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| I had been with DCAA for well over six years by the time my transfer from The Litton Resident Office to The Rocketdyne Suboffice took place in 1995. Compared to where I had worked before, my new surroundings were much more relaxed. In fact, some employees went so far as referring to it as "The Country Club." Problem was, some seriously anal-retentive supervisors & managers (read: jerks) in The Agency had problems with this perception of any office under their so-called "jurisdiction;" so they set about rectifying it. Unfortunately, in their quest to weed out the "deadwood," they also forced out long term auditors whom had done great work for The Agency; employees that were really dedicated to their jobs. In 1998 alone, five different guys who were really cool and easy to get along with left my office. What was a predominantly male staff once upon a time has gradually turned into the estrogen-driven, hen-pecked office it is today. D'office sure has changed in the past several years; and not necessarily for the better. Those guys who were able to get out when they did could easily be considered the lucky ones. While I could not dig up photos of all those guys, at least there were pictures of a few that can be used to give ya an idea of who made this office a fairly cool place to work in for a while. |
| John Ogle. Never have I seen a guy so dedicated to this job or any other. He was always in the office before 6:a.m. (usually to make coffee, eat breakfast and read the newspaper), never out the door before 4:p.m. and took sick leave only when he absolutely had to. He spent 20 years in the military, and retired. Even though receiving retirement from The Army, he went to work for The Agency; and was only 4-5 years away from retiring after 20 years here, too. Unfortunately, an extremely moody female auditor in the office had set her sights on just about every male working here--targeting John early on by poring through all of his working papers and past assignments just to dig up every single one of the smallest errors & omissions she could find. It didn't help that she soon became The Office Supervisor for a while, which meant that higher-ups had to hear her bullshit evalutations about John and take a serious look at his work & career. Well, The Bitch got her wish: John was fired midway through 1998. It was really sad to see him go; but he left with his chin up...and with every intention of fighting this unfairness. Eventually, he reached an agreement where he could retire early instead of being fired, and get all the retirement earnings he had worked so long for. Although good to learn he was able to move on from that whole episode, d'office was forever changed by his departure. |
| Tom Jones. Yes; that is his real name. Like Larry, I first met Tom via that softball team. He was also a supervisor who transferred over to Litton before I left for Rocketdyne. About two years after I transferred over, he did too. Funny as fate would have it: soon after he arrived in d'office, I found out my girlfriend o'the time (Lea) was working in the same office as Tom's wife! Anyway... It seemed like The Agency just couldn't keep a supervisor in place for our office very long; only a paltry few lasted more than a year. Some transferred elsewhere; others even took downgrades; and a few--like Tom--chose to retire. In fact, he accepted that early-out option Larry did; and they retired at the same time after Tom had only been with our office roughly 10-11 months. What was nice about Tom, aside from the fact that we were already acquainted, is that he was a male supervisor for an office which was on the verge of being overrun by estrogen. In d'office, when guys have been in charge, the atmosphere is relaxed; but with women in charge, suddenly there is tension and stress over the most miniscule details...ranging from personal appearance to interior decorating. (The nit-picking has driven me to the point of feeling hen-pecked more times than I can count.) Tom was the last male supervisor we had in d'office; and it was really a shame to see him go. Aside from knowing his job, he was a cool guy with a good sense of humor and easy-going nature. But like Larry, he is so much better off now in retirement--especially considering how The Agency has upped their micromanagement efforts in recent years. |
| Larry Gibson. Amidst an office filled with nerds, geeks & straights with the biggest sticks up their asses, this is one guy who never lost his cool, always had a sense of humor and was the easiest co-worker to get along with. Quick with a smile, nice (often loud) and friendly gestures, Larry was whom you could talk with and listen to at almost any time, day or night, good mood or bad. In stark contrast to most of the married mothers & fathers in d'office, he was a single guy who never settled down. He often repeated a lot of cliches; but from him, they didn't sound cheesy or repetitive. I think it was his method of delivery, via his rhythmic speech patterns, that made even the oldest lines sound stylish--no matter how many times you heard 'em. Larry was a guy I'd first met in the late '80s, when we were both on an Agency softball team; and it was good to have him as one of the familiar faces welcoming me when I transferred over to Rocketdyne. Ever the advid fan of sports (especially NBA & NFL), he could talk your ear off about players, teams & stats for hours on end; but he was also a wise man whom had lived many years, learned countless things and could even come off as sage-like through his unique urban style. Although he was able to fend off The Bitch who hoped to get him fired along with John, he didn't last much longer than his co-worker...choosing to go with an early-out retirement deal 3-4 months later in 1998. While it was not such a big deal to see Larry go at the time, in retrospect, his departure was significant. He was part of the audit core that had been in d'office for several years. Now with both he & John gone, it seemed that this office had lost its heart. Larry is a good guy who was fun talking to and easy to get along with. In an Agency where I have had only an elite few friends, he was counted among them. |
| DEFENSE CONTRACT AUDIT AGENCY |
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