ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. – Leaders from across Army Materiel Command converged on Aberdeen Proving Ground for a three-day Sustainment Enabler Summit to discuss the Army’s vital new Portfolio Acquisition Executive structure as the AMC workforce implements this streamlined delivery construct to aid the overall operational readiness of the Army.
The Communications-Electronics Command Integrated Logistics Support Center hosted the event on behalf of Army Materiel Command, at APG’s Mallette Training Facility, where AMC representatives collaborated in a group environment to ensure speed and accountability across the dynamic acquisition enterprise. As described by CECOM ILSC Supply Chain Management Directorate Interoperability, Policy, and Governance Office Chief Regan Bennett, “Discussions centered on delivering innovative solutions that support the PAE construct in accelerating the advancement of warfighter capabilities in the field and leveraging agility in the Army’s supply chain network to maintain operational readiness.”
Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command ILSC Acting Executive Director Christina Rieger saw great value in the event, saying, “I appreciate CECOM hosting the AMC Sustainment Enabler Summit which allowed the sustainment community to focus discussion on ongoing sustainment initiatives that will enhance the logistics community’s ability to become more agile and adapt to a fast paced, ever-changing environment. Defining the role of the Sustainment Enabler ensures the acquisition and sustainment communities are level set and moving in the same direction to ensure the US Army remains the most dominate, adaptive, and lethal Army in the world.”
The forum aimed to establish clear and standardized responsibilities, processes, and metrics that will allow AMC sustainment enabler cells to deliver PAE support that will fuel our warfighter going forward. Over the course of three days, attending leaders addressed emerging tools and technologies that will aid AMC in this acquisition reform process, and they engaged in deep-dive discussions on topics such as the Organic Industrial Base, portfolio management, reimbursable reform, and the sustainment of foreign military sales.
Attendees at the summit leveraged their different areas of expertise to paint a clearer picture of how PAE responsibilities will be divided within AMC, delineating the path forward through better coordination and leveraging available data. “This summit offered a prime opportunity for representatives from across the sustainment enterprise to codify clear roles and responsibilities while balancing the needs of each PAE portfolio to not adopt a cookie cutter approach to agile sustainment support,” CECOM ILSC Executive Director Nicole D. Osaghae said. “AMC will continue to be a force multiplier in delivering ready combat formations through Accelerated Accountability and Readiness by delivering agile sustainment solutions to keep pace with Army modernization.”
Sessions touched on each of the six PAEs – Fires, Maneuver Ground, Maneuver Air, Layered Protection, C2/CC2, and Agile Sustainment & Ammunition – that will revolutionize the way our workforce supports Soldiers on the front lines. By identifying key metrics like risk, production efficiency, on-time delivery, cost management, and customer satisfaction, AMC can improve existing material release processes and streamline delivery to the Soldier.
“The summit’s agenda was anchored by crucial guidance from AMC, which clarified the roles and responsibilities of Sustainment Enablers and provided the command-level insight needed to streamline execution enterprise-wide,” Lisa Alexander, Assistant PAE for Logistics, PAE Fires said. “The opportunity to interface directly with AMC leadership and peers from across the PAEs was invaluable, reinforcing the collaborative intent of the new acquisition reform structure.”
Army Contracting Command – Rock Island Executive Director Lynda Armer explained the direct effect this event has on her particular organization, saying “We have been charged by PAE Agile Sustainment and Ammunition to reduce cycle time of our acquisitions by 30 percent, and we have been charged by Army Senior Leaders to produce timely and effective outputs for the warfighter. The summit was essential to understanding the impact of each enabler’s equities and their impacts on the operational Army.”
Phillip Owens, AMC G-3, Chief of Capabilities and Acquisition, facilitated the event and acted as moderator for each day of discussions. He saw particular value in such a unique gathering of AMC leadership, saying “The leadership and expertise in attendance from across the command has been critical to developing AMC's plan to support the recently established Program Acquisition Executives. The broad range of leadership participation has been remarkable and shows how committed AMC is to the success of acquisition reform.”
“The summit offered the enablers an opportunity to meet and get familiar with each other so that, moving forward, we can increase communication and collaborate to gain consistency,” CECOM ILSC Acquisition Sustainment Integrator Jenn Reed said.
CECOM Army Software & Innovation Center Executive Director Garrett Shoemaker believes that the summit offered his organization a real chance to shine, saying “The event was a great opportunity to bring leaders from the sustainment community together to align our efforts with Army acquisition reform. I was proud to showcase how the enterprise software solutions from the CECOM ASIC are accelerating the delivery of warfighting capabilities through the new PAE structure.”
Kiemba Knowlin, PAE Agile Sustainment & Ammunition Sustainment Enabler and Director of the Materiel Systems Organization at US Army Tank-Automotive Armament Command, says that the event hit the mark of timely cooperation between AMC Acquisition Reform leaders, particularly as it highlighted diverse sustainment approaches. “My greatest takeaway was the universal willingness to connect, support, and understand each other in this emerging environment. Empowered by the Terms of Reference, we have the freedom to navigate challenges and work through any friction points. It was an outstanding event, and I commend Ms. Osaghae and the CECOM team for their excellent work,” Knowlin said.
In the medical realm, the summit served as a launch point for combining ChemBio sustainment efforts from TACOM and CECOM Medical to support PAE Layered Protection and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear. Leigh Anne Alexander, Associate Director of the CECOM ILSC Medical Systems Directorate, reflected on the importance of this consolidation, saying “Our sustainment challenges are similar for these low-probability but high-consequence threats. There is an incredible amount of value in these portfolios coming together under Layered Protection to provide the Soldier with end-to-end prevention, detection, protection, and treatment against chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear agents. It allows our PAE Senior Leaders to make informed risk decisions.”
CECOM G3/4 Acquisition & Materiel Synchronization Division Chief Christopher Wilson was another of the many stakeholders who were directly impacted by the results of the event and the recommendations that came out of it. “Acquisition reform provides a once in a lifetime opportunity to accelerate capability delivery and materiel readiness for our Soldiers,” Wilson said. “The summit helped us capitalize on this opportunity by developing recommendations to standardize AMC sustainment responsibilities, processes, and metrics in support of the PAEs.”
By bringing key Army sustainment organizations within AMC together under one roof, this summit served as a catalyst to clarify roles and identify needed improvements within the PAE structure. “The summit provided valuable insights into how the AMC enterprise will support the efforts of Acquisition Reform Portfolio acquisition executives. It also offered a broader understanding of how the AMC Security Assistance Enterprise can synchronize and support sustainment enablers, International Cooperation Offices, and the OIB operation center construct,” Frank Ras, U.S. Army Security Assistance Command G3, Chief of Operations said.
“It was a very productive week and served as a springboard to drive alignment on standardized sustainment tactics, techniques, and procedures to deliver deliberate and consistent support to the PAEs and Capability Portfolio Executives,” Brian Willis, Director of the Joint Munitions Command Demilitarization & Munitions Logistics Directorates, added.
Some participants acknowledged that there is still much work to be done to refine new processes. However, despite the long road that lies ahead, participants believed getting the enablers together was worthwhile. “I can’t overemphasize the value of getting the sustainment community together, face-to-face, to start shaping how we align ourselves in support of Army Acquisition Reform,” Nick Fulgenzi, Director of Sustainment for PAE Maneuver Ground said.
Regarding next steps, Owens says that specifics have come into clearer focus. “We made a lot of great progress during the Sustainment Enabler Summit, but this is a complex task that will continue to require a heavy lift moving forward. Our near-term targets include finalizing the list of standardized functions, processes, and authorities that will serve as the basis for every Sustainment Enabler across the PAEs, as well as presenting the Summit’s recommended policy changes to AMC leadership for approval and implementation.”
AMC’s partner organizations know that they will always have the internal support they need to put the best possible assets in the hands of our warfighters. By maintaining strong internal relationships within the command and remaining flexible in accordance with the Army Continuous Transformation concept, AMC is actively shaping what it means to be a sustainment enabler during a critical time for the United States Army.
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