My DCMA showcases the Defense Contract Management Agency’s experienced and dedicated workforce and highlights what being a part of the national defense team means to them. Today Henry Chambers shares his story.
My name is Henry Chambers, and I’m the chief enterprise architect with the DCMA Information Technology Directorate Strategy and Planning Division at headquarters here. I have been a part of the DCMA family since November 2015, and I also serve as the chief of the Architecture and Capital Planning and Investment Control Branch, CPIC for short.
As chief, I oversee the Enterprise Architecture Program and ensure the EA team provides strategic vision, problem anticipation, and problem-solving ability to the agency. I also ensure the CPIC team advises the chief information officer, the Financial and Business Operations team, and IT staff in all matters pertaining to capturing, documenting, reporting, executing, and maintaining the agency’s IT investment portfolio.
I like working at DCMA because I understand the importance of the agency’s mission. As a soldier, I was an end user. As a member of DCMA, I see how the agency strives to ensure equipment and components supporting our warfighters meet the prescribed standards and specifications. I get to lead a team of architects and analysts who understand the importance of our mission as well, and they are dedicated to our role in accomplishing it. We’re focused on documenting processes, performers, resources, cybersecurity, technology, and the investment portfolio that supports these tools, which enable DCMA personnel to perform those functions.
Twenty-five years ago, I was in Heidelberg, Germany. After a 20-year career in the Army, I became a Department of the Army civilian employee with U.S. Army Europe and Africa as an IT specialist. I just completed my 29th year of federal civilian service.
As DCMA's 25th anniversary approaches this March, what excites me the most about the agency's future is change and the workforce’s ability to adapt. Change is a constant in any organization. DCMA's mission has remained nearly the same over the years, but what has changed is the introduction of new tools and approaches designed to make completing day-to-day tasks easier for everyone.
My future goals include gaining a better understanding of digital engineering and how it will impact capability development, solution architectures, modeling, and simulations over the next few years. Professionally, I want to mature the EA and CPIC programs while preparing my team members for the next steps in their careers whether with DCMA or elsewhere.
After nearly 50 years with the Department of Defense, my personal goals include spending more time with my family. My hobbies include fishing, golf and being an armchair coach for multiple sports. Traveling to interesting places in Europe and the U.S. has always been an activity my family enjoys. My wife and I also spend time maintaining our garden and lawn.
A few interesting facts about me are: While in the Army, I spent part of my first tour in Germany patrolling the East/West German border. I worked as a German linguist for NATO's Central Army Group from 1986-1989. My family is bi-lingual (we speak English and German), and teaching our two-year old granddaughter to converse in both languages continues to be an interesting endeavor!
