Education With Industry program offers different perspective

  • Published
  • By Kevin Gilmartin
  • 66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
HANSCOM AFB, Mass. --  Three Electronic Systems Center officers are getting a first-hand look at what it's like to work for a leading Information Technology company during a six-month Education With Industry tour at Sun Microsystems in Burlington, Mass.

Capt. James Johnson, 1st Lt. Julienne White and 1st Lt. Ana Huffstetler are in the fifth month of their six-month tour at Sun Microsystems. The program began in 2003 with a cooperative agreement between ESC and Sun. Participants, both company grade officers and civilians, are nominated by their supervisors, and meet a selection board before being assigned to Sun.

All parties involved agree that the EWI program is a win-win proposition, with benefits for both the Air Force and Sun Microsystems.

"The hands-on experience gained by the participants gives them a better understanding of how contractors operate, and ultimately benefits ESC and the Air Force," said Sue Angell, director of ESC's Acquisition Center of Excellence, which administers the program.

"Sun has been hosting Hanscom EWI representatives for several years now with great success. Not only have we been able to place them in responsible positions, we also find their skills to be top notch and their attitude toward these assignments is excellent," said Bill Nesheim, Sun vice president for Solaris Platforms and Security.

"Sun's culture often requires self motivation, devotion and the ability to think and act outside the box. EWI representatives have demonstrated all that, and more. Sun is delighted to have hosted the EWI Program and play some role in the overall education of these impressive young officers," he said.

For those who move from the military environment to the halls of nearby Sun for the short tour, it's a totally new experience that offers a different perspective.

"I wanted to diversify my skill set, and I definitely accomplished that," said Lieutenant White, who was an engineer in the 350th Electronic Systems Group before her assignment at Sun. "I've been able to learn exactly what companies go through to prepare a product for a customer and how much work goes into making a product."

All three officers believe the program would be helpful for the right officer or civilian at ESC who is seeking a challenge.

"This is a great opportunity for a motivated self-starter who is looking for a chance to collaborate with others in a team environment and to troubleshoot software issues," said Captain Johnson. "As an acquisition officer, I now understand some of the processes industry has, which will help me in the future."

Lieutenant Huffstetler agrees.

"This has been a great experience," she said. "There was so much to learn. For the first few months, I was just a sponge. "

Lieutenant Huffstetler, a contracting officer in the 951st Electronic Systems Group, is working as a program manager for Sun's LARS operating system storage platform. She applied for the program while deployed to Camp Taji, Iraq for six months, where she did contracting for the Army, supporting more than 20,000 troops and some Iraqi forces. Soon after she returned from her deployment, she met the selection board and began her assignment at Sun.

"The processes in industry are a little different than what we're used to in the military," she said. "They're not good or bad, necessarily, just different. As a contracting officer in my Air Force job, this experience has helped me to better understand engineers, their lingo and how they operate."

As a software program manager for Sun, Captain Johnson has been responsible for working with his team to develop systems management software. He said he has had to focus on evaluating program risk, staying on schedule and within budget, and resolving any software bugs or resource conflicts that arise during testing.

Captain Johnson, like the other officers, spends much of his time working as part of a "virtual team" with Sun employees from across the country, collaborating together to identify and resolve issues.

The captain, who has been working in ESC's International Operations office within ESC's Development Plans since April 2005, is hoping that his next assignment in early 2009 will be to Space and Missile Systems Center, at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif.

"The reason I was interested in applying for this EWI program is because software related issues tend to be our downfall as we develop systems for the Air Force," he said. "Learning how to resolve software-related issues will be valuable to me in my future career, especially because space systems are software intensive."

Lieutenant White is working as part of a virtual team on a new processing chip that Sun will debut this summer.

"This has been a great learning experience," she said. When her EWI tour at Sun is over, she will return to the 350th ELSG to serve as executive officer for Col. Steven Webb, commander of the Group.

Although he has enjoyed his experience with industry, Captain Johnson is looking forward to returning to his Air Force work, where he can focus more on motivating people and developing as a leader.

"Here at Sun, it's a lot less of a structured environment than we have in the military," he said.

Lieutenant Huffstetler agrees that the atmosphere in a company like Sun is different than that of a military base.

"It is a very different environment than what I was used to," she said. "For example, the vice president for software at Sun has the same size office as I do. And the focus here is on getting the job done, and not so much on what time you come in or leave, or what you're wearing. "

Actually, the cultural exchange between the military and industry is beneficial to both sides.

"Our teams have benefited from the broad perspective that these young officers have when they arrive at Sun," said Sun's Bob Chevalier, who has been guiding the EWI Program at Sun since its inception. "Program Management experience gained from working on programs with the scope, cost and national importance of AWACS, JSTARS or the AOC's is of enormous value to our managers at the early stages of planning for product roll out. The sharp contrast in cultures gives our folks a reminder of what the world outside of Sun is all about."

The ESC EWI Program is open to first Lieutenants through captains and civilians in grades GS 09 to GS 12, or the NSPS equivalents. For information on applying for the program, people should visit the CenterNet Web site.