MilitarySpot.com

Serving the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and National Guard

Online Schools
| VA Loans
Follow MilitarySpot:
 
  • Home
  • Enlist
    • Join The Army
    • Join The Navy
    • Join The Air Force
    • Join The Marines
    • Join The Coast Guard
    • Join The National Guard
    • ASVAB
    • Army Physical Fitness Test
    • Military Draft
    • Prior Service Army Enlistment
  • Career
    • Join the Military
    • Jobs for Military and Civilians
    • Career Center
    • Prior Service Army Enlistment
    • Criminal Justice
  • Education
    • Online Schools
    • Spouse Education Benefits
    • GI Bill
    • Military Schools
    • Criminal Justice
  • Benefits
    • Army Benefits
    • Navy Benefits
    • Air Force Benefits
    • Marine Corps Benefits
    • National Guard Benefits
    • Coast Guard Benefits
    • Veteran Benefits
    • Basic Pay Rates
    • Allowances
    • Special & Incentive Pay
    • Military Spouse Education Benefits
    • VA Education Benefits
    • GI Bill
  • News
    • Headline News
  • Finance
    • Debt Relief
    • Military Pay Rates
    • Military Personal Loans
    • VA Loans
    • Military Star Card
    • Military MyPay
  • Spouses
    • School Finder
    • Scholarships & Grants
    • PCS, DITY, & Moving
    • Pay Rates
    • MyCAA
    • Education Benefits
  • Community
    • Military Games
    • Military Reunions
    • Classifieds
    • Photo Gallery
    • Buddy Finder
    • MilitarySpot Pinups
    • Military Bases
  • Resources
    • Military Alphabet
    • Military Reunions
    • Military Acronyms
    • Currency Converter
    • Military Tools
    • Ranks
    • Military Time
    • Military Tactics
    • Military Discounts
    • Military Games
    • Military Videos
    • Photo Gallery
    • Infographics
    • How To
  • Travel

Army Surgeon General: ‘Engagement’ Key to Civilian Readiness

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Oct. 19, 2015) — Civilian workforce “engagement” is another way to bolster Army readiness, Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho said.

Readiness, which has been identified by the Army’s chief of staff as the service’s top priority, is not only the domain of Soldiers, Horoho said. It’s a responsibility shared by the Army’s civilian workforce.

Horoho spoke at the Civilian Awards Luncheon during the 2015 Association of the United States Army Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C., Oct. 14.

The No. 1 way to bring about readiness to the civilian workforce, she said, is “engagement,” which is another term for esprit de corps.

Engagement, she said, doesn’t correlate with employment longevity or paygrade. Instead, it’s the “cumulative effect of five variables: culture, brand, values, trust and mission.”

The culture of each organization will be different, depending on its mission, Horoho said. For example, for many organizations, such as the Army labs, that culture might include experimentation and risk taking. But a very different culture would be in an organization tasked with potentially launching nuclear missiles.

Horoho said it’s important that everyone in an organization reach consensus on what its culture should be and then live that culture every day.

Additionally, every civilian employee should know the organization’s “brand” and that brand should be a strong one, Horoho said.

While the Army has had its Trusted Professionals brand, each organization within the Army has one that is unique to it.

Soldiers have a strong foundation in Army values, Horoho said. Examples of those include the “Army Values,” and the “Warrior Ethos.” Each organization within the Army will also have its own values that are more closely aligned with its mission.

In Army medicine, values associated with preventative care and treatment, for example, would be important, she said.

Trust occurs “when the employer and the employee become a team, not opponents,” Horoho said. Trust must be transparent and involve commitment to each other and to the team.

Conversely, external stakeholders must also have trust in the organization supporting them, she said. For instance, sick or injured Soldiers must trust Army medicine. An infantry unit must trust its close-air support, and so on.

While the chief of staff has repeatedly said that the Army’s mission is to fight and win wars, each organization within the Army will also have its own secondary mission that supports the larger Army mission, she said.

Knowing the organization’s mission and reaching consensus and buy-in on that mission is important, Horoho said.

And because sometimes organizations change, the mission statement might have to have to change as well. When that happens, there should be consensus on what those changes are, she said.

Creating engagement, Horoho said, “is a shared responsibility between both employees and their supervisors. It’s an outcome of a team effort. It’s an expectation, not an entitlement … I believe each of us as team members must understand where you are and where the team is in all of the five variables.”

Everyone in an organization, Horoho said, must have a voice in the conversation about those five variables.

“If we are to win in a complex and uncertain world, we need the certainty that our civilian workforce is fully engaged,” the Army surgeon general stressed.

Paraphrasing President Ronald Reagan, Horoho said, “the ability of this or any administration to succeed depends in no small degree on the energy, the dedication and the spirit of federal employees.”

Army civilians can do that, she said, by “providing the foundation [and] institutional knowledge that allows us to do what we do.”

In her own organization, she said, 48,000 of the 181,000 personnel are Army civilians.

Horoho concluded that throughout her 40-year career, she’s “found the civilian workforce to be one of the most dedicated, one of the most inspiring workforces that there is.”

By David Vergun

Comments

Filed Under: Army, News

  • News
  • Enlist
  • Education
  • Career
  • Finance

LCS Successfully Completes First Land Attack Missile Exercise

MAY 17, 2022 – The U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) class successfully launched sea-based missiles at a land-based target for the first time during a proof of concept exercise, May 12. Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Montgomery (LCS 8) fired three AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire missiles to strike a land-based target several nautical miles away […]

Is the Army Reserve Calling You?

APRIL 27, 2022 – Graduating high school is a momentous achievement culminating in years of hard work and dedication. It also presents one of the most challenging questions many people will face in their life, “What do I do now?” Many high school students struggle with what they should do next, joining the workforce or […]

Digital University Offers More Educational Opportunities for Airmen

MARCH 8, 2022 – Digital University (DU) has added new course offerings and platform upgrades as it’s made the switch from AWS GovCloud to the more secure Cloud One environment. The move to Cloud One, which aligns with direction from the Air Force, took place Jan. 20, according to Capt. Michael Valentin, DU director. DU’s […]

SkillBridge Helps Transitioning Service Members’ Careers

APRIL 18, 2022 – Separating or retiring from the military is often a monumental transition for a person where they consider which career option is right for them; the SkillBridge program is a tool to help ease veterans into a new career. The program provides an opportunity for service members to gain civilian work experience […]

DoD Authorizes Temporary Increase to 2021 BAH Rates

SEPTEMBER 27, 2021 – The Department of Defense has temporarily authorized increases in the 2021 Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) rates for 56 housing markets (commonly referred to as Military Housing Areas, MHAs) across the U.S. Uniformed service members who have incurred increased housing costs above their current BAH may be eligible to apply and […]

Recent Posts

  • LCS Successfully Completes First Land Attack Missile Exercise
  • U.S. to Resume Small Presence in Somalia
  • Contract Awarded to Rebuild Tyndall’s F-35 Facilities
  • Government Moves Save Soldiers Time and Money During PCS
  • Standing the Test of Time
MAINMENU




SITESEARCH
Can't find something? Try using our site search to dig through our entire site.



Still having trouble? Try the Advanced Search to refine your searches.
NEWSLETTERSUBSCRIBE
Sign Up To Receive Information, Updates and Special Officers from MilitarySpot.com.



Don't miss an issue! Jump in the Newsletter Archives to catch up on previous issues.
FOLLOWMILITARY SPOT

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter & StumbleUpon and more. Keep up with MilitarySpot.com news & updates. We also have an RSS Feed.

Advertise | About | Contact | Feedback | Unsubscribe | DMCA | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use
 
Copyright 2004-2022 Sun Key Publishing. All Rights Reserved.



 
This is not the official recruiting website of the U.S. Military. The site you are on is run by Sun Key Publishing, a private company, and is not endorsed by or affiliated with the U.S. Military.