U.S. Fleet Forces Command Hosts Executive Management Advisory Panel Focus Groups
24 April 2024
NORFOLK, Va. --
NORFOLK, Va. (April 16, 2024) – U.S. Fleet Forces Command (USFFC) hosted the Executive Management Advisory Panel for focus groups between the Navy’s most senior career civilian executives and the Navy’s civilian workforce who work in direct support of fleet operations.
The focus groups highlighted the importance of the civilian component to the fleet’s day-to-day operations and created meaningful dialogue about how the Navy’s Quality of Service initiative does not apply just to those who don a uniform every day, but to the entire Navy workforce.
“This wasn’t just a meeting, but a gathering of the highest levels of Navy civilian leadership with our unseen heroes on the home front: the Navy’s civilian powerhouses who fuel every Navy mission,” said Matthew Swartz, Senior Executive Service (SES), executive director and chief of staff, USFFC. “Their combined expertise and commitment and dedication to the Navy’s mission is the secret weapon that sustains our Sailors as premier warfighters.”
The focus groups highlighted the unique stressors Navy’s civilians face daily to get their jobs done. Personnel in attendance represented Fleet Logistic Center Norfolk, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Military Sealift Command, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Marine Forces Command, and others from the Hampton Roads area.
“This event isn’t just about hearing issues and creating a one-time fix,” said Jeremy Largey, SES, Norfolk Naval Shipyard Nuclear Engineering and Planning Manager. “It’s about changing how we think about investing in maintaining world-class capabilities.”
As part of the day’s events, attendees toured the Joint Deployment and Maritime Operations Center, the Naval Air Forces Atlantic anti-terrorism and force protection simulated firearms range, and two unaccompanied housing facilities on Naval Station Norfolk.
EMAP is the working component of the Department of the Navy Executive Management Board. EMAP exists to foster executive leadership and commitment to ensure Navy civilians are professionally valued, enabled, and supported.
Navy’s most senior career civilian executives who participated included Mr. Robert Hogue, Principal Deputy, Assistant Secretary of the Navy (PDASN) Manpower & Reserve Affairs (M&RA); Ms. Alaleh Jenkins, PDASN, Financial Management & Comptroller; Ms. Lisa St. Andre, Assistant Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Personnel, Manpower, and Training); Mr. John Hootman, Deputy Director Integrated Warfare; Mr. John Pope, Executive Director, Naval Information Warfare Systems Command; Mr. Timothy Bridges, Executive Director, Navy Installations Command; Mr. William Carty, Executive Director, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command; and Mr. Matthew Swartz, Executive Director/Chief of Staff, U.S. Fleet Forces Command.