2 AMSEC Connections AMSEC Connections 3

Flashback to 1987… Myron Langford, AMSEC’s first West Coast employee, is working out of the trunk of his car as a CEMAT tech-nician. He and the other team members would hang around the bollards on the pier waiting to go aboard ship.

Soon, more technicians were joining the team, including Ali Harkous, a very crucial hire (see separate story on page 8). They eventually moved from the pier into CNAF buildings and scrounged for tattered office furniture. They found repurposed dial-up computers to make the best connection possible at the time.

In the early to mid-1990s, Joe Carlini (former AMSEC employee) made key strategic hires including Dick Holmes as Operations Manager. Dick is a former Maintenance Officer at COMNAVAIR-FOR N43 and Commanding Officer SUPSHIP in Jacksonville; his assignment was to manage the Bremerton office, the new San Diego office, and to open offices in Hawaii and Japan.

Throughout the late 1990s the core team grew. Holmes hired Ed “Yank” Yankovich to become the Quality Assurance (QA) Man-ager for our growing business and he remains a key QA manager today. Jerry Blanton, former COMNAVAIRPAC N43, was signed in San Diego to grow business and is still instrumental in coor-dinating proposal development activities for West Coast oppor-tunities. Holmes had AMSEC Hall of Fame members Bob Twardy as the carrier division manager and Ken Ivary as the operations deputy in San Diego, running AMSEC’s major programs. James “Rocket” Hamilton signed on, eventually relieving Twardy, and still manages our West Coast CEMAT team today.

Retired Master Chief Petty Officer and former AMSEC employee Errol Person was promoted to run the Habitability Division, in-stalling upgrades on virtually every West Coast surface ship. Er-rol brought in young college graduate Derrick Davis, who has moved up the ranks over the years and eventually became Er-rol’s replacement.

At this point, AMSEC’s highly-regarded CEMAT team had devel-oped the only process for weight testing of wire rope cables in the counter balance assemblies of shipboard armored/ballistic closures. This capability led to growth in the Pacific North West group as well. Brad Mason, former business officer for Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and officer-in-charge of Planning and En-gineering for Repairs and Alterations of carriers (PERA CV), was brought in to run the Washington State entity.

AMSEC had won the NAVSSES MACHALT contract, the SPAWAR Installation Contract, Midway Museum work, NUWC Keyport support work and many others, expanding our AIRPAC (CEMAT) and SURFPAC (SEMAT) support. The growth made it necessary to split the resources in Washington State and the decision was made to open AMSEC’s very own San Diego office.

By the late 1990s, the San Diego “Ship Systems Operation” was in full swing. Gina Andrade was hired in 1995 to run the human resources department in our rapidly growing environment. In 1997, Janice Kordahl, a ten-year veteran in AMSEC’s corporate headquarters contracts department, became the West Coast Contracts Manager so that AMSEC’s customers could benefit from having a knowledgeable liaison in the neighborhood. In 2000, Jim Yates, now Facility Security Officer at the San Diego office, joined AMSEC via a merger with M. Rosenblatt & Son, to-gether with long-time employees, Bob Delany and Dennis Munn.

Dear Fellow AMSEC Employees,

During this new year, I would like for us to think about im-proving our professional and personal outlook for the future. A professional sports coach once told me that if you concen-trate on improving your basic skills, not only will your game improve, but the whole team will benefit and the “wins” will follow. This message holds true for our project teams. Ev-ery employee across the company should take the time to invest in his/her own professional development. Not only will you benefit personally by keeping your skills sharp and learning new techniques, but sharing what you have learned with your teammates can lead to improved processes and perhaps an even better product or service delivered to our customers.

In this edition of Connections, please take the time to read the article on page 12 showing us ten ways to improve team dynamics. Teamwork is essential to the success of a project and obviously the better you work as a team the more trium-phant your team will become! I encourage you to think about your team’s goals as you read the article and find actionable ways that you can contribute to making your team even more successful. The more knowledgeable you become profes-sionally, the stronger we become as a company.

We often talk about “wellness” from a physical health per-spective, but financial wellness should also be considered an important part of overall health. The beginning of the year is the perfect time to review your personal financial plan. Our 401(k) administrator, Vanguard has online tools at www.van-guard.com to help you calculate not only what you should be doing to save for retirement, but also help you build an emergency fund, manage debt, or save for life milestones such as a college education or a wedding. If you are new to investing, there are videos to teach you the basics. If you are not currently participating and would like to enroll, contact your human resources representative. Some planning now can help you set the stage for your future financial security.

We should do our best to make 2016 a banner year, both pro-fessionally and personally.

As always, if you have something to share with your AMSEC colleagues in a future issue of Connections, please contact AMSEC’s Communications Department at communications@hii-amsec.com.

Warm regards,

Harris

Table of Contents

President’s Message ..................................................................2

San Diego or Bust! .....................................................................3

AMSEC Holiday Celebrations ...................................................4

Sharing the Holiday Spirit .........................................................5

This is Our AMSEC: Security .................................................6-7

Ali Harkous: Living the American Dream in San Diego .........8

Shop Makeover ..........................................................................8

In Case You Missed It .................................................................8

Community Involvement ...........................................................9

2016 Wellness Program .............................................................9

Customer Feedback and Kudos ..............................................10

AMSEC Wins! ........................................................................... 11

Job Fairs and Tradeshows ...................................................... 11

Professional Development ...................................................... 12

Service Awards ........................................................................ 12

Meanwhile, the San Diego Elevator Support Unit grew from mere assessments and training to full assessment groom and repair of Weapons Elevators, Aircraft Elevators, and Vertical Package Conveyors. Within ten years, the West Coast business grew from annual revenues of $8M to over $100M.

Fast forward… Today, our customers still ask for AMSEC’s tech-nicians by name. The San Diego group is not limited to one loca-tion, but provides services to Japan, Hawaii, and often to ships on deployment. We have set the standard high for other contrac-tors to emulate and have established procedures that the Navy requires they follow.

Under the leadership of Brad Mason, the MMTS Operations Balboa personnel include program management for two of the five MMTS Program Management Offices (PMOs) which include Mike Butler’s System Integration PMO and Ali Harkous who leads the Surface PMO. West Coast corporate staff members include contracts, purchasing, human resources, security and EH&S personnel, who work seamlessly with their counterparts at our East Coast corporate operation.

AMSEC San Diego facilities include the 17,000 square foot build-ing on Balboa Avenue, where employees moved to in the spring of 2011. The Balboa facility houses over 170 AMSEC employees and is a modern building shaped like a slice of citrus fruit. AM-SEC’s offices are on the 4th floor of the five story building.

AMSEC’s other major facility in San Diego is our 12,280 square foot industrial building near the 32nd Street Naval Station in San Diego. This facility supports a variety of functions including material handling, office administration, and industrial activities and is close to the Navy’s major West Coast surface ship home port. The 33rd Street waterfront industrial facility is fully capa-ble of supporting customer requirements for machine, structure, pipe, welding, sheet metal, and electrical tasks. Over 100 AMSEC employees use this facility as their primary work location.

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2015 Carver Elementary School Angel Tree

This is AMSEC’s tenth year partnering with Carver Elemen-tary School and they are very grateful for our continued sup-port. AMSEC Carver Committee leaders, Pam Ponton and Kinsey Hall share their gratitude, “On behalf of the Carver Elementary Faculty and Staff, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all of the AMSEC employees, families, and friends for supporting our 2015 Carver Angel Tree.”

This year, the AMSEC Carver Committee delivered gifts for 70 Carver students. Principal Izzie Brown was once again a little teary and said, “In all my years in the school system I have never seen a more generous group of people. Never doubt that your generos-ity is appreciated and makes a mean-ingful difference in our community.”

James Green and Barbie Hall helped with the Angel Tree. Holly South, Sam Daniels, Gerri Orlando, Rob For-gey, Miriam Angel-lo, and Steve Kortz created the musical presentation and captured our Angel Tree memories.

Toys for Tots

For the past nine years, Andrea Volland and the AMSEC elves at the Corporate and Woodlake locations have succeeded in making Christmas morning a little brighter for hundreds of Hampton Roads’ less fortunate children. This year was no dif-ferent thanks again to the generosity of our AMSEC family.

The primary goal of Toys for Tots is to deliver, through a shiny new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to needy youngsters. The USMC Toys for Tots campaign and the lo-cal community appreciate AMSEC’s continued support. Ad-ditional information about the Toys for Tots program can be found at www.toysfortots.org.

(from left to right) Carver Elementary Principal, Izzie Brown, with AMSEC employees, Pamela Ponton

and Kinsey Hall, show off the generosity of AMSEC employees in front of Carver Elementary

School in Newport News, VA.

AMSEC’s Carrier and Surface PMOs joined forces to donate, wrap, and deliver over 30 presents for five very grateful chil-dren living at St. Mary’s Home.

Deanna Besong collected money and shopped for the five children chosen by St. Mary’s. “We wanted to do something special this year, rather than just have a ‘secret santa’ ex-change. We are all doing well and thought it would be much more rewarding to do something for those less fortunate.” St. Mary’s was more than happy to get the phone call. Brittany Boylan of St. Mary’s said, “The kids loved their gifts; Christ-mas was definitely filled with joy this year! Thank you so much for supporting St. Mary’s!”

For more information about St. Mary’s mission and how you can help out, visit saintmaryshome.org.

St. Mary’s Contributors, front row left to right: Eli Walker, Bayani Dayday, Melissa Rozsa, Kim Tingle, Stephanie Brown, Dave Henshaw, Deanna Besong, and John Duncan. Back row left to right: Barry Turnage, John Gnass, Bill Johnson, John Finucan, Mike Anderson, Chris Murray, Roger Adams, Roy James, and George Bates.

Sharing the Holiday Spirit

Melissa Rozsa and Deanna Besong wrapped and delivered over 30 presents to disabled children living at St. Mary’s Home in Norfolk, VA.

AMSEC Holiday Celebrations Around the World!

San Diego, CA

Virginia Beach Corporate Headquarters

Newport News, VA

Sasebo, Japan

Cover background image, 151215-N-BU440-014.jpg, USS Essex (LHD 2) entering San Diego Harbor, courtesy of the U.S. Navy: www.navy.mil/viewGalleries.aspPage 2 background image, Navy Ship Headed Toward Coronado Bridge, San Diego, early 90s.jpg, courtesy of Patrick Feller: www.flickr.com/photos/32345848@N07Page 6 & 7 background image, Computer Security Symbol - Password (red with blue contrast).jpg, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons: commons.wikimedia.orgUse of these images does not imply any endorsement by the photographer of AMSEC or its affiliates.

Christmas for Five

AMSEC Connections 76 AMSEC Connections

This is Our AMSEC: SecurityAMSEC employees rely on our Security Department to keep our facilities and our information safe. We depend on them to ensure our workers have access to customer sites. They prepare us for Defense Security Service (DSS) audits, guide us through our personal security clearance investi-gation process and provide continuous security education throughout the year.

Sharon Bishop manages AMSEC’s Security Department from the Virginia Beach Corporate Headquarters. Her team is intertwined with every activity that we do at AMSEC, in-cluding proposals, subcontracts, purchasing, accounting, and human resources. There are only three other full-time employees on the security team. Russell Struebing, the Facility Security Officer (FSO) in Virginia Beach, spends a good amount of his time fostering relationships with our customers and getting employees onto their job sites through the proper visit request channels. Susan Stoots, the Security Assistant, is frequently assisting employees with their personal security clearance applications and as-sisting with processing visit requests. Jim Yates, the FSO in San Diego, also manages security in Japan. The remaining FSOs are dual-hatted but each is responsible for ensuring AMSEC meets all the security requirements in the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM) for AMSEC’s five DSS-cleared facilities in Virginia Beach, Hampton, San Diego, Philadelphia, and Honolulu. One can only imagine the variety of issues the team must control, knowing AMSEC has a large trades workforce as well as office workers in many locations around the world. The security requirements are vastly different in warehouses, server rooms, machine shops, and office environments, and of course aboard ship.

Sharon adds, “There are always surprises. It’s really hard to plan our day. The team needs to be very flexible.” Issues arise at all hours. Sometimes a ship will change access privileges and we’ll have workers standing pier side with badges that suddenly don’t work. A DSS team of auditors can make a surprise visit at any time. An employee can post information about their job on Facebook. The team can re-ceive a spontaneous adverse information call that needs to be investigated. Sharon continues, “We enjoy our job because it’s different every day. That’s what makes it fun!”

Sharon’s team handles the pressure well. After receiving a “Superior” security rating from the DSS at the Virginia Beach facility for over 14 years in a row, AMSEC was hon-ored with the industry’s highest distinction, the Cogswell Award. Only nine out of 13,000 Government contractors reviewed were recognized with this honor. The DSS de-scribed our highly experienced security staff as “consci-entious and dedicated to maintaining a first-rate security program.”

It should also be noted that Russ Struebing received the 2014 Corporate Employee of the Year Award in March of 2015 when his duties expanded to include oversight of ap-proximately 200 additional cleared employees from our

Harris Leonard commends Russ Streubing and Sharon Bishop for receiving the prestigious Cogswell Award in 2010.

AMSEC President Harris Leonard (left) presenting Russ Streubing with his 2014 Employee of the Year Award in March 2015.

Meet the Team AMSEC’s talented and dedicated Security Team has over 167 years of experience with the company, with an average of 17 years each!

Bremerton location and handled the related RAPIDGate responsibilities. He also earned the overall 2014 Em-ployee of the Year Award for, in AMSEC President Harris Leonard’s words, “demonstrating company ethics and values with a can-do attitude that continuously results in satisfied clients and outstanding team performance.”

Take a look at these statistics… The team processed 3,734 RAPIDGate requests in 2015. To obtain a RAPID-Gate card for access to a base, an employee first needs a Command sponsor and a full background check by the U.S. Navy. AMSEC must pay the fees for these cards, which amounted to over $150,000 last year. Then, each employee must have a visit request approved by the pier/section of the shipyard and the ship itself. The se-curity team processed over 1800 visit requests in 2015.

Visit request procedures at all the facilities AMSEC sup-ports change continuously. Russ elaborates, “It can be frustrating because even the local bases in Hampton Roads can’t agree on the same process, nor use the same forms.” This is why Russ is glad he has such strong relationships with his customers. AMSEC is a member of the Virginia Ship Repair Association who has been working with the three regional maintenance centers for over five years to standardize the visit request process. Ships returning for availabilities don’t necessarily know the current processes for boarding. Until visit request procedures are standardized for each location and ship, the security team needs to manage the various and ever-changing processes.

The security team also assists employees in obtain-ing and maintaining their personal security clearances. Eighty percent of AMSEC employees hold clearances. In 2015, security helped over 250 employees prepare for background investigations, from completing their e-QIP application for initial clearances, as well as helping with periodic re-investigations of their clearance and adverse information incident investigations.

Keith Carter, 19 yearsAssistant Facility SecurityOfficer, Hampton

Charles Beckles, 16 yearsFacility Security OfficerHampton

Randy Cowan, 11 yearsFacility Security OfficerHonolulu

Cecil King, 22 yearsInformation System Security Manager, Hampton

In the Virginia Beach Corporate office, from left to right: Sharon Bishop Corporate Security, Senior Manager, 18 years Russ Struebing Facility Security Officer, 17 years and Susan Stoots Security Assistant, 7 years.

Bill Quill, 19 yearsAssistant Facility SecurityOfficer, Bremerton

Laura Senlick, 7 yearsFacility Security OfficerPhiladelphia

Jim Yates, 31 yearsFacility Security OfficerSan Diego

Security isn’t just about visit requests and clearances. Daily, the team is properly handling and storing secure materials, processing Common Access Cards, debrief-ing/educating employees, preparing special access briefings, preparing someone for foreign travel, devel-oping a DD Form 254 so our subcontractors can work on a classified contract, providing facility information for a proposal, monitoring the Security Manager Visit Re-quest Program (SECMAN), working with our Information Security team or simply maintaining AMSEC’s internal procedures and instructions. It’s a busy operation!

With all the hectic days, Sharon and her team enjoy No-vember the most, since it is Security Awareness Month at AMSEC. They get their creative juices flowing to de-sign flyers, posters and handouts to promote security education. They pass out coffee and donuts at some fa-cilities and Headquarters hosts movie lunches with can-dy and popcorn. Whatever it takes to engage employees in security awareness.

In doing your part to help our Security Department, there are several things that are important to remember:

1. Know your level of clearance and why you have it when auditors ask. Know what level of data classi-fication that your contract requires and the proper procedures for the data you handle.

2. Keep up with your annual refresher training. It is a DSS requirement for our facility clearance.

3. If something adverse does happen, be forthcom-ing and honest. Your security team is there to look out for you and the company. Don’t ignore the situ-ation, but rather realize that the Government WILL find out. The AMSEC team wants to be proactive in getting the best results out of an adverse situation.

4. Be very mindful of the information you post on so-cial media! Don’t talk about your job. HII has good guidance on what you should NOT share and how to set up protective access rules on your sites and apps.

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Shop Makeover in San Diego

Steve Colpitts, AMSEC’s Facility Supervisor in San Diego’s 33rd Street warehouse and shop, recently designed and com-pleted a safety and work enhancement project for the weld area. The weld shop has been very busy supporting ESU tasks improving weapons elevators, which is good news for AMSEC, but the increased workload resulted in overcrowd-ing and required excessive coordination of work schedules. Steve developed a plan, with the help of Jason Deblassio, to expand the work boundaries and move electrical and air ser-vices to more appropriate conduits and service poles. These efforts improved the overall safety and workability of the space, leading to better efficiency.

HOLA Volunteers with Habitat for Humanity

On November 21, members of the Hispanic Outreach & Lead-ership Alliance (HOLA) participated in a Habitat for Humanity Build Day. The community service project was a joint venture coordinated by Newport News Shipbuilding’s five Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) – HOLA, African American Shipbuild-ers Association (AASA), Shipbuilders of Huntington Ingalls Professionals (SHIPs), Veterans Employee Resource Group (VERG), and Women in Shipbuilding Enterprises (WiSE).

More than 20 employees from AMSEC and NNS spent their Saturday volunteering at the construction site of two homes located on Moores Lane in Newport News, Virginia. “It was quite an experience to see how the shipbuilding family came together to help make someone’s dream come true. Skilled or not, everyone was eager to contribute to that special home,” said Ruby Nissenbaum, who works in AMSEC’s Sur-face Overhaul department and is a member of HOLA.

AMSEC’s Pamela Ponton, a member of AASA, also volun-teered on the ERG Build Day. “Participating was awesome! It was good to see so many people of different backgrounds and skill sets come together for a common purpose. I had the opportunity to meet one of the home owners which made the day even more special.”

The San Diego 33rd Street Weld Shop before and after.

Left: Ruby Nissenbaum works to complete the porch on the Habitat for Humanity home on Moores Lane. Right: Miranda Williams carrying lumber across the yard.

In Case You Missed ItOther Company NewslettersHR Ethics Bulletins: Bullying in the Workplace | FAR Mandatory Disclosure and Corporate Policy A315 | Business Courtesies and AMSEC QP 6.2-1

EHS Newsletters: 10/2015: Eye Injuries | 11/2015: MADD’s First National Day of Remembrance | 12/2015: Electrical Safety

Security Bulletins: 10/2015: National Cyber Security Awareness Month | 11/2015: November is Security Awareness Month | 12/2015: Security Does Not Take a Holiday

2016 Wellness Program

Another reminder, all full-time employees have the opportu-nity to earn two additional hours of Paid Annual Leave and receive a reduced medical plan premium if they enroll in an Anthem medical plan through AMSEC in 2017. Here’s what you need to do to participate:

1. Get an annual wellness physical that includes biomet-ric screenings/lab work.

2. Complete the Tobacco Use Attestation Form.

a. If you are a tobacco user complete the Tobacco Cessation on-line program

3. Complete the Cover Page.

4. Sign all forms. Have your physician sign the form that documents your annual physical and biometric results.

5. Submit all the forms to TriHealth by the deadline (9/15/2016).

Talking Turkey

Once again AMSEC employee Cheryl Speelman spent the weekend before Thanksgiving goofing around (and collect-ing donations) at the Mayflower Marathon Food Drive for the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia. Cheryl has been volun-teering with the Foodbank for the better part of a decade and is a familiar face at many community events throughout the year. For information about how you can help feed the hun-gry in your neighborhood, go to www.foodbankonline.org/.

Community Involvement

AMSEC’s realignment under Newport News Shipbuilding has created new avenues for employee engagement. HOLA was the first ERG to open their membership and events to AMSEC employees. The Habitat for Humanity Build Day was just one of many activities coordinated by ERGs. If you would like more information about participating in an ERG, go to http://www.huntingtoningalls.com/employees/diversity/resource.

6. Receive the following benefits for completing the pro-gram:

a. 2 hours of PAL added to your account in 2016.b. A reduced medical plan premium in 2017. Your

savings could be as much as $15 per pay period or $390 annually!

What’s the timeline? Physicals must be completed between September 1, 2015 and September 15, 2016; if applicable, the Tobacco Cessation program must be completed by De-cember 1, 2016. New forms will be posted shortly, but if your annual wellness check-up is already scheduled you can use last year’s forms, which are available in the benefits section of the human resources page on the AMSEC internal web. Forms must be submitted to TriHealth by September 15, 2016.

If you have any questions, contact your human resources representative.

Ali Harkous, leader of AMSEC’s Surface Pro-gram Management Of-fice (PMO) in San Diego, was raised in Lebanon in the 1960s. When the Leb-anese Civil War began in 1975, Ali and two close friends decided to take advantage of a program that would give them the opportunity to escape the turmoil in their home country and come to America. With a Student Visa in hand, Ali left Leb-anon on September 18, 1979, hoping to become an engineer.

The first hurdle he had to clear was the language barrier; he spoke Arabic and French, but no English. He began taking English classes in Vermont and then transferred to Wichita State University, where he added engineering courses. He got a job bussing tables at Kip’s Big Boy restaurant to make ends meet.

After one cold semester in Wichita and with a slightly better grasp of the language, Ali was accepted into the engineering program at the University of Arizona in Tucson. After finish-ing his classes for the day, he would head to his job as a janitor at a McDonalds. After two years, he was promoted to Shift Manager, and in 1984 he completed his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.

Sometime after accomplishing his goal to earn an engineer-ing degree, Ali happened to see a television commercial and was intrigued by a slogan many of us would recognize: “It’s not just a job, it’s an adventure.” Eager to explore new ambi-tions, he decided to leave behind the glamorous food ser-vice industry and join the U.S. Navy. Although he didn’t pass the Officer Candidate School (OCS) exam (English was still somewhat of a challenge for him at this point), he enlisted as an E-3 Machinist Mate.

After four years, including two tours in the West PAC, Ali de-cided to leave the USS Ranger (CV 61) and joined AMSEC on February 5, 1990, as an Engineering Technician. Starting out as a tradesperson in San Diego, Ali worked hard and was eventually promoted to Program Manager for the newly

acquired SEMAT work. He took the success of the SEMAT program and expanded it to new locations with new Navy customers.

Today, Ali is managing some of the largest contracts that AMSEC has ever won. He is married, as fate would have it, to woman who also came to America from Lebanon. Fatima is a nurse at the Veterans’ Affairs Hospital in La Jolla. Their two daughters are following in their father’s footsteps as en-gineers themselves. Ali’s friends who traveled with him from Lebanon have also found happiness and success in America and the three are still very close.

Ali’s determination to overcome the challenges he faced has made him a living example of the American Dream. AM-SEC is lucky to have that determination on our team, and to have Ali’s example of hard work and positive thinking to inspire us.

Ali Harkous: Living the American Dream

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Customer Feedback & KUDOS

Captain Michael McCartney of the USS Antietam (CG 54) with AMSEC’s Nathan Farrington

CEMAT Team Members Recognized for Focus on Safety

An On-the-Spot Safety Award was presented to Tony Du and Ed Paris from the CEMAT San Diego Safety Committee for calling attention to an electrical tag-out discrepancy while working onboard the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70).

Doug Devore received a Safety Award at the V-58 Thanks-giving potluck luncheon for preventing a shipboard electrical fire by discovering and correcting improper motor and motor controller electrical connections.

Linda Craft of LETTS’s Technical Document and Supply Sup-port Solutions (TDSSS) Division received a special award in December from the Director of the Navy Warfare Library at the Submarine Learning Center and U.S. Navy Submarine School in Groton, Connecticut. Director Joseph P. Zanavich had this to say about Linda’s performance:

“Over the course of more than twelve years, you have provided a superior level of service to this organization. Your efforts to respond to situations that on many occa-sions were of a critical nature involving a short time event horizon enabled the Navy Warfare Library to ensure the continuation of training for all student personnel. This included all enlisted personnel and the Submarine Of-ficer Warfare Center. Your dedication and demonstrated professionalism are in keeping with the highest tradi-tions of those who endeavor to serve in the defense of our nation.”

AMSEC’s Mark Kowaleski and Jim Melton are major contrib-utors to the recent success of the Navy Information Applica-tion Product Suite (NIAPS) program. NIAPS delivers main-tenance, logistics, administrative, training and management applications to users at sea and is designed to maximize the use of limited bandwidth by providing afloat units with ac-cess to applications while disconnected from the internet. Mark and Jim have provided training, technical support and ad hoc repairs restoring NIAPS capability to over 185 ships and submarines since January of 2015, more than half of the entire Navy’s fleet. Sarah E. Seymour, PEO-EIS, Sea Warrior Program Office (PMW 240) APM of NIAPS recently said,

“I wanted to take a moment to recognize you and your hard work on getting our open trouble tickets down to the LOWEST number that I have ever seen! I have been with this program since 2007, so these metrics are some-thing to be very proud of. Thank you for your dedicated support to the Fleet and know how much we appreciate what you do every day!”

Ali Harkous was proud to share these kudos from the USS Antietam’s Port Engineer David Sollner about the AMSEC SEMAT Yokosuka Team:

“Antietam’s INSURV aggregate score was 87% – above fleet average. That is due in no small part to your team’s outstanding and unwavering sup-port. The CO would like to swing by and offer his personal thanks to your team tomorrow.”

Recent Contract Awards

In 2015, AMSEC’s Maintenance, Modernization & Technical Services’ (MMTS) Operation Center reported revenue and fee that were the highest since combining the east and west organizations over eight years ago. Some key wins include:

The Technical Deployment PMO won the re-compete of the NSWC support contract worth over $83M for a three-year award period.

The Systems Integration PMO received a late award for a $2.5M installation job onboard USS Louisville (SSN 724) in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

The Surface PMO’s SEMAT program added two new tasks supporting the surface ships in San Diego: EQOL and Interior Communications maintenance services.

The Fleet Technical Support Division continues to win new tasks on the PSNS Design and Engineering Ser-vices contract, with numerous awards for Ship Change Document (SCD) shipchecks and SCD engineering drawings.

The Maintenance Support Services Division has con-tinued to grow the Newport News Shipbuilding direct support role for Codes E84 and E25, and has recently established an initial presence at the Navy training site in Kesselring, New York.

Maintenance University has expanded to cover littoral combat ships, ZUMWALT destroyer programs on both coasts, and Navy ships in Rota, Spain.

Logistics, Engineering, Technology & Training Solutions (LETTS) is closing the year with nearly $87M worth of contract wins:

Awarded recompete of our Standard NAVSEA Inte-grated Publishing Process (SNIPP) and HM&E Logistics Support Contract to continue support to NSWC-PD.

Awarded LCC 19 Class Extended Service Life Program Phase 2 Task Order to support PMS 470.

Awarded Maintenance and Ship Work Planning Mod-ernization Contract to support SUBMEPP with a single maintenance planning solution for carriers, subma-rines and surface ships with Prime American Systems as a partner.

Awarded the Marine Design and Engineering Services contract to continue support in ship repair and conver-sion for NNSY with MSCorporation as the prime con-tractor.

Awarded the Ready and Relevant Learning Analysis Contract to support NETC.

Awarded tasking to support new NNS SLM, Sharepoint and SWiMS IT initiatives.

From left to right: Safety Committee Member Robert Wiley with Tony Du and Ed Paris

From left to right: Doug Devore, Leo Owens, and Harris Leonard

With competition growing each day, AMSEC’s need for con-trolling costs to lower our rates has become a major focus in winning new work. We scrutinize cost items every day and make decisions partially based on impacts to our overhead costs which affect the rates we can offer our customers. We scrutinize overhead costs down to the penny because when accumulated over a period of time across the company, small spending adds up quickly!

You may have seen that our President, Harris Leonard, has introduced the new Cost Connection section to his Presi-dent’s Corner publication. He hopes to highlight areas where

AMSEC’s Chesapeake Warehouse

Impresses Auditors

Denver Summers was recently commended for his individual performance during an audit for the receiving and handling of Government property at AM-SEC’s Chesapeake location. On his own initiative, Denver im-proved the physical layout specif-ically to better manage receipts in accordance with AMSEC’s Receiving/Handling procedure. While it takes many employees all doing their job well to success-fully pass a Government audit,

Denver’s individual performance makes him most deserving of special recognition. Thanks, Denver, for demonstrating AMSEC’s core values of responsibility and performance.

Denver Summers

Philadelphia Job Fair

On November 13, Steve Edling and Laura Sen-lick represented the AMSEC Phil-adelphia office at a job fair at Vare Recreation Center in Phila-delphia. There were more than 50 employers in attendance and a large number of job hunters attended the event. The job fair was sponsored by the African American Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Com-merce and was organized by Philadelphia City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson’s office of the 2nd District. The AMSEC Philadelphia office was approached by the Councilman’s of-fice to attend the job fair and welcomed the opportunity to become involved in the community.

Encourage Your Friends to Join Our Team:

Fleet and Family Support Center Job FairThe Westin at Virginia Beach Town Center, VA

March 15, 2016 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Joint Base Langley/Eustis Job FairFort Eustis Club, VA

March 15, 2016 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Fleet and Family Support Center Job FairScottish Rite Center, San Diego, CA

March 30, 2016 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Olympic College Job FairOlympic College Bremerton Student Center, WA

May 4, 2016 from 12 to 3 p.m.

Invite Your Customers to Visit Our Booth:

AFCEA West 2016San Diego Convention Center, CA

February 17 - 19, 2016

Left to right: Philadelphia Councilman Kenyatta Johnson with AMSEC employees Laura Senlick and Steve Edling

Job Fairs & TradeshowsAMSEC Wins!

simple employee awareness and good decision making dur-ing a normal business day will lead to lower overall costs, thus better rates for our customers. Harris invites us to con-sider these ideas:

Never set a color printer as your default printer. Only print to a color printer when truly necessary. In the AMSEC environment (on average) it is five times more expensive to print to a color printer than it is to a black and white printer. continued on page 12

Cost Cutting is Making AMSEC More Competitive

12 AMSEC Connections

5 years

10 years

15 years

20 years

30 years

35 years

Service Awards

OctoberAnacleto H. Buenaflor, Jr.José J. Orta-TorresAdrian D. MorrisStephen N. WoolardThomas J. Mari

NovemberKristal R. BurkMichael D. GotteJeffrey S. CaulfieldRaymond R. GossJuan D. SotoDouglas G. WelchChristopher J. AdamsJeremy C. BarnesMario F. GonzalesStephen W. MontgomeryAmma Adei-NeequayeJohn F. KozibrodaCruz J. Vina, Jr.Ronald M. Benion, Sr.Marshall B. WernerDane C. NonezaDerrick D. Smith

December Carl A. MartinRobert E. WagenblastJose D. Gilbert

OctoberBenjamin A. ReinhardtPatrick W. FarrellDavid L. StandevenKarene V. Beavers

NovemberStephen F. Kampman, Jr.Oscar Luna

December Jason M. Wurzbacher

OctoberDavid C. Hoffman

December Carl G. Soles

OctoberMargarita AdsitLarry L. ChristianMichael J. DengateAhmad BehzadipoorAlfredo A. SucalditoDerrick L. Davis

NovemberDonald G. MchattieScott A. MarkhamJose M. MacapinlacMelvin H. Copney, Jr.David W. MontgomeryJames E. Hamilton

December Ted E. DouglasLeondro A. RenteriaKimberley D. TingleAlan J. Williams

December Dennis J. Combs

NovemberDaniel J. Selfridge III

All of us have been members of a team that works very well together, but far too often we become frustrated by projects simply because the team just doesn’t seem to be productive. No team exists without problems, but some—particularly those which have learned to counter negative dynamics—seem to be especially good at preventing many typical group problems. The following recipe for a successful team provides insight into ways we can make our teams stronger and more effective, as defined in The Team Handbook by Barbara J. Streibel, Brian L. Joiner, and Peter R. Schcoltes.

1. Clarity in Team Goals – The team agrees on its charter, works together to resolve disagreements, has a clear vision, and progresses steadily toward its goals.

2. A Plan for Improvement – The team has developed a process map and work plan that helps the team deter-mine what resources it may need and the steps that need to be made to achieve its goals.

3. Clearly Defined Roles – The team has formally desig-nated roles that highlight each member’s talents. No one feels left out or taken advantage of.

4. Clear Communication – Team members speak with clarity and listen actively. They avoid interrupting, ex-pressing opinions as facts, bullying, and discounting.

5. Beneficial Team Behaviors – Members initiate discus-sions, seek data, suggest procedures, elaborate on ideas, resolve differences, complete tasks on time, and praise and correct others with equal fairness.

6. Well-defined Decision Procedures – Members under-stand how decisions will be made, explore important issues by polling, test for agreement, and use data as the basis of decisions.

7. Balanced Participation – All members contribute to most discussions. Trouble begins when some mem-bers have too much influence, only contribute to cer-tain topics, or don’t ask questions.

8. Established Ground Rules – The team has open dis-cussions on ground rules, including behaviors that are acceptable and unacceptable.

9. Awareness of the Group Process – Members should be sensitive to nonverbal communication, intervene to correct a group process problem, and contribute equally to group process/meeting content.

10. Use of the Scientific Approach – The team reviews data before making decisions, digs for root causes of problems, and seeks permanent solutions vice quick fixes.

For more reading on improving your team’s dynamic, the fol-lowing books are recommended:

The Team Handbook by Barbara J Streibel, Brian L. Joiner, and Peter R. Scholtes

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Pat-rick Lencioni

Professional Development:How to Improve Your Team Dynamic

Cost Cutting, continued from page 11

Never use AMSEC printers to produce multiple cop-ies of a document. Print one original, then use copi-ers for reproduction. Using printers is more expensive than using company provided copiers, and using the copier codes for billable reproduction saves the com-pany overhead dollars that would be charged for using a printer!

Use regular snail mail or electronic delivery when possible. Consider whether it is absolutely necessary to send something via FedEx overnight or two-day delivery.

Please do your part. These simple cost reductions (and any other ways you can think of to save the company money) could be the difference between winning and losing future competitions.