WASHINGTON (Oct. 15, 2014) -- Fostering innovation in a bureaucratic environment can be a daunting challenge.
Military and industry leaders gathered at an Institute of Land Warfare forum during the Annual Association of the United States Army Meeting Oct. 15 to discuss the potential to harness Army innovation -- particularly in a time of reduced fiscal resources.
The forum, "Delivering Innovation for the Army," brought together key acquisition, materiel and industry experts to discuss the challenges and opportunities in the coming years.
Army Materiel Command Deputy Commanding General Lt. Gen. Patricia McQuistion was included on the panel, alongside Heidi Shyu, Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics and Technology) and others.
McQuistion used the lessons learned from past Gulf War deployments to illustrate the progress AMC has made in its logistics innovations.
"Take a look at where we were after Desert Storm, and all of the lessons we learned out of that massive logistical enterprise, and how much we've evolved in the past 13 years," McQuistion said. "We changed our approach, started using simulations; we really opened up a lot of avenues to sustainment in theater."
One of AMC's most aggressive innovations, she said, has been the realignment of units with combatant commands and deployable units.
"We have reorganized to be as far forward with the Warfighter as we can be," she said. "Our Logistics Readiness Centers are embedded with tactical units. It's really just a launching point for the way ahead."
McQuistion used the examples of the Rapid Equipping Force, TRADOC concept exercises and the Network Integration Evaluation as methods that can be used to help define the true logistic requirements of the future force.
"Putting the big idea out there -- the big goal -- will help us drive relooking our processes from the beginning to the end, from equipping to sustaining," McQuistion said. "We need to really understand what is needed. If we can reduce our flow and streamline what we send forward so we send less of the things we don't need, that will be a huge savings."
One of the driving forces in encouraging and developing innovation is the workforce, McQuistion said.
"There have been many studies done on what motivates innovation," she said. "The one that resonates with us is to have a cause 'larger than self.' We have that down pat -- there is nothing about our military that doesn't speak to a cause or reason larger than self."
The second motivator, she said, is recognition from peer groups and the larger population of those in the research and development, science and technology industry. The third is having some level of autonomy in their work.
"As we draw down and become more centralized, that lack of autonomy may be less attractive to the work force," McQuistion warned. "It ties back into this year's AUSA theme of 'Trusted Professionals.' Trusted professionals is what we are, and what we aspire to be, but we have to take that down to our lowest levels of the workforce. The tendency is to put in more policy, more legislation, and that burdens us even more."
As the panel addressed the importance of innovation and logistics, Shyu pointed out that across the materiel enterprise, logistics is not often valued.
"We typically concentrate on the 'pointy end of the spear,'" Shyu said. "However, if you don't have the logistics backbone, your pointy spear won't last long."
Shyu emphasized the need for innovation, noting that the Army chief of staff has said the DOD is reluctant to use the force because of the time and costs associated with its movement.
"We have to make a decision -- what can we do as part of the materiel enterprise to think outside of the box? How do we deliver items now? " Shyu asked. "How can we compress the process and do that quicker during war time -- and how can we change that by doing something completely different?"
McQuistion said the future must include efficiencies gained from enhancing current operations.
"Streamlining our processes makes them even more efficient," McQuistion continued. "As we look to the future, we know how important it is to partner more and more with industry. We have an opportunity to leverage the best of our organic and commercial enterprises. We have done that well with larger companies, and we are looking for more opportunities with small businesses."
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