Center for Service Support Announces Domain Civilian of the Year

By CSS Public Affairs

NEWPORT, R.I. (NNS) -- The learning standards officer (LSO) assigned to the Center for Service Support (CSS) on board Naval Station Newport, R.I., was selected as the domain's Civilian of the Year Jan 23.

Michael Buechel, a retired Navy master chief petty officer who has worked for CSS since 2009, was selected from a field of other candidates throughout the CSS domain.

CSS Commanding Officer Capt. Dana Weiner said selecting the winner from the pool of nominees was challenging because "the quality of all nominees was exceptional, as were their contributions to the CSS mission. Mr. Buechel displayed a wide range of expertise and critical skills in several areas. His ability to hold three key CSS positions led to his overall selection."

Buechel assumed the position of LSO April 10, after temporarily filling this position for three months due to a staff departure. During this time, he still maintained the duties and responsibilities as the domain and technology director and filled the role as Corporate Enterprise Training Activity Resource Systems (CETARs) analyst for three months due to another staff vacancy.

"I am humbled to say the least," said Buechel, a Mystic, Conn. resident. "This selection is more a reflection of the excellent team I have to work with here at CSS and our learning sites throughout the domain as opposed to my individual efforts."

In his position as CSS LSO, Buechel supervises a combined staff of 23 civilian and military personnel in two departments. These departments directly assist the Navy with cost savings by ensuring student wait times for training are minimal and the resources available for the students provide the highest quality training.

"We at CSS are on a continual process improvement journey where innovation and communication are keys to improving our effectiveness and efficiency in the development and delivery of quality training to our warfighters," Buechel said.

CSS and its seven learning sites provide Sailors with the knowledge and skills required to support the fleet's warfighting mission. Each year, the nearly 250 staff and faculty members of CSS deliver training to more than 10,000 personnel serving in the Navy's administration, logistics and media communities.