MAJ Mark P. Henderson, who recently redeployed after a year in Afghanistan, ended his most recent tour of duty on a career high note. Henderson, who served as Deputy Director, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology(ASAALT) Operations, Operation Enduring Freedom; U.S. Forces-Afghanistan (USFOR -A) Acquisition Advisor Regional Command (Capital); and Acquisition
Advisor Regional Command (East), Afghanistan, received a coin from GEN David H. Petraeus, now retired. Henderson is one of 30 personnel whom USFOR --A selected to receive the recognition.
"It means a lot to me personally," Henderson told Army AL&T Magazine. "When I arrived in Afghanistan, I wanted to work hard and do my best to represent ASAALT and help as many people as possible. I
wanted to make a positive difference. I never had any idea a year ago that all of
it would come together in this kind of recognition, and it is a bit overwhelming,
but very much welcome and appreciated.
"For Henderson, the coin represents many different aspects of his service in Afghanistan. "I wanted to serve combatant leadership and Soldiers, while helping improve the materiel enterprise and formalizing the role of the ASAALT forward team," he explained. Henderson's efforts centered on that goal. He identified early in his deployment the need to develop and implement a common operating picture for the entire theater to ensure the "ongoing fielding of the most important materiel requirements in Afghanistan." From that, he created a weekly, standardized materiel common operating picture, which is currently a 150-slide briefing presented to more than a dozen agencies and commands. But Henderson did not stop there. In the last few months before redeploying, He expanded the briefing to include information on cost, schedule, and the performance of more than 10,000 individual pieces of equipment together valued at more than $5 billion. While Henderson took the lead on the project, he is quick to praise others for the effort they contributed. "I give great credit to the many product managers in theater for their support on this massive undertaking," he said. "There are more than 40 separate PMs in theater doing an exceptional job of delivering a wide array of products and services to the warfighter."
The recognition for his work was only part of the honor, in Henderson's eyes. "I remember how it felt to serve in Iraq under the leadership of GEN Petraeus while fielding commercial information technology infrastructure from 2007 to 2009" as the Assistant Project Manager (APM) Defense-Wide Transmission Systems-Forward and APM Vehicular Intercom Systems, Henderson said. "I was always impressed with his leadership and considered him a role model. I thought to myself back then how much of an honor it would be to meet him someday, so it was truly a shock to have the opportunity to meet him and CSM [Marvin L.] Hill, [Senior Enlisted Leader, International Security Assistance Force and USFOR -A], in person, especially under the very positive circumstances which led to the meeting." The coin from Petraeus is not Henderson's first recognition. He has also received the Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Army Commendation Medal, among numerous other awards and recognitions.
The next step for Henderson, after returning to CONUS, is to continue preparing to serve as a Department of the Army Systems Coordinator. "My goal is to do my best and hopefully be selected early for a demanding boardselect product management position in information technology," he said. No matter where Henderson goes next, acquisition is an important field to him. His motivation to excel comes from a combination of lessons his parents instilled about a good work ethic, a commitment to do "what is right, no matter what," and the Army values, which Henderson said "serve to complement and reinforce values already inherent." He is keenly aware that his actions have a direct impact on Army acquisition as a whole. "I always keep in mind that everything I do will serve as a reflection on the community … Serving with the warfighters in the forward battlespace in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait and being a uniformed member of our community, I understand the urgency of their requirements and always want to ensure the Solders get what they need, preferably ahead of schedule, within budget, and beyond expectations so they can do their jobs and keep us all safe. "Being in the Acquisition Corps is truly what I love to do, and there is never a day I go to work and wish I was somewhere else," Henderson said. "I am in the right place."
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