HAVE COMMUNICATION WILL TRAVEL
analyst, but how would you like to be a budget analyst?” Swinford said “Sure,” and the recruiter said someone would be in touch in about three weeks.
W WILLIAM “CODY” SWINFORD
COMMAND/ORGANIZATION: Acquisition Support Command, Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space
TITLE: Program manager
YEARS OF SERVICE IN WORKFORCE: 20 YEARS OF MILITARY SERVICE: 4
DAWIA CERTIFICATIONS: Level III in business, cost estimat- ing and financial management and Level II in program management
EDUCATION: M.S. in management and acquisition and contract management, Florida Insti- tute of Technology; B.S. in secondary education, Athens State University
AWARDS: Army Achievement Medal for Civilian Service (2018)
Te rest, he said, is history.
Swinford joined the Army Acquisition Workforce in 2004, after completing his intern- ship as a budget analyst for the Department of the Army. He may not have—according to the recruiter—qualified as an acquisition analyst at the time, but three years later that intern position as a budget analyst was identified as part of the Army Acquisi- tion Workforce. To make it official, he completed the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) training in business cost estimating and financial manage- ment, and received his Level III certification in 2007.
“Tings do not always go your way,” he said. It’s the old motto, “if at first you do not succeed, try and try again,” which is the most important lesson he’s learned, on the job or off, during the course of his career. Tough Swinford didn’t get the position he sought right away, he ultimately ended up where he wanted to be.
Swinford currently serves as program manager in the Leadership Excellence and Acqui- sition Development (LEAD) program for high performing professionals in GS-12/13 or NH-03 pay bands, working in the Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space (PEO MS) for the assistant PEO for international operations.
“International and security cooperation is relatively new for me, so learning new and challenging things brings me satisfaction.” Plus, he said, whenever he mentions the Army or a missile or aviation system he supports, it tends to pique people’s interest. “I believe they think I am more important than I really am, which is kind of cool.”
And his job is both important and cool. Swinford is responsible for creating trip books— reference tools that contain vital information about countries that PEO MS senior leaders engage with when they travel to trade shows, program management reviews or other high-level events. “I support the team by helping to develop some of the informa- tion for our dashboard,” he said. “I research the artillery systems other countries obtain, and generate a report with compiled information about the U.S. relationship, missile systems and equipment they are procuring or are preparing to buy through the foreign military sales process.”
Swinford said his next assignment will be at the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secre- tary of the Army for Defense Exports and Cooperation (DASA DE&C) in Washington, D.C., where he will learn the many facets of security cooperation at the Army senior level. “Specifically, I am looking to gain experience as a region or country desk officer who works to support requirements from a specific region or country,” he said. “Te overall
60 Army AL&T Magazine Spring 2022
illiam “Cody” Swinford was awakened out of deep sleep at midnight in Fayetteville, Tennessee, by a call from an Army civilian recruiter 600 miles away in Dallas, Texas. Te recruiter had reviewed his resume and said “You do not qualify to become an acquisition [contracts]
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140
