Faces of the Force: Keep Pushing the Needle

Anand Bahadur

COMMAND/ORGANIZATION: Portfolio Acquisition Executive Agile Sustainment and Ammunition

TITLE: Branch chief, Project Manager Close Combat Systems

YEARS OF SERVICE IN AAW WORKFORCE: 15

DAWIA CERTIFICATIONS: Advanced in program management, Practitioner in engineering and technical management

EDUCATION: MBA in management, Fairleigh Dickinson University; B.Eng. in mechanical engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology

AWARDS: U.S. Army Civilian Service Achievement Medal (2022); U.S. Army Civilian Service Achievement Medal (2021); U.S. Army Certificate of Achievement (2017)

Anand Bahadur believes each role and opportunity he’s been given has played a meaningful part in shaping his career. Each step, whether big or small, has helped guide him toward where he is today. This appreciation for growth and purposeful decision-making is reflected in his leadership as an acting branch chief for Project Manager Close Combat Systems (PM CCS), under Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Agile Sustainment and Ammunition (PAE AS&A), where he oversees a cross-functional team managing acquisition projects relating to small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (sUAS) munition payloads and Counter-sUAS interceptor munitions.

“As part of the acquisition workforce under the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition Logistics and Technology, our mission is to mature, test and field solutions to provide overmatch capabilities for the warfighter,” he said. “The Ukraine-Russia war and other world events have shown the significant importance of offensive and defensive drone capabilities, and I am fortunate to be leading a branch within PAE AS&A that is at the tip of the spear in delivering capability in both areas.”

Above all, Bahadur said, he values contributing to a larger mission. “The immediate mission is the Soldier/warfighter, but the higher purpose of coming together as a big team and in service of our country is such a satisfying feeling that makes me grateful and motivated every day,” he said.

Bahadur began his career at Picatinny as an intern at the U.S. Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Armaments Center toward the end of his freshman year of college.

“I was immediately drawn in by the culture of the team I joined, and it took no convincing for me to buy into the civilian role to support the warfighter,” he said. “I felt fortunate and excited that my time as an intern was spent supporting a project that was fielded and those feelings have continued to be a driving force for me throughout my career.”

Earlier in his career, Bahadur worked on Armored Vehicle Fire Control Systems. He said his favorite parts of the job were supporting the mission and working on Abrams Main Battle Tanks projects. “I had originally wanted to be a mechanical engineer due to my passion for cars so having the opportunity to work on battle tanks was a dream come true,” he said. One of his favorite projects was a technology demonstration involving uncrewed ground and air vehicles teaming with Abrams tanks for combat operations. During Picatinny Community Day in 2016, he also had the opportunity to drive a retired M60 Main Battle Tank and crush three donated cars during the Car Crush event.

More recently, when he started working as a project officer at PM CCS, one of his goals was to determine how PM CCS could support Army sUAS efforts.

“We wanted to facilitate the safe and effective use of items such as M112 C4 demolition blocks, blasting caps, hand grenades and shaped charges with sUAS platforms to ensure the warfighters would be safe when employing these lethal capabilities,” Bahadur said. “I think we have made significant progress having established a new Army sUAS lethal and protective payloads program, continue to support Soldier experimentation with sUAS munitions and have begun supporting the lethality side of the Drone Dominance Program. However, I don’t believe my work is done and I look forward to continuing to pushing the envelope with my team to ensure the Army and Joint Force are fully equipped with effective, safe and modular sUAS munition payloads.”

Throughout his career, Bahadur has relied on a variety of developmental experiences to broaden his perspective and increase his acquisition expertise.

“My developmental assignments as a DEVCOM Armaments Center Executive Fellow and as the Congressional liaison to PEO [Program Executive Office] Soldier [now PAE Maneuver Air] helped me gain a wide perspective of the acquisition world which has helped me build and shape my project teams. I was also given the opportunity, along with three colleagues, to establish and facilitate a program to onboard new employees at DEVCOM Armaments Center’s Weapons and Software Engineering Center [WSEC] that we called WSEC Future Force. That was such a rewarding experience because I got to help mentor and grow new acquisition leaders at the earliest points in their careers,” he said. “I also truly enjoyed taking the Civilian Education System [CES] Intermediate and Advanced courses as I built lasting friendships with my cohorts and learned so much about myself and my role in Army acquisition through those programs.”

Bahadur continued developing his leadership style through the Inspiring and Developing Excellence in Acquisition Leaders course in 2019-2020. “I definitely have recommended it to others and will continue to do so,” he said. “This course felt like a continuation of the CES courses where I learned more about myself as a leader, where I needed to improve and ultimately felt better equipped with additional knowledge and tools to continue growing as an Army acquisition professional.” He applies these lessons by tailoring his leadership approach to each situation and person. “I have tried to implement this in many scenarios when managing issues or sensitive topics with teammates both internal and external to my organization,” he said.

Bahadur encourages junior acquisition personnel to “volunteer for things,” noting that stepping outside one’s comfort zone expands skills and shows initiative. “I also believe that these extra curriculars help differentiate us in a positive way as it demonstrates a desire to step outside of comfort zones and an interest in teambuilding or organizational growth,” he said. His curiosity extends to personal interests as well.

“I fly drones as a personal hobby because of my love for photography,” he said. “My understanding of how drone technology is progressing is in part due to my love for learning and playing with new tech gadgets which usually translates to technology that we’re seeing in commercial and military drones these days.”

“There is never enough time in any given day to accomplish everything on my to-do list, and I have had to remind myself of that often and focus my efforts to address the priorities and keep pushing the needle on the things that matter most,” Bahadur said. “I apply this constantly on the job because I want to make sure I’m getting after the priorities that will have the biggest impact to the warfighter.”

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