Minutes of the 65th National Conference of the
Naval Civilian Managers Association
Monday, 9 May 2011
Naval Civilian Managers Association (NCMA) National President, Mr. Brent Goldrick, called the 65th National Conference to order at 8:45 A.M. The following officers and delegates were in attendance.
National Officers
Name / Chapter / OfficeBrent Goldrick / Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & IMF / President
Scott Butcher / Tidewater / Vice-President
Laura Silveri / Lakehurst / Treasurer
Kevin Brigham / Portsmouth / Trustee-at-Large
Keith Roark / Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & IMF / Secretary
Chapter Delegates
Name / Chapter / OfficeKevin Brigham / Portsmouth / President
John Schmelzle / Lakehurst / President
Farhad Choudhury / Lakehurst / Secretary
Jimmy Broom / Norfolk / Vice-President
Jane Ellsworth / Norfolk / Secretary
Ross Vierra / Tidewater / President
Tom Bray / Tidewater / Incoming President
Tracy Storey / Puget Sound / Vice-President
Bryan Payne / Puget Sound / Treasurer
Brian Campany / Aloha / Treasurer
President Goldrick discussed the logistics of the conference including layout of the facility and emergency procedures. He then reviewed the agenda and asked the National Officers and Delegates to introduce themselves and discuss their chapter affiliations and expectations for the conference.
Brent asked the secretary to read the minutes of the 64th National Conference which Keith Roark then read. Upon completion of reading the minutes, Kevin Brigham pointed out that Portsmouth is also performing work in San Diego which was not included in the minutes. John Schmelzle moved and Kevin Brigham seconded to approve the minutes as amended. The motion passed on a unanimous voice vote.
Brent provided the President’s annual report. He stated that the chapters have been very dedicated noting that the monthly phone calls have been helpful in getting work accomplished and discussed several of the initiatives.
Brent thanked Bret Lee from the Norfolk chapter for the great job he’s done in putting out the NCMA quarterly news letter although he noted that only two chapters had provided input on the last quarter’s newsletter. He challenged each chapter to contribute not only for the betterment of the newsletter but to provide a record of how the chapters are improving their activities and their communities.
He mentioned that the Aloha chapter sustainment is a very positive development and that he is hopeful someone will step up with renewed energy for the Washington Navy Yard chapter.
Brent commented that he was excited about trying a new venue for the conference and that the lineup of speakers for this year’s conference was excellent. We’re hosting three admirals and two SES members in addition to an opportunity to meet with Congressman Randy Forbes; which is a first for NCMA.
Brent concluded by expressing his gratitude for the opportunity to serve as president for the last two years and to be part of an organization that puts so much into its commands and communities.
Kevin Brigham provided the Trustee-at-Large annual report. Kevin noted that the Trustee-at-Large is a Trustee-in-training. He arranged for Mr. Brian Persons to speak this year and assisted with planning for the National Conference. He also assisted in maintaining the organization’s non-profit status.
Laura Silveri provided the National Treasurer’s annual report and budget. As presented, NCMA is still deficit spending. Projected expenditures indicate that NCMA would be broke in approximately two years. Alternatives include holding the National Conference in other locations which may save money; however, the quality of the conference would be expected to suffer as a result. Another alternative is the current dues structure has been in place for several years meaning no increase in revenue to the National. This generated a lively discussion on chapter obligations to the National. Jimmy Broom suggested the National hold some minimum amount of money in its bank account.
Ross Vierra moved and Kevin Brigham seconded to increase dues to the National by five dollars per person per year starting with the June 2012 payment. The motion carried with one vote opposed.
The delegates determined that the organization should maintain a minimum balance of fifty percent of annual operating expenses and approve a balanced budget. Brent then lead a line-by-line review of the proposed 2012 budget.
John Schmelzle moved and Farhad Choudhury seconded that the National Conference be held in the Washington D.C. area. The motion passed with two votes opposed.
Kevin Brigham moved and Tracy Storey seconded to remove the budget amounts for chapter visits and Board of Trustees meetings for 2012. This would reduce the budget by five thousand dollars. Discussion from Jimmy Broom suggested we retain these. The motion was defeated with three votes in favor.
Jimmy Broom moved and Tracy Storey seconded that we strike the Delegates dinner from the 2012 budget. Ross suggested that this is a kind of reward for the delegates and should be retained. The motion was defeated with two votes in favor.
Tom Bray moved and Kevin Brigham seconded to reduce the budget for Board of Trustees meetings and travel to zero for 2012. The motion passed with one vote opposed.
Brent Goldrick nominated the following members for National Officers:
President—Scott Butcher
Vice President—Kevin Brigham
Treasurer—Yvette Flynn
Kevin Brigham provided the Portsmouth chapter annual report.
John Schmelzle provided the Lakehurst chapter annual report.
Jimmy Broom provided the Norfolk chapter annual report.
Tracy Storey provide the Puget chapter annual report.
Ross Vierra provided the Tidewater chapter annual report.
Kevin Brigham read the proposed bylaw changes. Brent decided that the delegates should discuss each proposal and vote on them individually.
Lakehurst proposal: Article NA requiring introductory pages for the bylaws. Kevin pointed out that this change provides very little benefit. There was no other discussion. Proposal failed with three votes for and ten opposed.
Lakehurst proposal: Article NA discussing how to categorize amendments. Keith Roark requested clarification on the intent of the proposal. There was consensus that it is a technicality. Proposal approved by unanimous voice vote.
Lakehurst proposal: Article 4 Section 1a on definition of “active member.” No discussion. Proposal approved by unanimous voice vote.
Lakehurst proposal: Article 4 Section 1b on definition of “members-at-large.” No discussion. Proposal approved by unanimous voice vote.
Lakehurst proposal: Article 4 Section 1c on definition of “emeritus members.” No discussion. Proposal failed by unanimous voice vote.
Lakehurst proposal: Article 4 Section 1d on definition of “honorary members.” No discussion. Proposal passed with one vote opposed.
Lakehurst proposal: Article 4 Section 3 on eligibility for local or national office. No Discussion. Proposal passed by unanimous voice vote.
Lakehurst proposal: Article 6 Section 1 on the definition of the Board of Trustees. No discussion. Proposal passed eight votes in favor and five votes opposed.
Lakehurst proposal: Article 6 Section 2 on the election/appointment of Board of Trustees. No discussion. Proposal failed with six votes in favor and 7 votes opposed.
Lakehurst proposal: Article 6 Section 15 on the Board of Trustees (increase in numbers). No discussion. Proposal failed with four votes in favor and eight votes opposed.
Lakehurst proposal: Article 9 Section 6 on expenses of delegates. No discussion. Proposal passed with ten votes in favor and three votes opposed.
Portsmouth proposal: Article 9 Section 6 on expenses of delegates. Discussion on this proposal was that it was somewhat counter to the Lakehurst proposal that was just approved. Proposal failed with four votes in favor and nine votes opposed.
Portsmouth proposal: Article VII Section 3 on transaction of business. No discussion. Proposal failed unanimously.
Portsmouth proposal: Article XVIII Section New on amendments. No discussion. Proposal passed with eleven votes in favor and two votes opposed.
The first day of the conference adjourned at 4:15 P.M.
Brent called day two of the conference to order at 8:00. He reviewed the previous day’s discussions which included raising dues five dollars per person per year, deciding to keep the conference in Washington, D.C. and reducing the Board of Trustees travel to zero for 2012.
Scott Butcher provided the Vice President’s annual report. He thanks all for the opportunity to serve as Vice President. He also thanked Brent for his leadership and the chapters for their continuing efforts.
John Schmelzle provided a dry run of his presentation to ADM Campbell in hiring and retaining high quality people in today’s environment.
The first speaker of the conference was Mr. Brian Persons, Executive Director of Naval Sea Systems Command. He asked what diversity means to us. Several delegates offered varying viewpoints. He suggested it is a “wicked problem” which is multi-dimensional and doesn’t lend itself to a linear solution. He added that with all the rhetoric about diversity, there is very little improvement or change. White males are about thirty percent of the population. Ross Vierra asked when it might be appropriate to consider ourselves and our organizations diverse. Mr. Persons responded that we might be there when we talk about “talent” vice diversity. He noted that it requires a great deal of effort to achieve. He said he is responsible for 71 SESs and twelve flag officers and he worries about when people get “cemented” into their jobs noting that that’s the time to move them.
Mr. Persons continued with a discussion on contract administration. He said we don’t administer contracts very well as an organization primarily because we don’t have sufficient oversight. We take a lot of effort in awarding the contracts but not much in administration. We simply do not have the controls in place. This is where the stewardship is important: having the people to verify that we received what we paid for. We will not be allowing contractors to oversee contracts. He stated that we will push people to be more diligent in their oversight and before we let people award contracts we’re going to require that they demonstrate they have the capability, including resources, to manage the contracts. He described our progress as being at an inflection point in how we contract and administer services. He noted that the Navy buys $50 billion in serves each year. He pointed out that, in the future, contracting will become much more difficult—the process is going to change and reviews will have to be accomplished.
Mr. Persons concluded his visit with a final point on diversity. He defined diversity as finding the most talented people. If you have a diverse organization, you need to be able to manage it. Everyone must be able to get their opinions on the table but not dwell on differences.
The second speaker was ADM Mahr of Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division. The thesis of ADM Mahr’s discussion was also on diversity. He opened by suggested that as we return to our “day jobs” and begin attending meetings that we look around notice who is sitting at the tables. Then look around and see who is sitting against the wall and ask ourselves if it’s a reflection of who is at the table. He suggested that “like attracts like.” That we tend to associate with people that are interested in the things we like and noted thatethnicity, gender and age are also factors in who we associate with.
ADM Mahr referred to a Dr. Betances (sp?) who does a good deal of work with the Navy. He says that the simplest thing we can do is judge people based on what they look like. Inner-city kids have approximately ten percent of the vocabulary of similar kids from more affluent areas. Our challenge is to figure out how to get these people into our workforce.
He gave a hypothetical example of a hiring situation in which two candidates, a man and a woman, were interviewing for a job and they had similar to equal backgrounds and qualifications: which would you choose? His point was that you do not pick a person because of diversity. You must continue to “drill down” until you find who will be the better person, manager, engineer, whatever you’re hiring.
He said that we should all be a mentor. And when we mentor people, we should focus on people like ourselves. In other words, woman to woman or minority to minority. We need to start with people in schools, kids in STEM to become our future leaders. Our job is to set an ethical example. We can’t afford discrimination in any form, whether overt or reverse.
Brent initiated a discussion of where we want our organization to go in two, five and ten years. Keith Roark graphed out a vision for some goals to align our organization at a chapter and national level. We need to have someone carry on this initiative and further the discussion. This should be made a topic of discussion during the monthly phone calls.
Our third speaker was Ms. Bilyana Anderson of Surface Warfare SEA 21. She discussed the development of Surface Warfare SEA 21 noting that this is a rather young program having been stood up for only about four years. She said that SEA 21 oversees cruisers, destroyers and LSCs. Maintenance has been largely ignored on these platforms over the last decade. But over the last two years, this is changing. She discussed the lack of an assessment plan, sustainment program, a SURFMEPP, RMC capability/capacity and execution/certification programs. What she collectively refers to as the “five big rocks.” SEA 21 has now initiated a pilot program with lots of pieces to implement. Ships force has less capacity to perform self assessments than they used to so they have now implemented a total ship readiness assessment (TSRA) program. SURFMEPP is developing seventy baseline availability work packages (AWPs). And they are rebuilding Regional maintenance Centers (RMCs) reinvigorating numerous shops, un-mothballing lots of plant equipment at Mayport and training Ships Force personnel so they can do more work.
Keith Roark continued the discussion of developing NCMA influence in Navy and congress and stated that the goal was not to have each activity to bring a proposal to the table but to have someone provide leadership with a small committee to develop a proposal that can be discussed during the monthly phone calls or at the next national conference or both. The point is that the concept needs leadership to further it. Jimmy Broom agreed to chair with Jane Ellsworth, Tom Bray and Tracy Storey.
Brent lead a discussion of what we should discuss and how we should interact with Congressman Forbes. We concluded that Brent should lead the discussion for the organization.
The second day of the conference adjourned at 4:00 P.M.
Brent called day three of the conference to order at 8:00. He recalled some of the key points in the previous day’s discussions. Diversity was a key point with Mr. Persons and ADM Mahr. Mr. Persons also spoke of the contracting problems at SUPSHIP Newport and the ramifications of that fraud.
Brent provided the Aloha Chapter report due to no representation at the conference.
John Schmelzle provided a “dress rehearsal” of the presentation to ADM Campbell on hiring and retention of quality people.
Jimmy Broom introduced ADM Campbell. ADM Campbell is the head of NAVSEA 04X, Logistics, Maintenance and Industrial Operations. He discussed the activities for which he’s responsible including the four Naval Shipyards, four SUPSHIPs and the NAVSEA Logistics Center. One half the people at NAVSEA work at these nine field activities. He pointed out that the Regional Maintenance Centers do not report to him. They belong to ADM (sel) Gale, Commander Navy Regional Maintenance, and the Northwest and Pearl Harbor RMCs report to their Shipyard Commanders. For NSSA (definition?), their C.O. has a dotted line to ADM Gale.
Mine countermeasure ships moved from Ingleside, TX to San Diego due to BRAC. The relationship between NSSA & Norfolk is likely to be reviewed over the next year. The NSSAs have worldwide responsibilities and may become their own command.
ADM Campbell said the LPD-17 construction was overseen by SUPSHIP Newport. He noted that they had experienced several problems with quality oversight during new construction. They expected lessons learned, but nothing like what they got on this first-of-class ship noting that the diesel work has been a major problem.
He felt that NCMA was wise to hold their meetings in Washington, D.C. Since this is where the money is, this is also where the key decisions are. Overall, he said that budgets are decreasing. For FY11 Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding is still available but he expects less OCO funding in the futu5re. He thought maintenance budgets would be OK in the future, but we will still be squeezed to be more efficient.
He said that the target is 313 ships. The Navy is currently sitting at 284. The Navy is going to start buying more but we need to ensure we get to the service life or more on current ships. He noted that SPRUANCE Class did not make its service life due to the cost of modernization. But we’re running out of ships and appropriators recognize the need for maintenance so we’ll be squeezed but money will still be there for maintenance. He continued by saying that the Navy is having problems with aluminum ships also but they’re here to stay noting that the primary benefit was weight. This weight off-set is providing increased payloads whether that is fuel or combat systems or whatever the need is.