011 he was the first administration LDO to serve as executive officer afloat on the submarine tender USS Emory S. Land (AS 39) and joins NPPSC after serving as the chief of staff at Naval Education and Training Command.

The NPPSC mission is to execute Navy pay and personnel policy by providing timely and accurate pay, personnel, and passenger transportation services to Sailors and their families. The trained professionals operating within the global network of MNCC and personnel support detachments provides unparalleled support to Sailors so they can repurpose their valuable time toward increasing readiness and lethality and achieving a better life/work balance.

-USN -

• Date Taken: 10.28.2019
• Date Posted: 10.29.2019 09:08
• Story ID: 349648
• Location: MILLINGTON, TN, US