HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY


Before he joined the Army Acquisition Workforce at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey, Mark Whitby and his wife, Lee, had close ties to New York City. Mark was an archae- ologist for 16 years and worked at the same firm as his wife (then fiancé), in lower Manhattan. Te couple decided to take a break from the city for a two-week vacation during the first week of September 2001, not realizing it was a decision that would alter the course of their lives. Tey witnessed the aftermath of 9/11—not from their lower Manhattan workplace, but while on vacation, a safe distance from Ground Zero.


MARK WHITBY


COMMAND/ORGANIZATION: Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments and Ammunition


TITLE: Operations officer YEARS OF SERVICE IN WORKFORCE: 13


DAWIA CERTIFICATIONS: Practitioner in program management


EDUCATION: B.A. in anthropology, Appalachian State University


AWARDS: Commander’s Award for Civilian Service (2018); Superior Civilian Service Award (2017)


Whitby and his fiancé had been shaken but spared. Tis motivated Whitby to want to support his country and do his part to protect others in some way going forward. He considered enlisting in the Army, but because he was already in his late 30s, he felt the time for active duty had passed. Instead, he pursued a contractor position at Picatinny Arsenal so that he could support the warfighter.


“I thought that by working for DOD, I could in some small way help our nation during that horrible time,” he said. “I think my story is far from unique and was a quite common occurrence immediately after 9/11, when ordinary Americans, regardless of race, political affiliations, religion, etc., just wanted to do something ... anything to help their coun- try. Tat’s how I came to the DOD world.” In 2010, Whitby’s position was converted from a DOD contractor position to a DOD civilian, and he became a member of the Army Acquisition Workforce.


“Be ethical and honest. If you make a mistake, own up to it. Apologize and move on.”


His greatest satisfaction as a DOD civilian, he said, is being a part of a greater entity that has the warfighter’s interest at heart.


“Tere are personnel within JPEO A&A [the Joint Program Executive Office for Arma- ments and Ammunition] who are in the military or were in the military or have sons and daughters who are or were in the military. Te personnel of JPEO A&A take pride in knowing that what they do helps and protects those warfighters by giving them the advantage they may need over current or future adversaries,” he said.


In his role as an operations officer, Whitby is responsible for the coordination and execu- tion of daily task management, staffing actions, briefing documentation and continuity of operations plans within JPEO A&A.


120


Army AL&T Magazine


Summer 2024


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