The MARCENT Consolidated Personnel Administration Center (CPAC) passed the Marine Corps Administrative Analysis Team (MCAAT) inspection conducted here June 23-24 with a 99.6 percent mission capable score.
This near perfect-score is the highest to date of all commands that have undergone the MCAAT inspection this fiscal year.
“This is a really big deal because it involves pay and entitlements,” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Leigh A. Williams, personnel officer. “The MCAAT is like the World Series for all administrators because it measures our success in accomplishing the most important thing – taking care of the Marines and ensuring they are paid correctly.”
Realizing the CPAC had not undergone a full inspection in more than two years, Williams had been preparing for the MCAAT inspection ever since she first arrived at MARCENT in February 2008. Although MARCENT had scored a 96.5 on the last MCAAT inspection conducted in October 2006, Williams set her goal to achieve an even higher score.
“My goal was to score a 98, and we exceeded that,” Williams said. “I’m happy about that.”
Although she is pleased with the outcome of the inspection and proud of her team’s performance, she was stunned to hear there were no discrepancy notices reported against her team. She was equally surprised to hear the CPAC had achieved a 99.3 percent mission capable score on its management of the Defense Travel System (DTS) program. This resulted in MARCENT becoming one of only three commands to pass the DTS part of the MCAAT inspection.
A command effective rate of 90 percent or higher is required to be considered mission capable, according to Marine Corps Order 7220.13G – Marine Corps Administrative Analysis Team (MCAAT) Program.
“One of the reasons we did so well is because we strive to ensure the Marines were getting paid correctly in accordance with Department of Defense regulations,” said Richard C. Mohammed, travel manager. “Prior to the inspection, MARCENT had no structure for DTS. So, we wrote a set of business rules for the command which contains all the policies and procedures governing DTS.”
Beginning this fiscal year, DTS has been added to the 17 other functional areas the MCAAT checklist covered. These areas include: Unit Diary System, Promotions, Legal Services, Separations, New Joins, Audit Procedures, Incentive Pay, Leave, Meal Cards, Travel, Order Writing, Government Travel Charge Card Program, Pay Policies, Deployments, Reenlistments, Extensions, and the Disability Evaluation System.
A day after the inspection results were announced, the entire CPAC team was awarded accolades that included Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals and Marine Corps Certificate of Commendation for its hard work and commitment to excellence.
“I’m ecstatic over how well the team performed and how well we did on the inspection, but the best thing is seeing the Marines get awarded for their efforts,”
Williams explained. “I’ve just never seen it happen that fast. Not the next day! But when I spoke with the Chief, he said we needed to ‘strike while the iron is hot.’”
The Marines performed superbly, and as a result, MARCENT was considered the “best unit” the MCAAT team has seen all year. The inspection team was so impressed by MARCENT’s overall performance, particularly with DTS, that it has requested the CPAC staff share many of its programs and procedures with other Marine units to help them improve in their administrative duties.
“The MCAAT checks your internal controls and procedures on pay policies and how the unit pays Marines,” said Gunnery Sgt. James D. Hull, CPAC’s staff noncommissioned officer in charge, while explaining the inspection process. “Everyone starts out with a score of 100 percent. As the inspectors find mistakes, they’ll write discrepancy notices (DNs) for that particular area. Too many DNs equal a discrepancy, which lowers the percentage. Multiple discrepancies equal a finding, and a finding means that you have failed that functional area.”
Hull said units are directed to make corrections via the Unit Diary System, and they have 30 days to correct all DNs. There were only seven monetary discrepancies noted, totaling missed payments of $1,312.60. According to Hull, who just underwent his 10th inspection, this amount is minimal.
“This is by far the best inspection I’ve been involved with,” Hull said. “During our inspection, we had zero discrepancies and zero findings. That’s almost unheard of.”
MCAAT teams were established to evaluate the effectiveness of the Marine Corps Total Force System (MCTFS) and all associated field management procedures related to the administration of pay and allowances for regular and reserve component units. There are two teams, MCAAT-East and MCAAT-West, which travel extensively throughout the Marine Corps on Mobile Training Visits to provide commanders and their staffs education and instruction in Marine Corps policies and procedures which affect administration, pay, and allowances.
MCAAT-East is located at Camp Lejeune, N.C., while MCAAT-West is at Camp Pendleton, Calif. The MCAAT teams serve under the operational control of the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and are attached to their respective commands for administrative purposes only.
“The MCAAT inspection is the main occurrence in an administrator’s career that determines how proficient they are in their profession as well as how timely and accurately they are serving the personnel within their unit administratively,” said Warren L. Bourgeois, internal review/audit technician.
“A majority of the Marines within CPAC had never stood a MCAAT inspection prior to this, which makes the results even more noteworthy,” Bourgeois added. “I was extremely proud to see the CPAC personnel step up with confidence and give the inspectors their work to be inspected. Not only were the individual records meticulous, but more importantly, each section’s procedures were flawless.”