About The Employer

The responsibilities of the United States Army Force Management Support Agency (USAFMSA) are best summarized in its Mission Essential Task List:

1. Provide timely and accurate documentation of all Army organizations to include the mission, requirements, and authorizations for personnel and equipment.

2. Provide information, data, analysis, and research for force structure special projects for the Army and DOD.

3. Develop policies, procedures, and processes and define automated solutions to document the Army.

4. Conduct and support requirements determination studies and analyses for manpower and materiel.

5. Develop, train, and educate soldiers and civilians at all levels on Force Management.

6. Develop, train, and educate a professional workforce within USAFMSA.

Basically, USAFMSA determines where military and civilian positions throughout the world will be in the future, and also what equipment those positions will need to do their jobs.  At Fort Belvoir, USAFMSA has over 100 employees.  Most of the employees are management analysts or documenters, but there are about 7 people who work on systems development.  The organization is a hierarchy.  At the top of the organization is a brigadier general at the Pentagon.  At Fort Belvoir, we have a colonel who is in charge, and a civilian GS-15.

I specifically worked in the TDA Division, which handles Tables of Distribution and Allowances (TDA), which is a type of data.  I was assigned to the Field Commands Branch, which is headed by a GS-14 branch chief, my immediate boss Mr. Gardepe.  I was the only systems developer in that division, because the system I was developing was meant to help them.  The other systems developers and supporters worked in the Transformation Division, but we still cooperatively worked on some projects.

My immediate customers were the documenters in TDA Division.  I had to develop a tool that would allow them to modify and analyze data, while making sure their data is secure and accurate.  After the product was finalized, it had to be shipped to the other USAFMSA site (Ft. Lee and Leavenworth), and also get distributed across the globe to all the Major Army Commands (MACOM).  The reason for this is that MACOMs send USAFMSA changes that they want to make in their force structure.  USAFMSA then makes sure that the changes can be made, and either approves or disapproves them.

The workplace at Fort Belvoir is relaxed most of the time, but some weeks can be stressful.  However, since I worked on my own projects, I usually don’t have to get caught in the commotion.  There were times when my boss said, “I need you to create this tool in 10 minutes.” but most of the time I could work at my own pace.  The branch went out to lunch together for birthdays, and every year there is an “Organization Day” where we have a picnic.

Working for the government as an intern has many benefits not available in many private offices.  As a GS-4, I acquired 4 hours of annual leave and 4 hours of sick leave every pay period.  If you don’t take the annual leave by the time you quit for the summer, you are paid the amount of hours remaining.  Also, you are paid during all Federal holidays.  As a civilian, you are eligible to get a Military Welfare and Recreation (MWR) card, which allows for free use of the gym and other facilities on Fort Belvoir.  During lunch breaks I would walk to the recreation center and shoot a couple games of pool.