Photo By Chief Petty Officer America Wingo | Dr. Jacqueline Charles, F-35 Joint Program Office Product Support Manager for the...... read more read more
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During Women's History Month, the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) recognizes Jacqueline Charles, an authority and trailblazer in logistics, acquisition and sustainment efforts that deliver warfighters the game-changing capabilities of the F-35.
Charles, product support manager at the Combat Data Systems (CDS) Program Management Office (PMO) is not new to the support and execution of major defense acquisition programs, making her a solid addition to the PMO that – per its motto – "brings data to the fight."
Charles grew up in Athens, Georgia. She spent her early adult years raising a family and completing her education while her husband served in the United States Air Force.
"I attained my Master of Business Administration in global operations and supply chain management and my doctorate in education, with a specialization in leadership for higher education, from Capella University while my husband was on active duty,” said Charles. “Flexibility is vital for a military spouse, not only to get my education, but supporting him while deployed. I prepared myself to concentrate on my career when he retired.”
Charles' government career demonstrates the well-rounded expertise that she brings to the JPO. As a Navy civilian at Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) for over twenty years, she led logistics, acquisition and sustainment efforts at several program offices (PMAs).
During that time, Charles was responsible for leading teams in developing and implementing logistics support for a few PMAs at NAVAIR, including the team responsible for delivering next-generation jamming and airborne electronic attack capabilities for the EA-18G Growler. She also supported the Hydraulics integrated product team (IPT) at the Common Aviation Support Equipment Program Office that is responsible for delivering equipment spanning multiple aircraft.
At PMA-281 in Patuxent River, Maryland, Charles led efforts to deliver a common mission control system for unmanned air vehicles such as Fire Scout, which she said best prepared her for the F-35 JPO. Fire Scout extends a ship's sensors’ range and endurance to increase the fleet's situational awareness in distributed maritime operations.
"Working as an assistant program manager for logistics (APML) supporting a software acquisition program allowed me to become more intimate in my understanding of software,” said Charles. “In addition, it afforded me the opportunities to work with our stakeholders on unmanned air vehicle platforms and understand challenges associated with software and how best to plan for software sustainment."
Charles arrived at the JPO in February 2019 as a strategic planning team lead supporting the F-35 product support manager and the director of strategy. When the JPO went through its reorganization in February 2020 she officially started with CDS as its product support manager.
The CDS PMO concentrates on developing, delivering and sustaining the F-35's Mission Planning Enterprise and the Joint Reprogramming Enterprise made up of infrastructure, tools, and labs that produce the mission data. Mission Data Files (MDFs) instruct the F-35 aircraft's mission systems on how to identify, locate, counter and survive against threat systems in the electromagnetic environment while also assisting in identifying, locating, and interoperating with other friendly weapon systems. The mission-specific data give the warfighters a distinct advantage as the "brains" of the F-35.
At CDS, Charles advises the CDS program manager on logistics policies as well as work in concert with our F-35 product support manager for accountability of executing CDS sustainment outcomes. She leads efforts to sustain various software and hardware tools that CDS provides to its operational units that are responsible for developing combat mission data files with the latest capabilities for the F-35.
She considers the CDS work that supports the warfighter and the F-35 as the driving reason behind her rewarding days at the office.
"It is rewarding to deliver capabilities that best support the warfighters; that is the satisfaction for me any day of the week,” said Charles. “If any types of challenges occur, we make sure we account for them from a CDS perspective. That's what I'm here to do. That is why my journey brought me to the JPO to ensure we take care of the men and women flying and maintaining the F-35," she added.
Her advice to younger and eager professionals who want to join the F-35 Program or a similar program is to first gain experience.
"I feel that because of our program's uniqueness, complexity, and tempo, one has to have the experience in acquisition lifecycle management to fare well in this particular environment,” said Charles. “I think that individuals who take that time will bring a different perspective to the table to influence positive changes in their respective areas, wherever they land within the JPO," she added.
Women's History Month is a designated time that gives people the opportunity to reflect on the contributions women make to an ever-changing society. Charles said she will spend the month reflecting on the many different roles that women have historically played within the unfolding of American history.
“One in particular for me is Vice President Kamala Harris,” said Charles. “She's the first woman, and she's the first Black and Indian-American woman to be in the vice president role for the United States of America. Along with the other accomplishments made by women as of late, that is major and that's what's happening right now, today."
Charles believes that the future is bright for women leaders in logistics and sustainment.
"There are not a lot of women in the logistics career field, which creates unique challenges,” said Charles, adding that she would like to see more women take on leadership roles in the logistics career field. “Women are ready to step into these roles and thrive," she said.
As Women’s History Month wraps up this year, women everywhere like Charles can – and do –contribute to the myriad of successes that are celebrated in the government, military and acquisition management community.
| Date Taken: | 03.22.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 03.22.2022 11:30 |
| Story ID: | 416894 |
| Location: | ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, US |
| Hometown: | ATHENS, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 695 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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