CERO overcomes uncertain future, wins NAVSEA excellence award

CERO OVERCOMES UNCERTAIN FUTURE,

By Anna Taylor • Public Affairs Specialist WINS NAVSEA EXCELLENCE AWARD Four years ago, Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s Command Evaluation and Review Office was in quite a pickle. The program was unaccredited, there were no certified investigators to speak of, and the new director felt the pressing need to overhaul the organization’s reputation.

Fast forward to late 2016, NNSY’s CERO won the inaugural NAVSEA Inspector General Professional Excellence Award for a multi-person office, and was recognized for exemplary leadership, innovation, and professional development. “[NNSY CERO] demonstrated the highest levels of professionalism through dedicated support of Norfolk Naval Shipyard leadership and its large workforce by continuous improvement of their core products and overall office capabilities, and by giving selflessly to the overall betterment of the NAVSEA IG/Command Evaluation and Review Community of Practice through sharing better business practices, delivering communitywide training and participating in a sensitive NAVSEA investigation of a senior leader,” read the award citation.

Jay Jones, the new director who was instrumental in revamping the Command Evaluation and Review program at

NNSY, says he is proud of what the office has accomplished in a short period of time, and is quick to attribute success to his dedicated team of subject matter experts.

“We are professionally trained and certified to use certain industry techniques and tactics,” he said. “We take it seriously; we never lie and we don’t sweep anything under the rug.”

Prevention and detection of fraud, waste, abuse of authority or position and mismanagement are crucial to protecting taxpayer dollars, maintaining good order and discipline, and ensuring public trust and confidence in Norfolk Naval Shipyard.

“Our mission is to protect taxpayer dollars. We assess the efficiency and integrity of command operations and identify conditions that adversely impact the mission of the command,” said Jones. “We are also responsible for Naval Inspector General and command directed investigations, special reviews and interest items, and the Managers’ Internal Control Program.”

The CERO also acts as liaison to the Naval Audit Service, Government Accountability Office and other similar agencies during the course of external audits.

“For many employees, the indicators of fraud waste and abuse

are there,” said Kristin Hamilton, a CERO investigator. “There will be employees who want to do the right thing and want to notify someone that some type of wrongdoing is going on, so you need an unbiased office that’s there to hear those types of complaints, otherwise you lose morale. If that alleged wrongdoing is occurring, it needs to change, because it’s not fair to those employees who want to do the right thing, come to work, do their jobs, and support our service men and women and our government.”

Jones started his career at Charleston Naval Shipyard 38 years ago as an apprentice and says part of what makes his team so valuable is its diversity of background.

Chase Goodwin, the CERO deputy director, agrees.

“We have an industrial engineer, a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, a former Navy executive officer and an Army interrogator.

We have former shipyard mechanics and financial professionals,” he said. “We have a representative mixture of the NNSY workforce.

We depend on each other’s specialized experience every time a new case comes in.”

The CERO team consists of eight people, and all but one are certified NAVSEA investigators – a title that is not easy to obtain.

“There are a few milestones to achieve before being certified.

After completing a basic course through Navy Knowledge Online, investigators attend the Naval Inspector General’s basic training course. Usually within a year of entering the field, you’ll complete at least two full investigations working with a certified investigator.

Completed investigations will be reviewed by NAVSEA,” explained Goodwin. “After you have at least a year in the field, you’ll sit for a scenario-based oral board with NAVSEA IG. Once you’ve satisfied all the requirements and passed your oral board, you are certified as a basic investigator.”

NAVSEA also offers advanced and master investigator certifications, but Goodwin is among only five advanced investigators in all of NAVSEA. “Our group works really hard. We’re fact finders. We’re not here to fire anyone, or make someone look bad,” explained Hamilton. “We are fighting for the employees who want to do the right thing.”

Jones and Goodwin think of CERO as a metaphorical glass house, which means they can’t throw any figurative stones.

“How can we investigate you for wrongdoing if we give the perception we’re doing the same thing? That’s the pressure - to walk in a straight line – and we have to challenge ourselves internally,” said Jones. “We always have to remind ourselves to look at where we were [four years ago] and look at where we are now.”

For Goodwin, winning the NAVSEA Professional Excellence Award validates the years of hard work he and his teammates have contributed to rebuilding the CERO from the ground up. “[Shipyard Commander] Capt. [Scott] Brown has been behind us 100 percent of the way,” he said. “That has been immensely helpful.”

“We worked really hard to change people’s perspective about us, so it meant a lot that we were being recognized,” added Hamilton.

The work done by the CERO is time consuming and incredibly complex. Each investigation can take months to complete, simply because of the level of detail the work requires.

“We’re all unique. We have our challenges,” said Jones. “But we’re trying to change the culture of the shipyard. I know we are making a difference.”

LIST OF MATTERS APPROPRIATE FOR THE INSPECTOR GENERAL: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Abuse of authority/position Bribes/kickbacks/acceptance of gratuities Conflicts of interests Ethics violations Fraud/travel fraud (TDY and TAD) Improper gifts Improper referral for mental health evaluations Significant cases of mismanagement Misuse of official time, government property, position and public office Political activities Procurement issues Purchase card/travel card abuse Reprisal (military whistleblower protection) Safety/public health Systemic problems Significant time and attendance violations Gross waste

The NNSY Legal Office serves as the advisor for ethical matters within the shipyard and can be contacted at 3968625 if needed for clarification or advice concerning ethical issues. Reports to the hotline can be made by email to nnsy_ig_hotline@navy.mil, by calling 396-7971 or by visiting the Command Evaluation and Review office (Code 100CE) in Bldg. 706.

CERO LEADERSHIP: CERO Director: Jay Jones • 396-1194 CERO Deputy Director: Chase Goodwin • 396-3855

CERO INVESTIGATORS: Mike Regna • 396-3868 Aaron Hatten • 396-3851 Kristin Hamilton • 396-8420 Rodney Wilkins • 967-5053 Robert Malouin Jr. • 396-3869 Jeffrey O'Brien • 396-3890