Rising Star Joseph Arthur Rhodes
Rhodes planned and coordinated the construction of a facility at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, to support the deployment of the Movement Tracking System, which tracks the location of logistic vehicles and their content.
Age: 38
Organization: Army's Fort Lee Engineering Directorate, in support of the Product Manager, Movement Tracking System (MTS)
Title: Logistics automation chief
Nominated for: Planning and coordinating the construction of a facility at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, to support the deployment of MTS, which tracks the location of logistics vehicles and their contents. Also works with multinational forces and task force commands to develop requirements for expanding MTS.
First IT mentor: Chief Bernie Multon. He taught me that there were no IT challenges that couldn’t be overcome with creative thinking and teamwork.
Latest accomplishment: Recently, I coordinated and helped to establish U.S. Army Forces, Central Command’s policy on implementing the MTS on all logistics platforms deployed throughout Operation Enduring Freedom. This policy has changed the shape of the battlefield and will result in a level of log asset visibility that has never before been a part of the Afghanistan area of responsibility.
Career highlight: The completion of a $1 million MTS training and installation facility on Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. This facility enabled deployed assets to be trained and fielded more rapidly than ever before in the Southwest Asia area of responsibility.
Favorite bookmark: us.army.mil (Army Knowledge Centers)
Dream non-IT-related job: Dallas Cowboys linebacker
The annual Rising Star awards are presented by the 1105 Government Information Group, publisher of Federal Computer Week, GCN and Washington Technology, to public and private sector employees in the federal IT community who have gone above and beyond their job descriptions to make a lasting impact in their organization. See all the 2009 Rising Star award winners.