TWO DEVELOPMENTAL TEST COMMAND EMPLOYEES RECOGNIZED FOR SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE AT WORK

Barbara Monger, known as "Barby" to her friends, earned ATEC recognition for the professionalism she regularly demonstrated.

By Mike Cast
DTC Public Affairs

Two employees of the Army Developmental Test Command (DTC), an organization that employs thousands of workers at test centers across the United States as well as at Aberdeen Proving Ground, received accolades at a DTC headquarters town hall meeting in July for their superior job performance. Barbara Monger, a principal action officer and contracting officer’s representative at DTC, earned recognition as the Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) Employee of the Quarter for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2009. Rita Brown – a senior specialist for the design, implementation and operation of human-resource automated data systems – was ATEC’s Employee of the Quarter for the first quarter of 2010.

ATEC is the Army organization that oversees test and evaluation programs at DTC, the Army Evaluation Center and the Army Operational Test Command.

Monger’s supervisor at DTC, Sandi Weaver, said her recognition was well deserved because she is “an employee of uncompromising integrity who leads by example.”

“She has demonstrated the ability to tackle the tough assignments and achieve outstanding results, despite a heavy workload,” Weaver said. “She displays unlimited potential in posturing the command to meet the challenges associated with contracting initiatives. She is a very dedicated and conscientious employee who displays commitment and follow-through with each and every action she initiates.”

Monger’s award citation described how she oversaw a multitude of contracts at DTC headquarters and its nine test locations, valued at more than $700 million. The citation called her achievements “no small undertaking” because of the complexity and value of contracts within DTC, which employs a contractor workforce totaling more than 5,000 professional and highly skilled engineers, scientists, technicians and administrators.

“One of her biggest challenges was the implementation of the Department of the Army’s latest guidance regarding personal services and inherently governmental functions, requiring the detailed documentation of over 5,000 contractor positions,” Weaver explained. “She worked closely with the ATEC and DA staff, and DTC’s legal office, to determine the path forward on reviewing service contracts, which required intense interpretation, research and clarification. In some cases, the lack of DA guidance proved to be her main obstacle. However, she was able to overcome numerous challenges to ensure DTC did not violate contracting laws.”

Rita Brown is known throughout the Developmental Test Command as an expert on the National Security Personnel System, earning her plaudits from ATEC.

Monger also faced the challenge of responding to calls for data on very short notice, Weaver added.

“Her assignments often require her to persuade managers to rethink their goals and strategies, which always poses to be a real challenge,” Weaver added. “In doing so, she does it with honesty, integrity and good will.”

Weaver said Monger’s assignments require her to understand a variety of complex subjects, which she accomplishes with the acumen of a true professional.

“Barby has established herself as one of DTC's premier subject matter experts regarding contracting,” Weaver said. “She has an uncanny ability to get to the heart of a problem or issue, which is one of the primary reasons she is considered one of the top analysts in the contracting community. She is not afraid to tackle the hard problems or make the tough decisions. If you want something done, and done right, give it to Barby Monger.”

Among other plaudits, Brown’s award citation notes her wide-ranging efforts to manage DTC’s National Security Personnel System performance- review program and her support to the pay-pool panel that determines pay for employees based on performance.

“Ms. Brown is a dedicated, hard-working employee,” said Cindy Kane, her supervisor at DTC. “She is customer and detail oriented. She has mastered the voluminous data associated with NSPS program administrator work, which is no easy task.”

Kane said her greatest achievement on behalf of DTC was her thorough and in-depth review of data that would help determine compensation within the command. The accuracy of this data was critical to determining performance payouts for DTC’s NSPS employees, according to Kane. She called Brown the “undisputed expert” on automated systems within DTC and described her as a very thorough employee.

“Her expertise, attention to detail and thoroughness ensured the accuracy of the payouts,” Kane said. “It took time and effort to master the NSPS system, and some of us had repeated problems with getting it right. Without question, her expertise with the automated systems is unmatched. It had a direct and positive influence, both here in the headquarters and at our subordinate test centers. She used her expertise and broad-based knowledge to resolve a wide-variety of unique issues that were elevated to this command.”

Brown’s greatest challenge at DTC was staying abreast of changing guidance for the NSPS system, Kane said, adding that much of it was published without sufficient lead time for advanced preparation and planning.

“This complicated her job because she had to fully understand all iterations of the guidance sufficiently to articulate the changes in the guidance and the impact of those changes to people, processes and systems.”

This made it difficult to disseminate the guidance to DTC employees in a clear, concise and understandable manner, Kane said.

“In addition, she had to ensure that all test centers accurately implemented the new guidance, which added to her workload at a time when she was under significant pressure to complete her review of performance payouts for this command’s entire NSPS population,” Kane said.

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