Sept 2006 ASMC Washington Chapter Newsletter



President's Message

Leading the way for fiscal and physical health and well-being

As we near the end of the fiscal year, I am reminded of the awesome responsibility those of us in the financial management and comptroller communities undertake each year. Our skills and experiences help our respective programs, offices and agencies maintain the highest standards of fiscal integrity while ensuring proper stewardship for all Americans.

To help us remain diligent in our work, I encourage all of you to continue to take advantage of the educational resources offered by the ASMC. Each month I note more and more members receiving their Certified Defense Financial Managers (CDFM) certificate, and I’ll continue to cheer on everyone striving for additional personal and professional development.

In addition to keeping our minds engaged, it is also important to keep our bodies healthy. As a new feature to the newsletter, I’ll be including an article related to nutrition and/or fitness. As I stated in the August message, it is essential that we maintain a positive work-life balance and these features are designed to give everyone some ideas or tips for your personal success.

During this hectic time of year, I encourage you start looking forward to new ways to promote your financial and physical well-being … a new fiscal year and a new you is just around the corner!

By Elizabeth A. McGrath

President, ASMC Washington Chapter

|Upcoming Events |

|Oct. 4, 2006 |Executive Board Meeting |

|Oct. 11, 2006 |ASMC Luncheon |

|Nov. 1, 2006 |Executive Board Meeting |

|Nov. 8, 2006 |ASMC Luncheon |

|Dec. 13, 2006 |ASMC Holiday Social |

|Mar. 15, 2007 |2007 ASMC National Capital Region Mini-PDI |

September Luncheon Speaker

Mr. Eric Strange

President and Chief Executive Officer

Accenture National Security Services, LLC

Eric started with Accenture in June, 1980 and has 25 years experience in information technology and management consulting.  For over the past 15 years he has focused on serving the U.S. Department of Defense in a variety of business areas, with a specific emphasis in the logistics and supply chain area.  More recently Eric has taken on leadership of Accenture’s Defense and Homeland Security portfolio which includes DoD and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Eric is currently:

President and Chief Executive Officer of Accenture National Security Services LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Accenture LLP that is responsible for performing all of Accenture’s classified contracts with the U.S. government.  Eric works directly with each of the military services and the Office of the Secretary of Defense to improve operational performance in areas such as logistics, readiness, personnel management, financial management, technology infrastructure and research and development.  Eric led the successful effort by Accenture to win the Defense Logistics Agency Business Systems Modernization contract, a six year, $850 million logistics business transformation assignment awarded in August 2000.  At the Dept. of Homeland Security Eric also works with its leadership to help them achieve departmental objectives.  Eric played a leadership role and was the initial program manager for the US-VISIT contract awarded by DHS to Accenture in June 2004.  US-VISIT is multi-billion dollar border management program to enhance national security while facilitating legitimate travel and trade, improving integrity of immigration systems while complying with privacy laws and policies. He also serves as:

• Lead executive for Accenture’s Global Defense Industry Program, which includes responsibility for all thought leadership and capability development for Accenture’s Defense business worldwide.  As part of this role Eric presents at a variety of national and international conferences and seminars and writes articles for a number of global publications.

• Lead executive for Accenture’s St. Louis location which includes coordinating local image development and charitable activities.

Eric is currently on the Board of Directors of the National Children’s Cancer Society and the Sheldon Foundation.  He is also on the Board of Advisors for the Society of Logistics Engineers.  He has previously served on the boards of the CORO Midwestern Center and the Washington University Center for the Application of Information Technology.

Eric received a B.S. degree (Commerce) from the University of Virginia in May, 1980.

CHAPTER NEWS

The following chapter members completed the Certified Defense Financial Manager (CDFM) Exams last month:

|Eric M Hawkes, CDFM-A |

|Kelly Ranae Maurer |

|Andrea Simmons Newsome |

|Hubert K Ouattara |

|Gordon A Weiss |

Congratulations to these members for their effort and dedication.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED !!!

Volunteers are needed to assist the Corporate Vice President and the Assistant Vice President to initiate a corporate information update campaign over the next 30 days. Work can be done virtually via e-mail and by telephone. Please contact Ms. Deb Del Mar [Chair] at 571-203-7137 / debra.delmar@vanguard- or Mr. Brian Boshart at 703-83-1900 x7398 / brian.boshart@.

Volunteers are also needed for the Mini-PDI in March 2007 to serve both as committee chairs and committee members – the more the better. An initial planning session is scheduled for early October and subsequent to that meeting populate/organize committees to begin detailed planning. Please contact either Mr. Bob Speer [Vice Chair] at 703-918-1041 / Robert.speer@us. or Ms. Deb Del Mar [Chair] at a571-203-7137 / debra.delmar@vanguard- to sign up!

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Technology and Systems Drive Business Transformation

By Major General Carlos “Butch” Pair

A Fundamentally Different DoD Business Model

The purpose of Department of Defense’s (DoD) business operations is to rapidly deliver the right capabilities, resources, and materiel to our warfighters: What they need, where they need it, when they need it, anywhere in the world. Given the size of the Department, this is a difficult enough task when the operating environment consists of sustained, conventional battlefield engagements in predictable parts of world. However, the DoD is deployed in 130 countries throughout the world, with operations as diverse as helping the people of Iraq to build their own defense force and establish a representative government, to providing recovery operations for tsunami relief and Hurricane Katrina. The new reality of DoD’s complex military operations has given increased urgency to transforming the Department’s business operations. DoD is meeting this challenge with unparalleled energy and focus to confront inherited assumptions and cherished ways of doing business and to seek out better approaches to providing support for our warfighters.

In October 2005, the Deputy Secretary of Defense established the Business Transformation Agency (BTA) as the entity to manage and execute DoD Enterprise-level requirements. The rapid inception of the BTA reflects the urgency for Defense business transformation and an acknowledgement that certain capabilities are needed at the corporate enterprise level to support the joint warfighter and senior DoD decision makers. These capabilities are enabled through enterprise data standards, reliable information sources, and a portfolio of interoperable systems to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

There are 7 directorates that make up the BTA. The Enterprise Integration Directorate (EI) is responsible for supporting the integration of enterprise-level business capabilities such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, and how they should be implemented across complex organizational boundaries to support the joint warfighter. The Transformation Planning and Performance Directorate (TPP) facilitates maximum resource utilization and increased performance within the BTA’s time, cost and performance constraints. The Transformation Priorities and Requirements Directorate (TP&R) is the primary link to the Principal Staff Assistants (functional business requirement owners) within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, as well as other DoD-level organizations including the US Transportation Command, the Defense Logistics Agency, and the Defense Finance and Accounting Service. It ensures that the functional priorities and requirements of these client organizations are reflected in both the Business Enterprise Architecture (BEA) and the Enterprise Transition Plan (ETP), and in the guidance for business system investment management. The Investment Management Directorate (IM) provides leadership in investment management for DoD Enterprise-level business systems, coordinates the efforts of the DoD 5000 series as it pertains to business systems, and provides BTA input for the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR). The Warfighter Support Office (WSO) addresses immediate business process and business system challenges that adversely impact current operations. WSO delivers near-term value by connecting the DoD’s business mission to the warfighter, identifying and addressing frontline opportunities. Agency Operations (Agency Ops) provides centralized support across the Business Transformation Agency. This support enables the directorates to complete their individual missions, contributing to the overall transformation mission of the Agency. The Defense Business Systems Acquisition Executive (DBSAE) is responsible for driving the successful implementation of DoD expense systems and initiatives in support of the Department’s Business Transformation goals.

In support of the Department’s transformation goals, the Agency has established four strategic objectives. The BTA pledges to:

• Support the joint warfighter;

• Enable rapid access to information for strategic decisions;

• Reduce the cost of defense business operations; and

• Improve financial stewardship to the American people.

Improving Agility and Accountability

The Department has made significant strides in breaking down the legacy cultural and systems barriers that hamstring business agility. The current climate of making continuous improvements every six months to benefit the warfighter has succeeded in driving progress at an unprecedented rate. Through the leadership of the Defense Business Systems Management Committee (DBSMC), DoD now has a tighter alignment of end-to-end business functions, better management visibility into operations, and a noticeable bias toward execution excellence.

Governance and a Portfolio View

An important activity related to defense enterprise integration is the migration of IT systems from across DoD into a common portfolio of business enterprise programs. These enterprise programs will provide enhanced visibility, advocacy, and direct accountability to senior leadership and enable focused implementation of DoD enterprise Business Capabilities. The Deputy Secretary established the DBSAE to be accountable for the delivery of these enterprise-level business systems.

Beginning October 2006, the DBSAE will have organized to be able to deliver the needed capabilities of the 25 assigned programs. Key to this is the recognition that governance at the senior level was absent and to a large extent. DIMHRS and DTS now benefit from 08 level Enterprise Steering Groups. Next is a Governance Body for Sourcing and later Financial Visibility. Each program will be assigned to a Program Executive Office (PEO) that will not only look at each program individually but also as a family of systems. The expected benefits of the portfolio view will allow the Department to gain from portfolio strategies in the areas of funding, hosting, security, and schedule synchronization, as an example.

Key DBSAE Programs

Acquisition Spend Analysis Service (ASAS)

The DoD procures over $200 billion in goods and services. Prior to providing an Enterprise Level solution, inefficient processes and lack of data resulted in fragmented and redundant buying strategies, misguided purchase decisions, and missed opportunities for cost savings. The Acquisition Spend Analysis Service (ASAS) provides the Enterprise Level solution to acquisition analysis, pulling data from multiple services into a single point for review, reducing the complexity of data integration across the Department. ASAS provides insight into buying patterns in order to support the most efficient sourcing strategies for the warfighter and offers the ability to look for opportunities to leverage purchasing across the Services and Agencies. It also provides a tool for trend analysis and compliance checks, resulting in more informed decision-making across the DoD.

Contractor Performance Assessment and Reporting System (CPARS)

CPARS is a web-enabled application that collects and manages the library of automated Contractor Performance Assessment Reports, which measure contract execution and provide a record, both positive and negative, for contracts. The system allows the storage of assessment reports along with supporting program and contract management data, such as cost performance reports, customer comments, quality reviews, technical interchange meetings, financial solvency assessments, construction/production management reviews, contractor operations reviews, functional performance evaluations, and earned contract incentives. CPARS is now being used by all supply centers throughout DLA and the Military Services.

Defense Business Sourcing Environment (DBSE)

DBSE will provide the DoD enterprise a standard and automated end-to-end sourcing capability by which supplies and services are acquired in support of the warfighter. DBSE will provide the common core enterprise service for DoD sourcing and enable a Common Supplier Engagement Model from requisition to payment by delivering an integrated suite of new & existing DoD-wide capabilities.

Defense Cash Accountability System (DCAS)

DCAS is the single cash accountability system for the DoD. DCAS reports disbursements, reimbursements, deposits, and receipts to the United States Treasury, as well as all other transactions which would affect the status of funds. The reporting of expenditure data to the U.S. Treasury includes the processing of transactions by others and for others, the management of interfund and intergovernmental activities, and the performance of other Treasury and departmental functions. 

Defense Departmental Reporting System (DDRS)

DDRS is a consolidated system for the DoD departmental reporting function. Departmental reporting encompasses the monthly, quarterly, and annual reporting cycles for General and Business funds for the Treasury indices serviced by DFAS, including the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Defense Integrated Military Human Resources System (DIMHRS)

DIMHRS will provide an end-to-end, integrated military personnel and pay system for the military Services, including their Active, Reserve and National Guard Components. DIMHRS is a transformational technological effort that seeks to provide integrated personnel and pay functions, offer accurate and timely data on personnel assets, track Reservists for both pay and service credit, trace all military personnel in and around a given forward deployed theater, and offer standard data for comparison across Services and Components. DIMHRS implementation will result in significant improvements in the ability of the Services to account for and manage human resources. However, obtaining the full potential of DIMHRS will require that capabilities are closely aligned with Service needs through the frequent and on-going involvement of the Services in the definition, development, and deployment of those capabilities

The challenges facing the DoD fall into three broad categories: those that heavily depend on systems solutions; those that depend primarily on process solutions; and those that depend on both systems and process solutions. With the DBSAE acting as an oversight to programs which address all three of these categories the BTA will continue to make significant strides towards improving the DoD and guiding business transformation efforts. The DBSAE programs and systems will provide DoD with transformation tools to assist in transitioning to a future information infrastructure that will provide flexible and responsive business and financial support to the warfighter and senior decision makers.

To learn more about the BTA and Defense Business Transformation, visit our websites at and

8 Fall Steps for a Healthy Living

By Kathleen Doheny – WebMD Feature

(article originally printed on the WebMD website, Aug. 15, 2006)

As the days get shorter and the temperatures drop, change is in the air. That's what makes fall a great time for renewal and fresh starts. It's time to fine-tune your health by making one or two small changes that yield big results.

WebMD asked experts in diet, fitness, vision (and more) for their top tip for healthy living this fall. Here's what they suggested:

1. Let Beans Be a Part of Your Diet

If you do one thing to improve your diet this fall, eat 3 cups of beans each week. Besides being a comfort food, beans add flavor and texture to soups, chili, and casseroles. They're also a great salad topper.

Beans are rich in protein, iron, folic acid, fiber, and potassium. So pick a bean, any bean -- lima, black, garbanzo, pinto, or others -- and enjoy.

2. Defuse Stress With Friendship

Fall is a good time to come back together after the summer scattering of vacations and busy schedules -- a great time to relax with friends.

Soothe away stress by making contact in person or by phone with someone you care about, someone you haven't talked to in awhile because life got in the way. The positive emotions will make you feel good, and when joy and stress meet up, the joy wins out.

3. Be Tender With Your Teeth

If you do one thing to improve your dental health this fall, turn over a new leaf by ditching habits that are hard on your teeth.

That means no more chewing on ice or popcorn kernels. Ice is a crystal and tooth enamel is a crystal when the two meet, one of them has to give. Sometimes it's the tooth. Popcorn kernels can break teeth or fillings too, and the hull, if lodged in gum tissue, can irritate and cause bacteria buildup.

4. Have Fun With Fitness

Improve your fitness this fall: Try a less-conventional workout to spruce up your regimen.

Break out of your fitness rut by taking a ballroom dance class or a mind-body workout such as yoga, Pilates, or Tai chi. You'll be energized and more likely to stick with it.

5. A Checkup: The Eyes Have It

If you do one thing to improve your vision, take a cue from kids, who often need back-to-school vision exams. Schedule a checkup with your eye doctor.

A comprehensive exam should include an evaluation of how clearly you see, how well your eyes work together, and an assessment of your overall eye health.

6. Heart Health: Know Your Numbers

Give your heart health a boost this fall, capitalize on the seasonal sense of renewal to focus on prevention.

That means scheduling an appointment with your doctor to get your blood pressure and cholesterol checked, and to see if your blood glucose levels are healthy. Knowing your numbers will help you figure out your personal risk for heart disease.

7. Warm Up With Wine

Diversify your alcohol choice with a room temperature glass of table wine. The warmer drink will take the chill off and the wine, especially red, has heart health benefits.

Remember a standard size glass of wine is just 4 ounces. Pregnant women and others with health reasons who should not to drink should abstain.

8. Synchronize Your Sleep

Manage the more demanding fall schedules by synchronizing your internal sleep-wake clock to the outside environment.

In the morning, get outside within 5 minutes of getting up and expose yourself to bright light for 30 minutes. At night, avoid bright light within two to three hours of bedtime because it might delay your sleep onset. This will keep you alert in the morning and make you sleepy at bedtime.

It's time to renew yourself! Try these eight easy health-boosting tips -- they're sure to give you a fresh start this fall.

2006-2007 Chapter Officers

|Name |Title |E-Mail |Phone |

|Elizabeth McGrath |President |Elizabeth.Mcgrath@osd.mil |(703) 614-3883 |

|Kyle Fugate |Secretary |Kyle.Fugate@osd.mil |(202) 685-6718 |

|Stacey Simmons |Treasurer |stacy.simmons@bta.mil |(703) 692-0902 |

|Carol Phillips |OSD Vice President |Carol.Phillips@osd.mil |(703) 693-6503 |

|Lucy Williams |OSD Ass't Secretary |lucy.williams@osd.mil |(703) 571-9183 |

|Robert Benefiel |DFAS Vice President |Robert.E.Benefiel@dfas.mil |(703) 607-2848 |

|Sherri Anthony |DFAS Ass't Secretary |Sherri.Anthony@dfas.mil |(703) 601-2476 |

|Colonel Byron L. Cherry, Sr |Army Vice President |byron.cherry@hqda.army.mil |(703) 602-7717 |

|Mary Williams |Army Ass't Secretary |mary.r.williams@hqda.army.mil |(703) 693-2818 |

|Beverly Veit |Navy Vice President |beverly.veit@navy.mil |(202) 685-6718 |

|Brenda LaFleur |Navy Ass't Secretary |LaFleurBL@ |(703) 607-7094 x142 |

|Marcia Case |USMC Vice President |Marcia.Case@usmc.mil |(703) 692-5508 |

|Arlillian Coleman |USMC Ass't Secretary |Arlillian.Coleman@usmc.mil |703-614-2023 |

|Keith Hicks |Air Force Vice President |Keith.Hicks@pentagon.af.mil |(703) 604-4325 |

|Michael Ebiala |Air Force Ass't Secretary |Michael.ebiala@pentagon.af.mil |(703) 697-5596 |

|Warren Cottingham |USCG Vice President |Wcottingham@comdt.uscg.mil |(202) 267-0484 |

|LT Robert Hart |USCG Ass't Secretary |RHart@elcbalt.uscg.mil |(410) 762-6483 |

|Debra Delmar |Corporate Vice President |debra.delmar@vanguard- |(571) 203-7137 |

|Brian Boshart |Corporate Ass't Secretary |Brian.boshart@ |(703) 289-6832 |

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P.O. Box 70776

September 2006 Washington, D.C

ASMC Washington Chapter

The speaker for the October luncheon will be

Mr. Mark Easton

Director, Navy Office of Financial Operations

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