Civilian members of the USACE team volunteer to deploy to the Afghanistan District for a variety of reasons, with experience, increased pay, and being part of something special topping the list. But many people who are on the fence about stepping up to volunteer might be interested to know the possibility of a promotion also exists when deployed with USACE.
Take Logistics Management Specialist Jimmy Mapp, for example. Mapp has worked for USACE for six years. He started his Afghanistan deployment as a 90-day assignment and is now on his 10th month in country where he works as the Facility Manager maintaining all the buildings within the USACE compound on Bagram Airfield. He also manages the district’s billeting program, issuing permanent and transient rooms for employees traveling through BAF.
Mapp is also the Contract Officer Representative (COR) for a contract covering BAF, the New Kabul Complex, and the USACE presence in Kandahar. Mapp is based out of South Atlantic Division in Atlanta, Georgia, where he is a Logistics Management Specialist, managing the Facility, Supply, and Transportation programs. He says he remained in Afghanistan after his initial assignment because he “totally enjoys the work environment and the mission, no day is the same.”
He’s a rolling stone, constantly moving around the installations and interacting with a variety of programs and people to ensure the USACE team has what it needs to execute the mission in theater. But Mapp wanted a little more of a challenge, so was excited when the chance came to apply for a position with the S6 [Information Technology] as the COR for a separate contract, he jumped at the chance to provide another type of customer support to the Afghanistan District team.
“Starting Oct. 13, this will be a whole new work adventure and scope of working, going from Logistics into an Information Technology platform,” he said. “Motivation for me comes easy, I try to tackle each day smiling. I just want to continue to do my part in the mission and make my parents proud of me as they are my biggest support.”
Mapp’s new boss, S6 Chief Christopher Brooks, said he believes in looking close to home for talent before reaching out far and wide. “I selected Jimmy for his dedication to mission,” Brooks said. “You know a lot of people deploy for a lot of different reasons; however, Jimmy is a mission guy – I’ve been thoroughly impressed with his tireless dedication to mission success in the S4 [Logistics]. As mission enablers the S4 and S6 combine forces many times throughout our daily tasks to strengthen the foundation, prepare for tomorrow and deliver the program. Jimmy is all these things. And, his positivity, encouragement, motivation and dedication-to-purpose stand out. When I saw his name on the list for the opportunity to come and work in the S6, I knew Jimmy would be a difference maker, mission enabler and force multiplier for our team.”
As for the thing that motivated Mapp about staying in Afghanistan after his initial tour was over, “It’s a 100-foot commute to work,” he said. “I walk out my door and there I am. [My walk] gets no bigger than that.”
Find out more about deploying to Afghanistan by visiting the Afghanistan District’s deployment website at https://www.tad.usace.army.mil/Careers/Deployments.aspx.