2010 Annual Report - West Virginia Army National Guard - U.S. Army

West Virginia National Guard Annual Report 2010The West Virginia Army National Guardparticipated in the Annual Army Communitiesof Excellence Program in 2010 to completean in-depth self assessment of processes andperformance outcomes. Because the WestVirginia Army National Guard won the OverallFirst Place Award in 2008, the state was noteligible to compete for the award in 2009, yetsoldiers continued to conduct an intense annualanalysis of overall performance and implementimprovement initiatives.To sustain the effort toward continuousimprovement, a portion of the 2008 ACOEAward funds were used to train Lean Six SigmaGreen and Black Belts. Today, the state has nineLean Six Sigma Black Belts, 23 Lean Six SigmaBlack Belts, and 44 Lean Six Sigma Green Beltsthat are completing leader-chartered projects.As part of the Army Communities ofExcellence quest for continuous improvement,West Virginia Adjutant General Allen Tackettchartered and launched the Center forInnovation and Excellence to address areasidentified in feedback reports and aggressivelydrive innovation, organizational learning, andmeaningful improvement throughout the W.Va.Guard. The Center is a unique approach toorganizational improvement that goes beyonda “council” forum. The mission of the Centeris to coordinate daily activities to strengtheninnovation and performance excellence.Center personnel promote the use of effectivemanagement systems and improvement toolsincluding the Baldrige Criteria, ACOE and LeanSix Sigma.The Guard’s former vision, “CitizenSoldiers at their best …”, served as a strategicfocus for more than 14 years. During the October2009 Strategic Planning Workshop, seniorleaders determined that a new Soldier-focusedvision was needed. The new “Fort West Virginia”vision is aimed at providing all Soldiers, Airmen,families, and retirees with benefits, services,facilities, and support afforded to their ActiveDuty counterparts.In 2010, the West Virginia Army NationalGuard was again eligible to compete in theACOE Award Program and was selected asone of four top states to receive a site visit todetermine the Overall Winner.The Overall ACOE Winner will beannounced in the spring of 2011.WVARNG ACOE Performance Excellence Awards2000 - Bronze 2nd Place2001 - Bronze 3rd Place2002 - Silver 2nd Place2003 - Honorable Mention2004 - Gold 3rd Place2005 - Bronze 1st Place2006 - Honorable Mention2007 - Bronze 1st place2008 - Overall 1st Place2009 - Not Eligible to Compete (Prior Year Winners)43