REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. — Leaders across the materiel enterprise came together to lay the way ahead to ensure the Army’s Organic Industrial Base is modernized and prepared for large scale combat operations in a multi-domain environment.
Gen. Ed Daly, Army Materiel Command commanding general and the Army’s senior sustainer — in coordination with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology — hosted leaders from AMC’s Life Cycle Management Commands, the Program Executive Offices and the 23 depots, arsenals and ammunition plants for the OIB Modernization War Game, Dec. 13-15, at AMC headquarters and virtually.
“What we are doing over these three days is one of the most important things the Army will do in terms of the Sustainment Warfighting Function and setting ourselves up for future success,” said Daly. “The OIB Modernization strategy and implementation plan will take us into 2035 and beyond. This is game changing for the Army.”
Earlier this year, Daly set the path for a 15-year modernization strategy that will modernize facilities, processes and people to bring the OIB into the 21st century, infuse industry best practices and refine human capital management structures to maximize the skills and capabilities of the workforce.
The 23 depots, arsenals and ammunition plants that make up the core of the Army OIB manufacture, upgrade, maintain and reset Army equipment. This enterprise consists of more than $30 billion in facilities and infrastructure, much of which was built more than 70 years ago to produce and sustain equipment needed by the United States and allies during World War II. While some of the sites have seen incremental modernization over the years, this is the first comprehensive approach in decades.
“The OIB plays a key role in the Army’s priorities of people, readiness and modernization,” said Karen D. H. Saunders, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Assistant Secretary of the Army ASA(ALT). “It is a strategic national asset, and we have to modernize in order to maintain that essential ability.”
Over the three days, participants prioritized facility requirements and modernization efforts across all 23 OIB sites to ensure the Army makes the best use of its resources to fulfill requirements. The plan will continuously look at OIB modernization in five-year increments to validate the right projects to execute; properly prioritize them; identify redundancies, duplications or single-points-of-failure across the facilities; and identify capabilities to add to the OIB.
“Now more than ever, with supply chain issues and the impacts of a pandemic, the OIB’s purpose and importance to our Army is very clear,” said Daly. “This is about having the hard conversations and making the tough decisions that are foundational for the next 40 to 50 years of Army readiness and modernization.”
Working hand-and-hand with ASA (ALT), members of the OIB Modernization Task Force are ensuring projects tied directly to the Army’s “31 plus 4” signature modernization efforts are synchronized appropriately in terms of fiscal years. As new equipment and capabilities become available to Soldiers, so will the OIB be ready to maintain and support those systems.
“There is no daylight between AMC, ASA (ALT) and Army Futures Command when it comes to prioritizing the Army’s 31 plus 4,” said Daly. “When I think about the effects that this effort will have on Soldiers in future combat, it’s unbelievable.”
The war game also took a holistic look at each of the prioritized efforts to evaluate what will be needed in terms of workforce, information technology and cyber, and energy consumption requirements.
“This is an opportunity to step back, recalibrate and really build the future of the OIB from the ground up,” said Daly. “We are making deliberate decisions to ensure this is a feasible plan and looking at all colors of money to reach the right effects across the Army.”
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