JPEO interns visit the enclosure on Picatinny Arsenal and witness a live-fire demonstration of the M777 howitzer firing 155 mm artillery rounds. From left are Sabrina Borges, Katie Smith, DeAnne Baker, Eva Petronchak, Catrina Casale and Collin Vincent. (Photo by Matthew Seaman, JPEO A&A Project Lead Joint Service).
ARMY EXPANDS ACQUISITION WORKFORCE TALENT PIPLINE WITH INTERN PROGRAM
by Michael Chambers
The Army’s Joint Program Executive Office Armaments and Ammunition (JPEO A&A) is celebrating the success of its direct-hire Program Analysis Intern Program launched in 2021. This initiative has brought a diverse group of talent into critical program analyst roles and is poised to serve as a model for future workforce development.
Facing a need to bolster its program analyst ranks, JPEO A&A took the initiative to directly hire interns. The program began with approximately 12 interns and quickly evolved into a structured experience designed to provide a solid foundation in acquisition and financial management.
“It’s been a great opportunity to directly on-board new program analysts and provide them with in-depth, focused training to set them up for success and best serve the organization from the start,” explained Christine Berg, JPEO A&A G8 and co-manager of the intern program.
Sabrina Borges Headshot
A NEW APPROACH
The program included 500 hours of formal training, two rotational opportunities with the JPEO A&A G8 Directorate and Project Lead Joint Services, speaker engagements and career development workshops.
One of the highlights for the interns was the rotation through Joint Services, which is responsible for acquisition execution and modernization of the Army’s ammunition plants and is delegated the responsibility to oversee JPEO A&A’s Single Manager for Conventional Ammunition mission. Led by co-manager of the intern program and Joint Services’ Business Manager, Matthew Seaman, the intentional rotation through Joint Services exposed interns to the broader impact of their work and the Army’s overall capabilities.
“Even though a program analyst works in a hardware [project management office] or here at headquarters, rotating through Joint Services was important because of the uniqueness of its mission and how it fits into everything else that we support,” said Seaman.
The program faced unique challenges with onboarding interns remotely during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite these hurdles, the interns quickly integrated and began contributing to real-world projects, supporting internal operating budgets, Research, Development, Testing and Evaluation programs, and production efforts.
Interns also engaged with senior leadership, including Maj. Gen. John T. Reim, Joint Program Executive Officer Armaments and Ammunition and Picatinny Arsenal Commanding General, and participated in site visits to facilities like Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, gaining firsthand insight into manufacturing processes.
Over a 12–15-month period, JPEO A&A made phased hiring decisions, extending permanent positions to most of the initial cohort. Several interns have already been promoted, including one who accepted a position at the Armament Center.
“We set them up for success,” said Seaman. “The fact that somebody left for another opportunity, I don’t view that as a mark on the organization.
Berg agrees, “I’m proud of their accomplishments and know that the intern program served them well. Hopefully someday they come back to us.”
Catrina Casale Headshot
TEAMMATES, TRAINING AND HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE
One such success story is Catrina Casale, a 2020 Rutgers University economics graduate, who discovered the internship through a Facebook post. Casale embraced the role as a pioneer, meticulously documenting her experiences to build a foundation for future cohorts.
“I knew from the get-go I was going to take good notes, because I wanted the future interns to have that structure,” Casale explained. “I enjoyed being the trailblazer.”
The program’s rotational structure proved invaluable, with Casale gaining exposure to diverse facets of the organization, including rotations at Joint Services and the JPEO G8 Directorate. Site visits to the Scranton and Radford Army Ammunition Plants and vendor facilities provided a critical link between office work and real-world impact.
“It’s one thing to work on it, and another to see it,” Casale noted.
Casale was offered a full-time position following her internship and has since transitioned through roles in execution reporting, financial analysis and manpower, currently focusing on acquisition. Despite a virtual start to the program, she adapted quickly, leveraging technology to build relationships and maximize learning opportunities.
Sabrina Borges, a recent Centenary University graduate with a degree in marketing and concentrations in finance and business administration, echoed Casale’s positive experience. Initially drawn to the program through a Facebook post shared by a family friend working at Picatinny Arsenal, Borges was seeking a career path that leveraged her business acumen and aligned with her family’s military background. “I liked the impact Picatinny makes,” Borges stated. “Behind a job, for me, is the meaning of that job.” She initially hadn’t considered a government career, but the internship’s focus on program analysis and financial management proved a perfect fit.
Borges emphasized the program’s intensive preparation and the immediate sense of responsibility she felt upon acceptance. “This was something the minute I had my foot in the door, I really wanted to excel with,” she said. The program’s structure, while initially overwhelming with paperwork, quickly provided a clear path for development. Assigned to Project Director Joint Bombs, Borges highlighted the value of the intern cohort.
“Every single one of us was bouncing questions off one another,” Borges explained. “It was pretty cool to hear what everyone was working on, even if it was in different realms.” The two-week rotations through various offices were particularly impactful, allowing interns to gain a broader understanding of the JPEO’s diverse mission. Borges specifically noted a “full circle moment” when a rotation through Joint Services, focusing on the demilitarization mission, directly informed her work back at Joint Bombs when the demilitarization mission was transferred to her current project management office.
Both Casale and Borges underscored the importance of the networking opportunities fostered by the program. Borges and Casale took a leadership role within the intern cohort, establishing monthly meetings and creating resources like rotation templates to support future interns. This collaborative spirit extended beyond the program’s duration, creating a valuable professional network.
Soon-to-be graduate, Molly Hatch, describes a similar experience. Hatch was one of the last groups to go through the intern program, she will graduate from the program later this year.
Hatch was working in the billing department at Atlantic Health processing medical and worker’s compensation claims when she came across the Facebook post about the intern program at Picatinny Arsenal. “I thought this was a very unique and exciting opportunity,” she said about her decision to switch careers. “This seemed like a good way to get introduced to a career in the government.”
For Hatch, training was a critical success factor in the program. She appreciated the amount of training and the combination of hands-on and online training and thought they complemented each other well.
“I was able to learn about fiscal law while issuing funds. I was able to learn about different types of appropriations while building spend-plans for my programs. Being able to take courses that taught me what a program analyst role was while applying what I learned in real time was very beneficial,” said Hatch.
She also credits her teammates for their support. “My fondest memories are of the time I have gotten to share with my incredible teammates. Everything I know about financial management is because of them and all of the time they have taken to train me.”
Molly Hatch Headshot
WHAT’S NEXT?
Sabrina Borges, Catrina Casale and Molly Hatch are all currently working within the JPEO A&A at Picatinny Arsenal as program analysts.
As the last cohort nears completion of the program, JPEO A&A is evaluating its structure and considering future iterations. The success of the program has demonstrated the value of naturally expanding the workforce and providing opportunities for professional development.
“It’s been very rewarding to organically grow this workforce,” Berg concluded. “As JPEO A&A’s new G8 director, one of my goals is to establish and optimize these types of programs to enable our business management community’s success.”
The JPEO A&A Program Analysis Intern Program will be formally recognized at an upcoming town hall, celebrating the accomplishments of five graduating interns and paving the way for continued investment in the Army’s talent pipeline.
For more information about JPEO A&A, go to https://jpeoaa.army.mil. Questions about the article can be directed to usarmy.pica.jpeo-aa.mbx.jpeo-aa-public-affairs@army.mil.
MICHAEL CHAMBERS is senior public affairs coordinator for JPEO A&A at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey. He holds a B.A. in history and journalism from Elmhurst University and has nearly 30 years experience working in corporate public relations and internal communications as an editor-journalist and copywriter.
