Become the Director of Public Works for a Day: Step 1

DPW for a Day

By Walter Christian Mattil, USAG Ansbach Director of Public Works

ANSBACH, Germany (Dec. 16, 2015) — So, if you’re reading this I’ll assume you have an interest in competing (yes, this is a competition) to become the Director of Public Works for a day.

Honestly, the competition is “quid pro quo” (this for that)! I need to tap into the creative energy, passion and innovation of our community. If “two heads are better than one,” then 7,000 heads could yield an enormous volume of new ideas, programs, initiatives and the like.

I’ll provide more on the competition as we execute this campaign over the next few weeks … so keep checking for updates!

But first, Step 1:

I used to work at U.S. Army Europe with a colonel who’s now retired. He had a saying: “If you’re going to put something on a slide, you’d better know what your briefing.”

Likewise, if you want to complete, and perhaps become, the DPW for a day, it might be wise to understand a little about the position and what the directorate is supposed to do by regulation.

I encourage you to read the PDF version of Army Regulation 420-1 by clicking HERE. There are multiple Army Regulations, Army in Europe Regulations, Army directives and Department of Defense Goals that govern the work of each garrison’s DPW and their staff’s support to each garrison. But AR 420-1, “Facilities Engineering, Army Facilities Management” is the foundational document that all other regulations, directives and goals support.

It’s way too lengthy to read it all, and I’d not ask you to do that. But I would ask you to spend 10 to 15 minutes reviewing the regulation. It should give you great insight as to what the DPW can do and cannot do to support the residents and occupants of U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach.

Step 2: Coming Thursday, Dec. 17.

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