Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. -- Inclement weather did not stop the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command from delivering a productive, insight-filled quarterly briefing to Gen. Gus Perna, commander of U.S. Army Materiel Command, on Thursday, Feb. 13.
Through a video teleconference in lieu of an in-person briefing, Perna praised CECOM for its progress in pursuing his priorities, such as 100% supply availability.
"Three years ago, our first reaction was, 'That can't be done,'" he said. "Today we're saying, 'Let's dig in and figure out how to get it done.' Look at the change we're bringing about. But it's no time to rest on our laurels."
CECOM Commander Maj. Gen. Mitch Kilgo kicked off the briefing by noting some of the command's accomplishments since Perna's last visit, such as issuing 44 repair-cycle-float systems in support of the Tobyhanna Army Depot. Repair cycle floats are pools of high-priority communications systems that are immediately ready to issue to units if their systems break down. Perna noted that his vision is for repair cycle floats and secondary items to eventually become up to 90% of the depot's workload, in order to provide predictability for the supply chain and workforce.
Danielle Moyer, deputy director of the CECOM Software Engineering Center, updated Perna on her work reviewing command contracts to find new cost savings and efficiencies. A key element of the strategy is to move contracts to be output-based rather than just the number of hours worked. CECOM also consolidated 61 contracts down to just 14, saving the government $35 million, she said. Perna called the effort "outstanding" and encouraged her to share best practices across AMC's other life cycle management commands.
Abel Salgado of the CECOM Integrated Logistics Support Center briefed Perna on predictive maintenance, the ILSC's new proactive approach to mitigate equipment problems before they happen. The team is now identifying the best candidate systems, and it will then conduct a feasibility, engineering and financial analysis, he said.
In addition, Col. John McDonald, commander of the Tobyhanna Army Depot, updated Perna on how the depot raised its Performance to Promise, a measure of its ability to deliver services on time, to 99% in January 2020. Lisha Adams, AMC executive deputy to the commanding general, noted that Tobyhanna best practices had been shared across the organic industrial base, including its corporate philosophy, management and culture.
Liz Miranda, director of the ILSC, outlined how the command is managing assets and ensuring units send their equipment to Tobyhanna Army Depot for maintenance and overhaul in a timely manner. "We need to make sure the units understand their responsibility in this process," she said.
"We have to make it visible," Perna responded. "When I was a major or lieutenant colonel, no one was asking me if I was shipping stuff. People will do what they know they have to do."
Complementing the hardware discussion, Garrett Shoemaker of the SEC outlined the center's progress in software readiness. This process involves making units consider software updates as part of their battle rhythm routine. Specifically, the SEC is working with the Department of the Army G3/5/7 to create a cyber readiness framework. It is also developing an enterprise management decision support tool that allows commanders to easily visualize their unit software readiness.
Perna closed the briefing by saying: "I'm always energized when you brief. I'm looking at, are you operationalizing your efforts? It's not about the charts or the next monthly metric. What are we doing to make ourselves better?"
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