| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 5, 1998 |
CONTACT: Michael Orenstein (202) 606-1800 mworenst@opm.gov |
Washington, D.C. -- Fort Carson, U.S. Department of the Army, will receive a federal Achievement Award during the Presidents Quality Award Program ceremony for improving customer service and saving tax dollars.
The federal award will be presented by U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director Janice R. Lachance on:
Director Lachance also will present the Defense Contract Management Command Long Island with the Presidential Award for Quality, the governments top honor for quality improvement.
Fort Carson operates much like the product-enhancement company that boasts in advertisements, We dont make the products you buy; we make the products you buy better.
Fort Carson staff doesnt supply or train soldiers. They enhance and sustain training by providing the land, military equipment and facilities soldiers need to hone their skills and to become better at what they do.
As an example, Fort Carsons Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site and its 236,000 acres provide soldiers and battlefield leaders with an ideal location for true-to-life simulations of transport and deployment exercises by road, rail or air. The number of participants normally equals the size of an entire brigade, including tanks and other armaments.
Innovative programs, such as its Direct Support Plus maintenance program, save money -- more than $20 million to date -- and provide better maintenance for units, resulting in higher readiness. This program also affords increased opportunities to soldiers beyond their tours of duty because the men and women who are trained in higher-level repair services on tanks leave the army with valuable mechanical skills that can be transferred to the private sector. And in the area of cost savings, a single suggestion from an employee-empowerment program is reaping $250,000 in annual savings. A team of mechanics invented a transmission test box -- at a cost of $900-- that lets diagnostic tests be performed on tank transmissions while housed in their chassis. The new procedure cuts the downtime of tanks, reduces the number of hours needed for repairs, and lessens the number of floats while the tanks are in the shop.
Located in central Colorado at the base of the Rocky Mountains, Fort Carson has instituted a good-neighbor policy with surrounding communities. The installations award-winning and aggressive environmental program, among other things, exploits efficiencies in the use, storage and re-order of hazardous materials to reduce waste. In addition, the Greenback Cutthroat Trout, an endangered species of fish, is thriving at Fort Carson because of cooperative efforts with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Mountain Plover, a ground nesting bird and candidate for the endangered list, is being aggressively managed and also is thriving at Pinon Canyon.
As Colorados single-largest employer, Fort Carson takes special pride in the many services it provides or helps make available to the more than 20,000 soldiers, civilians and family members within its charge. To make the Fort Carson-experience mirror that found in the typical American community, a variety of recreational diversions for soldiers, families and employees is available, including restaurants, banks, child-care and sports activities. Relocation services are available to the highly-mobile Fort Carson work force.
Media interested in attending the Presidents Quality Award Program ceremony or receiving additional information should contact OPMs Mike Orenstein at 202-606-1800.
-- end --
| United States Office of Personnel Management |
Office of Communications |
Theodore Roosevelt Building 1900 E Street, NW Room 5F12 Washington, DC 20415-0001 |
(202) 606-1800 FAX: (202) 606-2264 |
To OPM Home Page