Acquisition and Sustainment meets with Mark Colley, executive director, Integrated Logistics Support Center at the Rock Island Arsenal-JMTC
booth to discuss advanced manufacturing.
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Sometimes it pays to show up, and that is exactly what the team from the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command did at the 2023 Department of Defense Maintenance Symposium in December. The conference allowed the TACOM team to present information about several maintenance issues that are unique to and complement the work that TACOM does to support the Army’s Organic Industrial Base to a DoD audience and defense suppliers.
On the first day, as part of a joint service panel discussion, Brig. Gen. Michael Lalor, TACOM commanding general, presented the Army’s position on the Resilient Organic Base of the Future. Senior leaders on the panel discussed not only the Army’s perspective but also the work of the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. The discussion centered on lessons learned from each service regarding ongoing modernization efforts, including digital twin mapping, simulations and flexible designs. These modernization initiatives are required to allow the DoD to meet both current and future production and sustainment requirements.
Mark Colley, executive director of TACOM’s Integrated Logistics Support Center, served as a senior panel member on the second day, representing the Army’s view on the service’s partnership with the Defense Logistics Agency and the work they are doing to improve maintenance effectiveness and efficiency. The panel members discussed the opportunities, benefits and challenges of leveraging DLA Supply, Storage, and Distribution expertise of repair parts and components required for maintenance of weapon systems and equipment.
Because TACOM tracks about 77,000 pieces of equipment across 13 different fleets with various models within each fleet, Colley provided examples of how increased conflicts are affecting parts availability in the supply chain. In fiscal year 2023, for instance, the unplanned workload accounted for 65 percent of all new orders, and in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024, TACOM already has $307 million in unplanned workload, which accounts for 26 percent of all new work previously planned.
He continued, “Logistics is now a contested domain, which has increased the problem of delinquent vendors and long-lead items. Where planned purchases of critical requirements can take up to 12 to 18 months to get on contract to start production, we must get better at knocking down the administrative and production lead times. Vendors must be held accountable to contractual delivery dates. The top 20 delinquent contracts are late by at least 450 days, the worst by more than 2,100 days. Unplanned workloads, long lead items and delinquent orders are influencing readiness.”
Colley added that logistics is always in a state of churn. In one week, TACOM brought up 1,476 pieces of equipment, with 813 pieces going down during the same time frame. He stated, “Our ability to meet the Army readiness requirements is dependent on our supply system if we are to meet all the scheduled and new unplanned work.”
This problem requires a rapid response for increased quantities and difficult-to-find materials. Colley concluded that while the supply chain is meeting about 95 percent of the demand, the remaining 5 percent is having a significant impact that TACOM and DLA are working to reduce.
Throughout the symposium, teams from Anniston Army Depot, Red River Army Depot, and Rock Island Arsenal-Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center were on-site to meet with symposium attendees. The depot and arsenal teams interacted with industry and other defense services personnel to work on collaboration to support Army readiness solutions.
Teams from the ILSC were at the event and discussed Public Private Partnerships with industry experts. DoD service members worked with TACOM representatives to determine how to get additional support on individual vehicle concerns their units were experiencing and learn how TACOM supports their fleet readiness in the field.
TACOM’s Corrosion Prevention and Control program staff were also on hand. Throughout the event, the CPC team had more than 350 interactions with members of the armed services and industry experts to discuss corrosion problems and how TACOM is working to combat the issue.
About TACOM:
The U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command, a Major Subordinate Command of Army Materiel Command, manages the Army’s ground equipment supply chain, which constitutes about 60 percent of the Army’s total equipment.
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