CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER 2 BRIAN FRIEND
A Company, 2-135 GSAB
Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Many of us have been there: You take over a program that needs a lot of maintenance and you’re unsure where to begin. Back in 2013, as a new arrival to Fort Irwin, California’s, Operations Group, Eagle Team, I found myself in this situation. It all began with the question, “Are you ALSE qualified?” I was, but I’d never actually done the job. I was school trained, though, so I was given the responsibility.

Like I assume many in my situation would do, I sought to learn from people in my network that had done the job before me. I was quite fortunate to have had a conversation with a friend who not only shared some good program insights, he gave me a piece of advice that stuck with me regarding ARMS inspections and overall unit readiness. He said, “Brian, the best way to be ready is to stay ready.”

I took that counsel to heart and began building my program early. Eventually, my program would be recognized with a gold rating by the FORSCOM ARMS team, scoring 100 percent. I was commended for having set up what was noted as a model program for the Army. There were four principles I used in my program development process, which I’d like to share below.

Start with the FORSCOM ARMS Techniques Guide
Although this may seem obvious, it is worth stating: The FORSCOM ARMS Techniques Guide is a critical starting point to program management. Starting with the FORSCOM ARMS Techniques Guide contributed to my success in the following ways:

1. It gave me an overall picture of what I was responsible for managing.

2. It helped me identify program deficiencies.

3. It was an instrumental tool in setting up a clear priority of work. (The techniques guides now make use of critical and weighted questions, further assisting with this prioritization of work.)

Without this resource, my effort to ensure compliance with Army regulations could have still been achieved; but the process would have been less efficiently accomplished due to the volume of technical references I was not yet familiar with at the time. In addition, failure to use the techniques guide would have resulted in a lost opportunity to make use of a resource that was designed to allow program managers, and units as a whole, to be successful. Make use of this resource early and often.

Track and update program progress
A digital management tool to track deficiencies can serve as a vital enhancement to your process for improvement. Although there are many methods one can use to accomplish this, I believe Microsoft Excel is a great vehicle for completing this task. During my tenure as the aviation life support officer, I developed a manager file that supported the requirements of my program. The product allowed me to digitally track inspection dates and complete forms and records, among other requirements, that were housed within the program. One feature specifically was a built-in tool used to track program progress as measured against the FORSCOM ARMS Techniques Guide. This feature led to a FORSCOM ARMS preparation tool I developed that is currently being shared via the FORSCOM ARMS Army Knowledge Online page. No matter what program(s) you manage, track your status and update your progress.

Familiarize yourself with trend data
The FORSCOM ARMS team publishes trend data on its AKO page in a folder titled — you guessed it — “ARMS TRENDS*.” By reviewing this information, you will find out what specific areas Army units abroad have been falling short in. This simple step provides another opportunity to ask yourself, “How are we doing in these areas?” In addition, it provides a top-down look at focus areas corresponding to current readiness objectives in our ever-changing, constantly improving Army. A review of this published information will help your unit remain on the cutting edge of the Army’s goals for unit readiness!

Communicate early with your inspector
I believe this area to be one of the most neglected efforts one could apply. As someone who has been part of three different FORSCOM ARMS, I understand why. It may be intimidating or seem that you are providing your inspector with deficiency information before they ever arrive. This, I believe, stems from a flawed view where one sees their inspector as an adversary to be contended with because they bring the sword of the pen, ready to “no-go” your deficiencies.

Although it is true they can and will no-go your deficiencies, know that their role as an honest broker to the highest levels of command within the Army serves the purpose of making the Army a better and more prepared force. They have to be candid in their assessments for their inspections to be of value. That being said, I am of the opinion that the inspector assigned to your area would prefer to see you succeed.

Reach out to your inspector whenever there are questions regarding the standards. You will likely be surprised at their desire to provide you with good counsel and mentorship. Remember, they were selected to their position because of their skills, experience and expertise. Learn from them what you can.

The Tool: Aviation Accident Prevention Survey Dashboard version 22.1
The four principles I employed apply to individual program management. As previously alluded to, these principles also led to a product being developed that assists with the management of the entire unit-level program management effort. This product not only comfortably houses a macro view dashboard, it also houses individual program status information for each individual program. Note that the dashboard tool was developed specifically for management by the aviation safety officer and his or her commander at the unit level.

How does it work?
The AAPS Dashboard survey tool makes use of many functions of Microsoft Excel and serves as an AAPS/ARMS management tracking tool. It consolidates scores for each of the evaluated sections of an ARMS survey in a single dashboard. It provides an option for “by-name” section accountability and contains individual sheets for every program area, each containing question-by-question status update inputs. The program scores all sections and aggregates them, appearing in a color-coded scheme matching the current color code used by the FORSCOM ARMS team. Additionally, each aggregate score takes into account a question’s appropriate weight/criticality. The ultimate result is that as this tool gets used for one’s AAPS, several things happen in the process.

First, the ASO and commander, with minimal technical effort, can create and view a clean overall unit readiness snapshot. Second, this dynamic management tool serves as the digital infrastructure to support the management of unit priorities, goals and objectives. Third, on the micro scale, as unit program managers change hands, with or without overlapping continuity (as sometimes replacements don’t arrive prior to their predecessor’s departure), a program snapshot can quickly and easily be provided to the incumbent program manager. This product allows for program deficiencies and required corrective efforts to be identified quickly and efficiently. Lastly, these snapshots could be used to support higher commands in identifying trends across their organizations. This could allow for synergistic efforts to be implemented for readiness improvements. For example, if it was determined that four out of five companies all had an identical deficiency, it is possible that the efforts of one action officer could benefit the entire organization.

These are several of the ways I believe this product can be used. Perhaps you may have other relevant applications of this management tool. I would encourage you to check out this tool and see if it can be used to benefit your organizations. If you are interested in using this product for your next AAPS or ARMS preparation, visit the FORSCOM ARMS page. It can be downloaded under D-2 at https://www.us.army.mil/suite/files/26685704.

Author’s note: If you have any questions regarding my experience or anything I have shared above, please feel free to contact me at brian.d.friend.mil@mail.mil.