A 32-year government
career that started after a wildcat strike at a Philadelphia
meatpacking plant ended when Army deputy chief information officer
Dave Borland retired Jan. 3.
Borland, an avid golfer who is known for his good humor, now intends
to do information technology consulting. "I can help clients figure
out if they have products the Army can use," Borland said.
He first honed his IT skills as an Air Force supply sergeant in
Missouri ordering parts for Minuteman II missiles, which helped him
earn a bachelor's degree in business administration from Central
Missouri State University.
A graveyard-shift foreman's job at a Rocky-esque meatpacking
facility brought Borland east, to the City of Brotherly Love. But
when he enforced a rule that women wear hairnets, the unionized
women walked off the job, sparking a citywide alert.
"They were some of the toughest, meanest women I ever met," Borland
remarked. That afternoon he quit.
He had previously taken a civil service exam and that night he
received a procurement job offer at the Army's
Communications-Electronics Command office in Philadelphia, asking
him to start three days later.
When he arrived for his first day, Borland asked why CECOM hired him
so quickly. Command officials said they had selected 10 guys but
only nine had showed, creating an opening for Borland. "I got there
by accident," he joked.
Borland spent years buying parts for Army battlefield computers and
testing machine. He eventually climbed the ranks to the Army's
Directorate of Information Systems for Command, Control,
Communications and Computers as vice director later in 1996, and
became Army deputy CIO in 1996.
He marveled how IT has progressed, helping transform the Army into a
lighter, rapid-deployable force. In March, he watched at the
Pentagon as soldiers, depicted as blue icons on large computer
screens, moved from Baghdad International Airport to seize control
of downtown Baghdad.
"It was actually surreal. I'm watching this icon, merely a depiction
of flesh and steel — these kids," Borland said. "This is war in real
time. And IT is a fundamental enabler."
"Dave's been doing for the past 20 years what we're trying to get
government IT people to do now," said Bob Guerra, a partner in the
consulting firm Guerra, Kiviat, Flyzik and Associates Inc.
"He brought that Philadelphia personality to D.C. He listens to
people."
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