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MWR OPERATIONS

At NAS Patuxent River

Local Recreation Price Increases:

Hinting at Enterprise Actions to Come?

MWR Categories

As illustrated with these NAS
Patuxent River examples, MWR
PHOTOS: U.S. NAVY
operations fall into one of three
categories:
s reform leaders in the Pentagon grapple with Beach at NRC Solomons Category A. Mission-Sustaining
a multitude of details involved in bringing Activities. The Drill Hall Fitness
A together — under one “enterprise” umbrella — four separate military Center. Primarily funded by tax dol-
service Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) systems operating thousands lars (appropriated funding).
of facilities around the world, actions taken by a nearby Navy base may be Category B. Community Sup-
seen as a necessary step to combat rising costs across the entire organization. port Activities. (“Nice to have.”)
As a result of a mandate in the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Pax River Bowling Center. A mix
Act (NDAA), the Defense Department has been working for several months of appropriated funding and monies
toward “reforming” its business line operations in several categories into systems generated through customer partici-
with a department-wide approach. One category is “community services” — pation fees.
including exchanges, commissaries and lodging operations as well as MWR
and other programs. Category C. Revenue-Gener-
Working under the aegis of the newly minted Chief Management Officer ating Activities. (Self-sustaining.)
(CMO) in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), the reformers have a The River’s Edge Catering and
deadline of the current fiscal year-end. Conference Center. Ineligible for
NAS Patuxent River, Md., one of seven bases in Naval District Washington any support. Funding comes only
(NDW), is located about 70 miles southeast of the Nation’s Capital, where the from revenue generated by the facil-
Patuxent River empties into the Chesapeake Bay. The air station also manages ity via the prices paid for its goods
the Navy’s largest recreation center, NRC Solomons, directly across the river; and services.
together they make up a popular district recreation destination.
Recent actions taken by the base to maintain viability of its MWR programs,
primarily consisting of modest price increases or reductions in hours of opera-
tion, may be seen by the Pentagon’s reform leaders as applicable across the entire Defense Department.

ASSURE QUALITY OF SERVICES
According to air station Fleet and Family Readiness (N9) Director Jeff Sias, the changes result from financial
restrictions that impact services at region and installation levels and are necessary to assure that the quality of
services continues for years to come.
“Throughout the Navy enterprise, we’re struggling for fiscal support; and that includes the MWR program around
the world, not just here at Pax,” Sias explained. “We don’t have the money we used to have even just a few years ago.
This is about having to stay up with inflationary costs incrementally and doing it smartly; it’s not to make a profit.”
MWR operations, seen in general as military community support, are not permitted to make significant profits,
operating instead with the goal of breaking even or at least not losing money.
“We are expected to operate our Category C activities like a true business would outside the gate, but where
we differ is that we’re not required to generate the large profit margins of a civilian company,” said NAS Patuxent
River MWR Director Doug Arnett.
“In this category, we have to maintain revenues at least 5 percent above
break-even margin, which is very small, to put back into programming River’s Edge Catering and Conference Center
and activities. When we change
our prices or adjust our services, it
may be perceived by the customer
that we’re trying to make more,
but in most cases, we’re just try-
ing to generate enough to pay for
what we do.”
Increased fees are not the only

FEBRUARY 2018 | MILITARY CLUB & HOSPITALITY 9