Return to the "POINTER VIEW"
                         May 2, 2003

By Jim Fox
Assistant Editor 

The transition period of the Army’s reorganization effort entitled "Transformation Installation Management" is moving along, according to West Point Garrison Commander Col. Ann Horner.

"This is a year of transition," Horner said April 25. "We are still getting the TDAs (Tables of Distribution & Allowances) set and the budget ironed out. That’s probably the biggest muscle movement that’s going on right now."

U.S. Military Academy Director of Resource Management, Cecilia Solomon said so far the transition impact on personnel has been on paper only.

She said that certain activities including the Internal Review Office, Safety, parts of the Adjutant General, Staff Judge Advocate and Directorate of Resource Management, offices traditionally associated with the USMA mission, have seen their chain of command change from the Chief of Staff to the garrison commander.

Another change that has been transparent, according to its new director, was the Directorate of Contracting’s shift to the Department of the Army’s Contracting Agency Northern Region located at Fort Monroe, Va., which also happens to be where the Northeast region of TIM is situated.

West Point is one of 27 installations in the NER.

West Point Director of Contracting, Lt. Col. Kelly Campbell, said he wants to believe the DOC transition to the ACA has been fairly seamless to the academy.

"We are located in the same place and our customer service divisions serve the same customers they did before the switch," Campbell said.

With the Installation Management Agency and ACA both starting at the beginning of Fiscal Year 2003, he said, ACA has experienced the same growing pains the academy has if not worse.

"They have had to operate with a substantially smaller workforce than authorized," Campbell said, "so it has taken them a while to establish their new policies and business practices."

Campbell said his largest obstacle is yet to come -- funding.

"In the past and even during this transition year, our funding flowed through the academy’s resource management channels," he explained. "Beginning next year, our funding will convert to ACA control. That may or may not present new challenges."

"When our year-end activity picks up," he said, "we have always been able to rely on financial support from the academy in case we ran dry. We will do our best working with our new RM friends to ensure we can provide our customers the same support they have become accustomed to."

Horner said the whole transition period has been a learning process for both sides. West Point agencies have had to battle new staffing complexities, while the IMA folks bone up on the unique mission of the academy and how a one unique installation fits into a 27-installation region.

"This year has been a busy one," Horner said.

In essence she sends reports to two different places now -- the superintendent and the IMA.

"Trying to sort out where the money goes for the mission is a very arduous process," she added.