AMC commander addresses Army modernization at AUSA

By Mr. Ben Gonzales (Mission and Installation Contracting Command)October 5, 2016

AMC commander addresses Army modernization at AUSA
Gen. Gus Perna (left) discusses Army modernization topics at the Association of the United States Army Annual Meeting and Exposition Oct. 3 in Washington, D.C. Perna is the commanding general of the Army Materiel Command. Also on the modernization di... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

WASHINGTON -- The commanding general of Army Materiel Command discussed Army modernization issues during a senior leader panel at the Association of the United States Army Annual Meeting and Exposition Oct. 3 in Washington, D.C.

Gen. Gus Perna joined Katrina McFarland, acting assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, on a panel addressing today's threats and tomorrow's readiness.

The acquisition workforce and their ability to acquire relevant capability was a key discussion point. Perna stressed that the acquisition and requirement processes need to be streamlined.

"The key is that we have to keep driving on the process," Perna said. "We have to make changes, not for change, but to enable those who are executing to be better at what they do. I'm not a big believer in cookie-cutter solutions, but I am a believer in setting the path so that people know and understand what the requirements are, and to execute the acquisition in support of that."

Perna also emphasized the importance of working as a team to make the acquisition process succeed.

"We need to be more aligned between the requirements generators and the acquisition process," he said, noting the importance of early-on collaboration to determine how to identify and codify requirements into acquisition processes. "If we understand it early and we move it across the life cycle plan, we can all be enabled in the end."

Perna, who leads the 64,000-strong workforce of AMC, addressed how the Army could reduce the time and cost of deployed sustainment.

"What we need to think about are the requirements on the battlefield," he said. "We have the greatest logistics corps in the world; however, if we can figure out how to lighten our loads and our requirements, we can be even better. Those two lines of effort would provide our maneuver commanders a lot more freedoms, and then would enable us to design the future of our Army."

McFarland, the Army's acquisition executive expounded, saying, "The burden on the Soldier is not just weight; it's time, space and energy, and to learn, we need to lessen that."

As the Army's senior logistician, Perna directs the command's complex missions, which range from the development of sophisticated weapons systems and cutting-edge research to maintenance and distribution of spare parts. The general also addressed the Army's efforts in acquiring future technologies.

"We need to be able to band the requirements and not be locked into great specificity," he said. "We need to band it so we have the flexibility -- the left and right limits of a requirement -- so we can allow the innovation to occur to meet the requirements. We need to field faster instead of getting a new tank in 15 to 20 years. If we field in a concise manner, it will allow us to modernize that capability to meet our requirements on time."

In response to the Army's top sustainment challenges in regard to force modernization, Perna said that the Army must first be able to maintain its equipment on the battlefield.

"I believe we need to have intellectual property rights for some systems," Perna said. "We need to be able to train our Soldiers and have the capability to do the maintenance before the equipment is fielded and modernized. We need to be able to have the supply chain support the maintenance on the field. And we must be able to understand the impact of what could happen to our systems through cyber attacks -- what are the enemies' capabilities and how would we counter that. I think we have to face that with some stark realities, and we have to do it quickly."

McFarland pledged to collaborate with AMC to keep the Army strong.

"As I partner with the whole AMC team, Gen. Perna and I are going to focus on trying to have the ability to help the Army make decisions. From design to dispersal, this whole element of life cycle management has to have the ability of visibility that the leadership needs and the operators have to have," McFarland said.

Other panelists for the discussion were Lt. Gen. Robert P. Ashley Jr., Army deputy chief of staff, G-2; Andrew P. Hunter, director of the Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group Center for Strategic and International Studies; David Van Buren, senior vice president of Business Strategy L-3 Communications, and Dr. Arun A. Seraphin, a professional staff member for the Senate Armed Services Committee. Facilitator for the discussion was Dr. Thomas Russell, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for research and technology.