AAC manpower and personnel director named best in Air Force

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Brian Jones
  • 96th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  When Lee McGehee was appointed as the Air Armament Center's director of manpower and personnel nearly three years ago, she had the unique opportunity to build her team from the ground up.

Mrs. McGehee and her team of 19 personnel professionals had their work cut out for them as they set out to establish personnel policies and develop force management programs for five wings and 50 associate units.

"In order to be valued as a high performing organization, we had to build our team and focus on the results--now people seek your advice and assistance," Mrs. McGehee said. "It takes time and dedication to build that recognition."

Mrs. McGehee's efforts were recently recognized as she was named the Air Force's Outstanding Civilian Personnel Officer.

As the director of manpower and personnel, Mrs. McGehee advises Team Eglin leaders on a full range of human resource management issues from human capital strategic planning and workforce shaping to force development and labor relations and everything in between.

"Ultimately, we support the warfighter by getting the right mix of military and civilian employees and the right skill sets to ensure the right faces are in the right spaces," Mrs. McGehee said.

One of the bigger tasks for the AAC manpower and personnel office during the past year was devising a strategy to absorb more than 500 reductions as a result of Program Budget Decision 720.

"(The biggest challenge was) working within the financial constraints of a 90% civilian pay-line and absorbing manning reductions while keeping the mission moving without having to implement a RIF (Reduction in Force)," Mrs. McGehee said.

"Eglin is fortunate to have a personnel officer of Lee's caliber," said Maj. Gen. David W. Eidsaune, program executive officer for weapons and Air Armament Center commander. "Especially during this period of tight budgets and personnel drawdowns, AAC can rest assured that Lee is doing everything possible to support our mission and our people."

In addition to avoiding a RIF, the strategy avoided costs of nearly $6 million.

Although aligned under the Air Armament Center, the policy decisions made by Mrs. McGehee's team extend beyond the center's confines and affect military, civilian and Individual Mobilization Augmentees across Eglin.

One of the actions with base-wide implications undertaken by the manpower and personnel office was the consolidation of the base's labor contracts.

"We negotiated a single local supplement to the master labor agreement with two unions in a single day," Mrs. McGehee said. "It was a first for the labor-union team and a win-win for Team Eglin."

The former Deputy Director of Civilian Personnel at the Air Force Personnel Center admits that one of her favorite aspects of her job is problem solving. Eglin's successful transition to the National Security Personnel System is one of the bigger issues Mrs. McGehee has faced in her 20 years of service.

"NSPS is the most significant change ever in our business," the director said. "Not only do we manage the old system, but the new NSPS system as well."

All in all, 2007 was a banner year for Mrs. McGehee's AAC manpower and personnel office.

"(What we've been able to accomplish) took a lot of work by a lot of people," Mrs. McGehee said. "They really care about providing good customer service and being an integral part of the mission."