PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J - Col. Russell Hoff relinquished command of Project Manager Close Combat Systems (PM CCS) to Joseph Pelino during a relinquishment of command ceremony on December 14, hosted by the Joint Program Executive Office Armaments and Ammunition. Pelino will serve as the acting project manager while Hoff begins his retirement transition.
The ceremony marked the change of leadership within PM CCS, whose office is responsible for providing dominant and innovative lethal terrain shaping capabilities, aerial countermeasures, obstacle breaching, explosive hazard detection, and protection systems to the Joint Warfighter and international partners.
Brig. Gen. John T. Reim, Commanding General of Picatinny Arsenal and Joint Program Executive Officer Armaments and Ammunition highlighted Hoff’s tenure as project manager.
“Russ Hoff was the right leader at the right time to lead the CCS team”, said Reim. “In addition to their day jobs supporting the readiness of the Joint Force, Russ expertly led critical efforts to meet urgent Army operational requirements while providing safe, reliable, and effective munitions capabilities to our Ukraine partners at the speed of relevance.”
In his farewell speech Hoff reflected on the challenges and accomplishments during his tenure as project manager, emphasizing the critical role of PM CCS in delivering cutting-edge capabilities to the Joint Warfighter and international partners such as Ukraine. He outlined significant accomplishments, including advancements in terrain shaping obstacle programs, the development of next-generation shoulder-launched munitions, improvements to hand grenades, and progress in the demolition and countermeasure domains.
“On top of all our day-to-day operations, our program offices and especially the business division has been very busy providing various munitions for the Presidential Drawdown initiative to support Ukraine,” said Hoff.
To date PM CCS has provided hundreds of thousands of grenades, thousands of shoulder-launched munitions, and hundreds of mine clearing line charges to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
He then thanked his deputy Joseph Pelino, expressing confidence in Pelino's ability to lead PM CCS and praised his 33 years of experience at Picatinny Arsenal, describing him as a phenomenal right-hand man.
Hoff then took a moment to express gratitude to his family, especially his wife Allison and four children, for their support throughout his 27 yearlong military career.
“I am so appreciative to be a part of the PM CCS family,” he said. “I look forward to a family reunion in May for my retirement celebration.”
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