PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. -- Col. Willie Coleman succeeded Col. Scott Turner as the Project Manager Combat Ammunition Systems (PM CAS) during a change of management ceremony Sept. 12.
Jim Shields, Deputy Program Executive Officer (PEO) Ammunition, officiated the event. PM CAS is a project management office within PEO Ammo.
Turner had served as the PM CAS since 2009. As the PM CAS, Turner led the organization and its management of more than 100 separate programs, all of which provided the warfighter with indirect-fire artillery and mortar munitions as well as 60, 81 and 120 mm mortar weapon systems, Shields said.
The Excalibur GPS-guided 155mm precision-guided artillery projectile program successfully achieved an Increment 1a-2 Full Rate Production in 2011 and was voted as one of the Top 10 Army Greatest Inventions for 2011.
"Winning an Army Greatest Invention award is especially meaningful because the inventions are selected by Soldiers, not suits like me," Shields joked.
Another GPS-guided system, the XM395 120mm Accelerated Precision Mortar Initiative (APMI) program, was fielded in 2011.
This was the first time infantrymen were given indirect precision fire capability for their 120mm mortars, said Shields.
APMI and the XM701 Precision Lightweight Universal Mortar Setter Systems (PLUMSS) also were selected as 2011 Army Greatest Inventions. PLUMSS contains the fire control system technology necessary to combine the GPS and mission data, which is then loaded into the APMI round.
Shields said that Turner's acquisition prowess was recognized by the Department of Defense when PM CAS received the prestigious David Packard Award for Acquisition Excellence for the PM CAS Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity, 100 percent Small Business Set-Aside Strategy.
Turner called the day "bittersweet."
"I stand before you today as I did four years ago, but with a much better appreciation of how honored and humbled that I am for having the privilege of leading such an outstanding team of acquisition professionals," he said.
In his next assignment, Turner will serve as the Military Deputy for the Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, which is also located at Picatinny.
Turner's successor most recently served as the Executive Officer to the Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology.
Coleman, a former mortar platoon leader, said that he was looking forward to the opportunity to forge the future of indirect fire for the infantry community.
"Out of 19 acquisition colonel-level commands, PM CAS was my first choice," Coleman said. "I can truly say that I'm happy to join the Picatinny family and have the opportunity to lead these great professionals.
"This CAS team has been the force of our fight, and it's through their uncommon efforts, their unwavering sense of dedication and their indisputable attitude, that the CAS family of products enjoy a pedigree of excellence, precision and endurance."
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