CECOM updates AMC commander on inclusion, financial stewardship efforts during inaugural brief

By Jacob KrissAugust 31, 2020

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Gen. Ed Daly, commander of U.S. Army Materiel Command, left, discusses information with Maj. Gen. Mitch Kilgo, commander of U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command, right, during CECOM's quarterly update briefing to AMC on Aug. 28, 2020. (Photo Credit: Ann Gonzalez, CECOM Public Affairs) VIEW ORIGINAL

Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. — The U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command broke new ground with its higher headquarters Friday, Aug. 28, as it conducted its first quarterly update briefing with Gen. Ed Daly, the new commander of Army Materiel Command, at CECOM headquarters at Aberdeen Proving Ground.

Daly assumed command of AMC in July 2020. The briefing was a continuation of a process initiated under his predecessor, Gen. Gus Perna, of quarterly updates with each of the AMC major subordinate commands, including CECOM. “Please help me get the 20/20 vision I need, to get you what you need,” Daly said of his intent for the briefing.

The discussion started with an in-depth look at CECOM’s diversity and inclusion efforts. Because the nation had been experiencing civil unrest related to racial injustice over the last several months, the Army started an initiative known as Project Inclusion designed to improve diversity and equity across the force.

Together with Command Sgt. Maj. Kristie Brady, CECOM Commander Maj. Gen. Mitch Kilgo outlined the implementation of Project Inclusion within the organization. Among other efforts, the command recently began a series of listening sessions designed to foster candid conversations on diversity and inclusion, racism and discrimination, sexual assault and harassment and suicide prevention. It also relooked its entire diversity and inclusion plan and process. “We’re on the right track, but we needed to listen more,” Kilgo said. “Our plan was static, but it needed to be dynamic and changing based on conditions.”

Daly encouraged CECOM’s efforts. “There’s empirical data that shows that when organizations show diversity, they perform better,” he said. “It’s important because those diversities allow organizations to see themselves and define problems better.”

With potential budget challenges on the horizon, CECOM leaders also discussed their financial priorities and outlined how the command is executing its resources in an accountable way. Specifically, Integrated Logistics Support Center Director Liz Miranda discussed the command’s financial commitment to create repair cycle floats of high-priority C5ISR systems. These pools of ready-to-issue systems are immediately available to issue to units if their systems break down or need overhaul.

She also discussed CECOM’s commitment to depot maintenance forward, or its four facilities — two in the United States and two abroad — that bring depot-level repair and overhaul capabilities for C5ISR systems closer to where units are located. “The bottom line is we’re prioritizing depot maintenance and stability at the organic industrial base,” she said.

Tobyhanna Army Depot Commander Col. John McDonald discussed the impact of COVID-19 on the depot, CECOM’s organic industrial C5ISR overhaul, repair and maintenance facility in Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania. He acknowledged COVID-19 did diminish the depot’s Performance to Promise, a measure of its ability to deliver services on time, in March to June. But by July, P2P was back up to 95%. McDonald credited the depot’s extensive virus protection and mitigation measures and commitment of its workforce to continue executing their critical tasks.

Finally, CECOM Software Engineering Center Director Jennifer Zbozny discussed a number of budget considerations for SEC, including the high cost of commercial software licenses. She noted that with hardware, the Army can choose to not update or maintain certain systems to keep costs down. With software, however, the cost is the same whether it is installed in one hardware system or 100. “I do burn rate reviews every month; I’m spending all money as well as I can,” she said. “We’re holding vendors accountable.”

Throughout the briefing, Daly praised CECOM efforts, acknowledged the budget challenges and promised to continue advocating for CECOM priorities with Army leadership. He echoed his predecessor, noting, “If Gen. Perna were here, you know what he’d say? ‘Press.’”