Beyond the Gate: How a Day of Service Strengthens the Team Behind the Warfighter

Beyond the Gate: How a Day of Service Strengthens the Team Behind the Warfighter

By Alexzander W. Johnson

NAVSUP Weapon Systems Support Public Affairs

PHILADELPHIA — What does painting a community playground have to do with keeping the Navy ready for the fight?

At first glance, very little. But for Gwen Kalimon and Diego Reynoso, two civilian employees at Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support (NAVSUP WSS), a Day of Service demonstrated how relationships built beyond the installation can strengthen the people responsible for supporting Sailors around the world.

Armed with paintbrushes and a shared purpose, military and civilian volunteers stepped away from their usual duties to improve a neighborhood playground. The project gave them an opportunity to serve the surrounding community and meet colleagues they rarely encounter during the workday.

“We got to work with people that are right across the hall from us in the office, and we had never met them before,” Kalimon said. “But we got to spend the day with them.”

More Than a Fresh Coat of Paint

Kalimon and Reynoso, both supply systems analysts with the command’s user management team, volunteered at the playground. Working alongside personnel from different offices and commands gave them a common task outside their normal workplace routines.

“It’s nice seeing people outside of work and working together on something we all care about,” Kalimon said.

The project brought together people who had shared hallways but not conversations. Volunteers coordinated their work and contributed to a space used by local children and families. For the participants, the experience offered a chance to build relationships that could continue after they returned to the office.

Yeoman 1st Class Gwen Worthington, a supply systems analyst, reflected on how the playground project could benefit children and families in the surrounding community.

“It was great to have the opportunity to support our community, as they always support our service members! I loved playing on playgrounds as a kid, and seeing children laugh, play, and create wonderful childhood memories brings back so many fond memories of my own. I hope this refreshed playground becomes a special place where children can enjoy their childhood, make new friends, and create happy memories that they will cherish for years to come!” Worthington said.

Reynoso described the importance of “sticking to that goal and being on the same page.” He also emphasized the value of “positive energy at the workspace in order to get the job done and support what’s needed.”

Where Camaraderie Meets Readiness

At NAVSUP WSS, those workplace connections have a mission behind them. Military personnel and civilian specialists coordinate supply and repair support for Navy weapon systems. Effective teamwork helps them carry out responsibilities that ultimately serve the fleet.

Kalimon’s team provides and manages access to systems used by the command. Reynoso’s work includes administration, maintenance and training for Repairable Portal access supporting more than 1,200 Navy vendors, as well as related information assurance, contract and certification requirements.

That work may happen far from a ship or aircraft, but it helps authorized users and vendors work within the Navy’s supply and repair network. Coordination across offices matters when different people and processes must work toward the same mission.

The connection between volunteering and readiness is not that painting a playground directly delivers a repair part to the fleet. It is that getting to know colleagues, communicating and working toward a common goal can strengthen the workforce that carries out those daily responsibilities.

As Reynoso’s comments suggest, a positive environment and a shared goal help employees focus on the work in front of them. Kalimon described the same experience from another angle: people who had never spoken before now had a reason to connect.

Service That Returns to the Workplace

The Day of Service produced a visible improvement for the neighborhood and gave NAVSUP WSS employees a shared experience outside the installation. It also demonstrated the Navy’s connection to the community through the people who serve it.

When Kalimon and Reynoso return to their usual responsibilities, they may pass colleagues they now know from the playground rather than simply recognize from across the hall. A conversation begun with paintbrushes can become a connection carried into the next workday.

Behind every system-access request, repair action and supply decision are people whose ability to work together helps sustain the Navy’s mission.

The playground may be miles from the fleet, but the teamwork developed there does not stop at the installation gate. It returns to the workplace with the people responsible for supporting the warfighter.

Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support (NAVSUP WSS) provides the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and allied forces with program and supply support for the weapon systems that keep naval forces mission ready. With locations in Philadelphia; Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania; Norfolk, Virginia; and Tucson, Arizona, NAVSUP WSS manages operational readiness for almost 300 deployable ships, 92 submarines and 3,700 aircraft worldwide.

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