WORTH IT
future leader of the Acquisition Corps—you need to go out there and understand as much about that industry you’re working in” as possible, he said.
Martin reminds the fellows to ask for help when they need it, and to cultivate a willingness to learn. For other industry part- ners like Amazon, she encourages them to better understand the military. “One of the most helpful suggestions was to read the NDS [National Defense Strategy]—and, from there, I was able to work backward and build out an entire training and education program to meet the needs of military fellows,” she said.
FROM TWI MANAGER TO FELLOW Lt. Col. Shelia Howell’s experience with the TWI program is a little different than other participants’—she used to be a TWI program manager. Supporting the warfighter has been her mission since she started her Army career as a human resources officer in 2003, and she wanted to continue that support through- out her career. Te TWI program let her continue a service role as a program manager. Howell saw firsthand what a great opportu- nity the program was for Soldiers. “It is a tremendous opportunity that the program offers to really build your business acumen and have a deeper understanding of industry,” she said. “It was price- less, and I really wanted to have the opportunity as well.”
Even though she was a program manager for TWI, she still had to undergo the normal application process. “Tey hold a board, and they create an OML [order of merit list] … but I think
that one of the main requirements is that you’re at a point in your career where it works out for you,” she said. Te program should not be detrimental to a Soldier’s career, and the candi- date should be a good representative of the Army as well as the Acquisition Corps when with industry, because sometimes the TWI program is the only contact that company may have with a military member, she added.
Howell was placed with Lockheed Martin in Orlando, Florida, and is currently on assignment there. She was able to tailor her experience with the company and is able to rotate around to different teams from different lines of business. At the time of her interview for this article, she was working with the capture team, learning the ins and outs of program management at Lock- heed. She sat down with one of Lockheed’s financial program managers to discuss the types of things that he looks at from an earned value management perspective. “Tat was really good to learn some of those financial metrics and how they look at it, and what kind of levers they pull to ensure that they are meeting their targets,” she said. Understanding those measures on a deeper level has been her biggest takeaway so far. “I really do want to have a better understanding of how industry operates,” Howell said. “I think that, as acquisition officers, that is an invaluable skill to have.”
CONCLUSION All three of the TWI fellows, past and present, agree that, to succeed in the program, you have to be a self-starter, and that you should leave a better understanding of the military—particularly, Army acquisition—behind with the industry host.
In addition to fostering a greater understanding between the mili- tary and industry, the TWI program helps convey the Army’s six modernization priorities to industry, Ostrowski said. “We must recognize that the six priorities are not just an Army initia- tive, but it is also guidance to industry, so they know what they should focus on to drive innovation and get the best equipment to our Soldiers for the ever-changing fight.”
For more information, go to
https://asc.army.mil/web/career- development/programs/aac-training-with-industry/.
KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER
Lt. Col. Sheila Howell, left, learning the ropes from Juanita Houdieshell at Lockheed Martin. “One of the main requirements is that you’re at a point in your career where it works out for you,” said Howell. (Photo courtesy of Lt. Col. Sheila Howell)
JACQUELINE M. HAMES is an editor with Army AL&T magazine. She holds a B.A. in creative writing from Christopher Newport University. She has more than 10 years of experience writing and editing for the military, with seven of those years spent producing news and feature articles for publication.
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