From the Editors

By Greg Jones, Amy Perry and Stevi AntoshJuly 22, 2020

Army Sustainment Professional Bulletin’s (ASPB) main purpose is to provide professional development information and a forum for sharing professional development information between sustainers throughout the enterprise.

As such, we typically don’t devote a whole lot of space to current events, except insofar as they affect Army sustainment. Early this year, however, the global COVID-19 pandemic inserted itself into nearly every facet of our lives, and this publication is no different. In addition to the adjustment to our own operations that we like many other organizations across the Army made, we also find our content focusing heavily on current events over the next two issues of ASPB.

COVID-19 Pandemic

The Army’s sustainment enterprise felt the effects of the pandemic as it presented a number of challenges throughout the enterprise, from the closure of schools and training facilities, to the cancellation or curtailment of major training exercises and multinational events. Even here at the editorial offices of ASPB, we have had to adapt our operations, as our staff, along with the majority of the Army Logistics University, were directed to telework. Transition from a traditional office environment to a telework situation on short notice was really among the least of the challenges this situation has presented to our Army and its sustainment community.

This issue, along with the next, will focus on the Strategic Support Area (SSA) and the ways in which the COVID-19 epidemic has challenged sustainment operations in the SSA and beyond.

July to September Issue

This issue ( July to September) will focus on defining the SSA, along with some articles on various challenges presented by COVID-19. There is no column from the Army Materiel Commander in this issue since the position is in transition, and the new commanding general of Army Materiel Command made the call to defer his first column until the next issue. Army G-4 starts off this issue detailing the impacts of Army Materiel Command’s previous commanding general. Gen. Gustave ‘Gus’ Perna has had an indelible impact on the sustainment enterprise in recent years.

The commanding general of Combined Arms Support Command sets the stage for much of the rest of this issue by outlining the challenges the COVID-19 epidemic has presented to Army sustainment, and the efforts undertaken by CASCOM (an organization largely composed of training and learning institutions) to continue operations.

Articles not focused on COVID-19 response or adjustment efforts are primarily focused on this issue’s theme of defining the Strategic Support Area.

The SSA consists of a number of organizations, facilities, and strategic partners, and to really understand what the SSA is takes an understanding of not only what is included in the SSA itself, but also how the SSA interacts with partners at the operational and even tactical levels.

October to December Issue

In our next issue, we expect to go more in depth into how the still developing worldwide pandemic continues to challenge SSA operations and the operations the SSA supports with the theme focusing on “Sustaining Contested Strategic Support Area Operations.” The previously planned topic for the October to December issue, “Sustainment Modernization,” may be addressed in some future issue. The stakeholders of ASPB felt that tackling the challenges of the COVID-19 epidemic, and the sustainment community’s response to those challenges, was an important element to explore immediately so that sustainers throughout the enterprise, and especially the SSA, can benefit from the leadership of senior Army leaders, as well as the lessons learned from fellow sustainers across the field, even as this situation continues to unfold.

Army Sustainment Editorial Staff