AMCOM Commander Emphasize Need For Leadership To Ensure Aviation Readiness

By Ms. Kari Hawkins (AMCOM)March 3, 2016

SPEAKING AS AMCOM COMMANDER
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Brig. Gen. Doug Gabram made his first public appearance as the commander of the Aviation and Missile Command during the Worldwide Aviation Logistics Conference at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., March 1-3, 2016. He spoke to aviation logistics Soldiers about... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
LEADING AVIATION SUSTAINMENT
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Aviation and Missile Command commander Brig. Gen. Doug Gabram, at right, introduces Command Sgt. Maj. Glen Vela and Chief Warrant Officer 5 Leonte Cardona as members of his team leading aviation sustainment to the aviation logistics Soldiers who atte... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- With 14 days as commander of the Aviation and Missile Command, Brig. Gen. Doug Gabram took the stage at the Worldwide Aviation Logistics Conference on March 1, sending a message of support to the Army's aviation logistics Soldiers.

He told the aviation logistics Soldiers that the four-day conference, hosted by AMCOM at Redstone Arsenal, is "about leader development. This is about people, not about things. It's about investing in people so that we have people who are qualified. Readiness is a team sport. This is about people over processes.

"In your wheelhouse, in your influence, do the best you can. Build leaders. Who is going to take your place when you leave? We need your positive energy … The centerpiece is the Soldier. We can't lose that focus."

During the conference, Soldiers were briefed on the future of the Army Aviation branch, current and projected impacts on the aviation sustainment strategy, field maintenance capabilities, depot sustainment, corrosion prevention, field support, maintenance technology and the Army Aviation Rapid Deployment Equipping Program. They participated in working groups focused on acquisition and modernization in support of sustainment; sustainment capacity and capability; processes, practices and doctrine; and policy, regulation and reporting.

Army aviation is essential to maintaining a globally responsive, regionally engaged, ready and modern Army, Gabram told the Soldiers during the conference's opening remarks. And, it is the Army's aviation and missile enterprise -- led by AMCOM with such major partners as the Program Executive Offices of Aviation, and Missiles and Space; the Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center and Army Contracting Command-Redstone, along with support from the Training and Doctrine Command as well as the Forces Command -- that will keep Soldiers in the fight with the best designed and maintained aviation and missile systems.

"TRADOC defines the requirements. FORSCOM trains the ready forces. The Acquisition Corps turns requirements into weapon systems and equipment. We at AMCOM, along with our sister organizations in the Army Materiel Command, sustain these weapon systems and equipment. It is a circle of aviation maintenance … We can have the greatest aircraft, but if they are not maintained properly and cared for, then we can't be in the fight," Gabram said.

With more than a decade of conflict, high optempo has created sustainment strategies that can no longer be sustained because of rising costs, the aging fleet and the heavy reliance on contractors, Gabram said. With the cost of ownership going up and the available resources going down, there is cause for concern regarding decreased readiness.

"The optempo is going down. But we still need to be ready for war," he said.

"We are a supporting effort. The only reason we exist is the Soldier. And, when it's dark and scary and the weather is bad, are we going to be there?"

Gabram said AMCOM and its partners must work to reduce the time aircraft are down for maintenance. He said maintenance and training will provide readiness, the Army's top and only priority.

Using the term "P4T3," Gabram said achieving readiness must be focused on "P4" -- Problem, People, Parts and Plan; and "T3" -- Time, Tools and Training. Leaders throughout the Army should set the example, know how the supply system works, be responsible for ensuring Soldiers have maintenance training, ensure the quality of maintenance training and plan a high level of support for operations. Educating the force, dissolving the fleet mentality and encouraging the pride of ownership are all key to successful sustainment.

"We have the people and the tools. What needs improvement is the training of our individual Soldiers and our leaders. We need strong leadership at every level. We need better training of Soldiers on their maintenance tasks and well-disciplined units that treat maintenance as a mission," Gabram said.

Instead of decreased readiness, Gabram believes Army aviation can move toward increased readiness by reducing the logistics footprint and Soldier burden, improving operational availability, working as an expeditionary aviation force and decreasing life cycle costs.

"It is critical that each of you in this room play your role in increasing readiness," Gabram said.

During his comments, Gabram introduced AMCOM Command Sgt. Maj. Glen Vela and Aviation Branch Maintenance Officer Chief Warrant Officer 5 Leonte Cardona as members of his team leading aviation sustainment. During a career as an Apache pilot, and then as a battalion commander and a brigade commander, Gabram said he didn't understand what AMCOM did in support of Army aviators, and that he wants to change that within today's Army Aviation Branch.

Parts just showed up. I didn't care how it happened. It just did," he said. "But it is important that you do understand what AMCOM is and that you build relationships with this organization … We need your feedback. We want your input because you are the guys who have to live with the decisions that are made."

Gabram's message was hammered home by other conference speakers, such as Col. Julius Rigole of the Department of the Army G-4 (Logistics) Office, who told aviation logistics Soldiers, "We need you involved. We need you engaged. We need your feedback so we can come to solutions."

Col. Dave Francis, deputy commander of the Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker, said the future of the Army Aviation Branch is based on the capability it brings to the fight. Currently, more than 30 percent of aviation forces are committed at any given time, he said.

"Weather, darkness, dust … Whatever the conditions are, we need to be able to fight in those conditions. We need technology so we can fight and fly in any conditions. We need to be able to operate in any environment," Francis said.

Every one of the Army's warfighting challenges -- mobility, lethality, survivability, mission conditions, sustainment, training and leadership -- cut across Army aviation, Francis said.

"What you are doing here is really, really important and critical to the branch, and to addressing the complex and challenging environment in which we have to operate," he said.