Getting the Last Stop Right: An Analysis of the Fort Campbell Personnel Processing Center

Michael J. Kwinn; Julia Coxen; Jason A. Wolter

doi:10.37266/ISER.2014v2i1.pp1-14

Getting the Last Stop Right: An Analysis of the Fort Campbell Personnel Processing Center

Authors

Michael J. Kwinn Professor, Department of Systems Engineering United States Military Academy West Point, New York
Julia Coxen US Army Military District of Washington, Fort Belvoir
Jason A. Wolter US Army Fort Lewis, Washington

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37266/ISER.2014v2i1.pp1-14

Abstract

This project proposes to develop an improved system to process Soldiers at the Personnel Processing Center (PPC) located at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. This processing center is the final pre-deployment requirement prior to missions in support of the Global War on Terror. The PPC services the 101^st Airborne Division and Fort Campbell’s tenant units and receives a high volume of Soldiers for processing. It is in the interest of Soldiers, their families, and senior leadership to process deploying troops accurately and rapidly. The current system, though functioning and meeting the Army’s needs, has inherent inefficiencies that limit its capacities and ability to maximize utilization.

Author Biographies

Michael J. Kwinn, Professor, Department of Systems Engineering United States Military Academy West Point, New York

Dr. Michael J. Kwinn, Jr. retired from the Army after 25 years of service in August 2009. For the last nine years in the Army, Mike served in the Department of Systems Engineering at the United States Military Academy at West Point attaining the academic rank of Professor of Systems Engineering and eventually serving as the Deputy Department Head. Since that time he has worked as a Department of the Army civilian in Washington, DC and Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD, as the President and CEO of the Pat Tillman Foundation and in January 2012, he returned to the Department of Systems Engineering at the US Military Academy. He graduated from USMA in 1984 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Air Defense Artillery. He has been stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, Germany, Fort Carson, Colorado and Camp Stanley, Korea. He has received a Master of Science from the University of Arizona, a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies (with Distinction) from the Naval War College, and a PhD in Management Science from the University of Texas at Austin. He has deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan numerous times to conduct research for commanders in those theaters. He is a Past President of the Military Operations Research Society (MORS) and served on the Board of Directors for the Hudson Valley Chapter of the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Mike is married to LTC(R) Brigitte Kwinn (USMA ’84) and has four daughters: Cheryl (26) an MIT graduate who is pursuing her Masters at Tufts University School of Engineering, Jasmine (10), Jade (9) and Emerald (7). His son Michael passed away nine years ago from a brain tumor and Mike is the President of The Friends4Michael Foundation named in his memory.

Julia Coxen, US Army Military District of Washington, Fort Belvoir

Major Julia O. Coxen is a United States Army Signal Corps Officer with 16+ years in the Army. She was commissioned through ROTC from the University of Pennsylvania with a major in systems engineering. She has had duty assignments is Korea, Fort Bragg NC, and Afghanistan and has taught in the Department of Systems Engineering at West Point. She completed two masters degrees at Columbia University (OR and Eng Mgt Systems). She is currently stationed in the Military District of Washington at Fort Belvoir.

Jason A. Wolter, US Army Fort Lewis, Washington

Lieutenant Colonel Jason A. Wolter is a United States Army Armor Officer with nearly 20 years in the Army. He graduated from the United States Military Academy and has been stationed at Fort Knox, KY, Fort Campbell, KY, Fort Riley, KS and has deployed many times to Iraq and Afghanistan. He received an MBA from Northwestern University and taught in the Department of Systems Engineering at West Point. He is currently stationed in Fort Lewis, Washington.

References

Dickens, Kailon, “Army Power Projection Platform”, in 2008 Army Posture Statement, by George Casey and Pete Green as presented to the , to the Committees and Subcommittees of the United States Senate and the House of Representatives, 2d Session, 110th Congress, 26 February 2008.

Hughes, Jeffery A., “Improving Reserve Support to Power Projection Platforms,” accessed at http://www.almc.army.mil/alog/issues/MayJun00/MS496.htm, January 11, 2009.

McConville, James, Brigadier General, Assistant Division Commander – Support, 101st Airborne Division. Interview and in-progress report, March 2008.

Keeney, R. L., Value-focused Thinking: A path to creative decision making, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1992.

Parnell, Gregory, “Value-focused Thinking”, in Methods for Conducting Military Operational Analysis, ed. Andrew Loerch and Larry Rainey, Military Operations Research Society press, 2007.

Parnell, Gregory S., Patrick J. Driscoll and Dale L. Henderson, eds,. Systems Decision Making for Systems Engineering and Management, Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2011.

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Published

2014-07-08

How to Cite

Kwinn, M. J., Coxen, J., & Wolter, J. A. (2014). Getting the Last Stop Right: An Analysis of the Fort Campbell Personnel Processing Center. Industrial and Systems Engineering Review, 2(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.37266/ISER.2014v2i1.pp1-14

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Issue

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2014): Industrial and Systems Engineering Review

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Articles

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