REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. (Oct. 22, 2015) -- A U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center engineer's academic performance and thesis research earned him a top academic award with the Naval Postgraduate School.
James Brent Logan, a general engineer with the Engineering Directorate, supports the Apache production and fielding team. AMRDEC is one of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command centers focused on aviation and missile technology.
"The NPS MSPM program provided specific courses in acquisition that I needed to effectively do my job with Apache," said Logan. "When the program announcement came out, I saw not only an opportunity to receive my degree in two years but also obtain knowledge in areas I had no formal training on such as army logistics, contracting financial management and budget processing."
Logan received the "Outstanding Academic Achievement Award for DOD Students," for the 2015 summer quarter based on his 3.96 grade point average, his strong thesis research and his demonstrated professionalism, motivation and community involvement.
"Brent is highly driven and motivated to succeed in all he does," said Wayne Pierce, ED production engineering supervisor. "This award clearly speaks of his ability to manage a heavy load in the Apache office and still balance his personal life."
Logan's thesis "Analysis of the Army's Apache Key Reliability Issues and Recommended Methodology for Improvement," was data driven with the intent to reduce the Army's cost due to Reliability, Availability and Maintainability. Logan and two other students studied five years of field data on the Delta and Echo model of the Apache.
"Our initial intent was to review what the field data was saying about the reliability of various components on the aircraft and evaluate the plans within the project office to address those issues," Logan said. "In every case we found that the RAM data suggested there was a problem on the aircraft, the project office had a plan in place to address the issue. The ones that didn't have specific plans were because they were repaired in place by the maintainers. In some cases the logistics, engineering and Apache communities, including other Government offices that provided hardware, were working on projects and plans to improve the equipment."
Logan plans to use the research and formal education he obtained from NPS to work smarter and become more efficient for his team and the Warfighter either in his current role or any future role within the acquisition community.
"I am grateful to the support I received from ED while I was taking classes and in the thesis research. Without those areas of support I wouldn't be in the program and I wouldn't have finished the way I did. I recommend the program to anyone who is willing to do a lot of hard work and learn things about acquisition that is beyond their current field."
The Master of Science in Program Management degree is designed to provide primarily civilians DOD and other federal agencies an advanced education in the concepts, methodologies and analytical techniques necessary for successful management of programs/projects within complex organizations. The Army Director, Acquisition Career Management Office pays the cost of books and tuition for selected DA civilians to attend the program. For more information visit their website.
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The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center is part of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, which has the mission to ensure decisive overmatch for unified land operations to empower the Army, the joint warfighter and our nation. RDECOM is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Materiel Command.
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