Under Secretary Bradshaw Visits NSA Naples
Story Number: NNS080619-07
Release Date: 6/19/2008 3:34:00 PM
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class(SW/AW) Marc Rockwell-Pate, Commander, Navy Region Europe Public Affairs
NAPLES, Italy (NNS) -- The Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Civilian Personnel Policy Patricia Bradshaw visited Naval Support Activities (NSA), Naples, Italy, June 18-19 to discuss the Department of Defense's (DoD) present and future civilian policies.
"My goal for this visit is to inform the DoD civilian employee's what the Department of Defense strategies are," said Bradshaw. "I can accomplish that by reaching out through town hall meetings where I can also get input from people who are working on the ground."
During Bradshaw's two-day visit, she held three two-hour long town hall meetings, covering in detail the DoD's continually evolving guidelines on civilian employee benefits, how employee's work experience is evaluated, and pay/advancement issues; all of which are covered in the DoD's current civilian management system, the National Security Personnel System (NSPS).
"Historically, if you talked to civilian employees who worked overseas and came home, they would tell you that their experience was not valued as much as it should have been," said Bradshaw, a 30-year veteran of the DoD's human resources division. "Now, that experience is becoming more important than ever with joint enterprises and jobs that go beyond Army, Navy and Air Force.
"The military has a career track, for example the Navy's five-vector model," added Bradshaw. "Civilian employees will now have a career track too."
Phillip Mancici, a management analyst for Commander, Navy Region Europe (CNRE) Naples, said that because he is still relatively new in the DoD's civilian system, the "five-vector model" track Bradshaw presented at the meeting excited him because it illustrated a career track and the potential for advancement.
Along with discussing NSPS, Bradshaw also covered the DoD's recent push to utilize civilian employees for crisis management teams. The DoD hopes to do this by gathering information on employees' additional skills, such as an ability to speak a foreign language, and place it in an easily accessible data system, said Bradshaw.
Even though she covered many important topics, Bradshaw said receiving input from employees and servicemembers is the greatest benefit to holding town hall meetings.
"I believe that we can never reach out enough to get ideas and reactions from people and see what is happening around the DoD workforce," said Bradshaw. "That's where you learn, getting out and talking to people."
"Our diverse civilian workforce is critical to the overall success of our mission throughout Europe and Africa," said Adm. Mark Fitzgerald, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe. "Interaction with our senior civilian leadership like Patricia Bradshaw helps ensure they have a voice as well as a greater understanding of workforce issues that may impact them today and in the future."
