2001 DoD Mentor-Protege Conference

Program Manager, July-August, 2001 by Collie J. Johnson

Partnerships at Work for Our Nation's Defense

MENTOR PROTEGE About the Program

The DoD Mentor-Protege Program, which Congress recently authorized for another three years, was crafted by Senator Sam Nunn in 1990, and implemented by then Secretary of Defense William Perry in 1995. Nunn envisioned the program as a vehicle for the orderly development of proteges, or small businesses that could become valued suppliers for the defense acquisition system. The program assists small disadvantaged business firms and qualified organizations that empower the severely disabled to transition from a state of modest attainment into positions where they can and do make substantial contributions to the defense of our nation. Presently, 233 firms are participating, including companies specializing in environmental remediation, engineering services and information technology, manufacturing, telecommunications, and health care to name a few. This year, by legislative action, the program expanded to include women-owned small businesses.

"Welcome to the greatest show on earth!" George Schultz, the DOD Mentor-Protege Program Manager, delivered that rousing welcome to a sellout crowd March 19 at the 2001 DOD Mentor-Protege Conference, in Arlington, Va. And for those government and industry professionals fortunate enough to participate in this year's Mentor-Protege Program, Schultz' welcome wasn't far off the mark. In fact, if their enthusiasm and testimonials are any indication, the DOD Mentor-Protege program is rapidly becoming one of the foremost, if not the best example to be found of government successfully partnering with industry for their mutual benefit.

This year's event, covering three days, focused on program initiatives; success stories within the Mentor-Protege Program; perspectives on the program from the mentors and proteges themselves; and breakout sessions with input from all three Services -- Army, Navy, and Air Force -- as well as other defense agencies, represented by the Defense Information Systems Agency.

As in past years, the highlight of the conference was presentation of the NunnPerry Awards (pp. 22-23). "The best of the best," said Robert L. Neal Jr., of this year's winners. Neal is the Director of the DOD Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (SADBU).

"Each of our mentors and proteges provide us with substantial benefits," he said. "But there are some who are clearly so much better than the rest that we have to acknowledge their performance and encourage each of you to learn from their examples."

SADBU Director Notes Changes, Challenges

Organizationally, the DoD Mentor-Protege Program is aligned under SADBU, which reports to the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics). Neal has held the position of SADBU Director since June 1996.

"This conference gives us an opportunity to reflect upon our performance for the past year and to look forward to the future," Neal said. Speaking of changes as well as challenges within the Mentor-Protege Program, he cited one of the major changes as expansion of the program, in terms of participants, to include women-owned small businesses.

"There are a large number of women-owned small businesses that are very anxious to do business with the Federal Government," he noted, "particularly the Department of Defense."

Although the resources within the Mentor-Protege program are somewhat limited, Neal said that SADBU remains committed to the delicate balancing act of trying to make sure that the pool of participants is expanded to allow a larger number of women-owned small businesses to participate. This expansion must be managed, Neal added, while SADBU is simultaneously balancing the needs of women-owned small businesses with the needs of the small-disadvantaged business community, as well as those small businesses that employ the severely disabled.

He called this challenge "a type that clearly aligns with the 2001 Conference theme -- Partnerships at Work for Our Nation's Defense. The keyword, he pointed out, is partnerships, because what the Mentor-Protege Program offers -- and what each team exemplifies in their mentor-protege relationships -- is that working together they can make major changes in their local communities, and in what they offer the government and the nation.

"The Mentor-Protege Program has brought me a great deal of joy in my five years in the Department of Defense," said Neal. "On a daily basis I get to see the caring, the dedication that each of you exemplify in your mentor-protege relationships. What a difference it can make in the local communities, and what a difference you make for our men and women in uniform!"

U.S. Congressman John P. Murtha (R-Pa.)

Introducing CongressmanJohn P. "Jack" Murtha from Pennsylvania, Neal referred to him as "one of the biggest proponents and supporters of the Mentor-Protege Program."

Murtha, a congressman since 1974, presented eye-opening, concrete examples of how the program is impacting small businesses in his district. Tying the past to the present, he focused on the "here and now," presenting what many said was the best evidence of the program's tremendous impact on small disadvantaged business firms and those qualified firms that employ the severely disabled.