KEEPING IT REAL
Whether it’s on the job or in daily life, we all, at one time or another, find ourselves in a situation where a decision needs to be made and we react accordingly. But it’s how we react that will determine the best—or worst—outcome.
Mark Shaeffer has found this to be true on many occasions and one of the most impor- tant lessons he’s learned during the course of his career is that what may appear to be “reality” in some circumstances, is not always the case. He said when determining what has just taken place—in any given circumstance—people don’t always consider all contributing factors and typically jump to immediate conclusions. Which, he said, ultimately leads to hasty decisions, ineffective strategies and sometimes formulating the wrong conclusions.
MARK SHAEFFER
COMMAND/ORGANIZATION: Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments and Ammunition, Program Manager Close Combat Systems
TITLE: Program support specialist
YEARS OF SERVICE IN WORKFORCE: 12
DAWIA CERTIFICATIONS: Level III in program management
EDUCATION: B.A. in history, University of Richmond
AWARDS: U.S. Army Achievement Medal for Civilian Service (2019)
“In the past, I tended to run high on adrenaline and often responded too quickly to circumstances—priding myself on being proactive—but in the process found that I had misjudged the situation even before the dust settled,” he said. Especially when there was a conflict within a team or organization. “I realize how detrimental conflict can be to an organization, so I want to nip it in the bud as quickly as possible. I also have a strong advocacy streak in me and cannot tolerate injustice or team members stomping on one another in the process of accomplishing the mission.”
Shaeffer said that, in the past, both his proactive pride and strong advocacy tenden- cies have led him to be hasty in drawing the wrong conclusion and at first attempting to correct a scenario that was in fact not anywhere close to reality. “Trough the help of several wise mentors, I have learned to take time to breathe—sometimes literally— and process what happened before developing the proverbial three courses of action to execute.”
Shaeffer’s position supports U.S. Army foreign military sales, while protecting U.S. technology. So his responsibilities routinely involve weighing options before deriving viable solutions.
“My role not only supports the U.S. national security strategy, but also enables our warfighters to work confidentially alongside coalition forces with the same systems they have trained on and used throughout their careers,” he said. So, hastily made decisions could have serious consequences. “My greatest satisfaction comes from finding solutions to complex challenges, especially when our allies have an urgent requirement for a U.S. Army capability,” he said. “However, in the rush to deliver needed capabilities, it would be easy to overlook technology security or foreign disclosure concerns. Terefore, I lean heavily on several key organizations and tools within the U.S. Army to walk the fine line between security assistance and guarding U.S. interests.”
Although some might say Shaeffer entered the Army Acquisition Workforce by chance, he would somewhat disagree. “I was in the middle of a major career change, having
62
Army AL&T Magazine
Summer 2022
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
