Photo By Michelle Gordon | Leaders from throughout the Aviation and Missile Command provide a quarterly update to...... read more read more
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Leaders from throughout the Aviation and Missile Command gathered at AMCOM headquarters on Redstone Arsenal, Alabama May 28 to provide an update to Lt. Gen. Chris Mohan, Army Materiel Command deputy commanding general and AMC acting commander.
Updates from the major subordinate commands occur quarterly to inform the commander about ongoing initiatives and priorities, as well as to seek his guidance and assistance on issues that should be elevated to the Department of the Army. AMCOM commander Maj. Gen. Tom O’Connor said the update is also an opportunity to showcase the AMCOM workforce.
“I’m honored and humbled to come to work every single day,” he said. “We have some incredible people who are committed to their country, innovative, creative and who are really working to solve problems; I think it’s one of the strengths of this team.”
In preparation for the update, Mohan told O’Connor to identify tasks that his command is currently doing that they should stop doing immediately. However, O’Connor said that rather than “stop doing,” he intended to highlight where he was accepting more risk.
“Based on the budget constraints that we have and the limited resources available, we are assuming a lot of risk across the board,” O’Connor said. “We are actually making more risk-based decisions at echelon than is realized at higher levels.”
Funding and risk-based decisions became the underlying themes of the update.
The group discussed accumulating funding risks, such as modernizing depot business processes.
Last fall, the Department of Defense announced a 15-year, multi-billion-dollar plan to modernize the Army’s Organic Industrial Base — the depots, arsenals and ammunition points. However, no funds were committed to modernizing the business processes. The OIB is the nation’s insurance policy, ensuring the Army can sustain its weapons systems without relying on outside resources, but depot workload can be unpredictable.
O’Connor said, “We talk about OIB modernization all the time, and it’s really about the facilities, the workforce and the tooling, but the one area I think we need to relook at is how we fund our business modernization efforts.”
He asked the senior commander for assistance with obtaining sustainable, predictable workflow and funding at the depots, so they have stable rates, regardless of workload delays due to operational requirements downrange. When workloads get delayed, canceled or changed at the depots, the costs continue because the workforce is hired and materials are purchased.
O’Connor likened the predicament to canceling a wedding the night before the event — the venue, caterer and florist get paid regardless of the nuptials being called off.
Mohan, a former depot commander, said he fully understands the workload issues at the depots. He told the leaders that the Army implemented commercial business processes and practices at the depots somewhere along the way. Since they are not businesses, some of those processes and practices need to be rescinded. He asked O’Connor’s team to identify a business process that could be modified and used as an example for starting a discussion with the Army staff.
O’Connor identified areas AMCOM is currently funding through other means, but that absolutely need their own lines of accounting, such as high-velocity training, advanced manufacturing and predictive logistics. He recommended an innovation funding line for solving problems and thinking differently.
“We are trying to get to the future, but there are no funding lines in the budget for any of these items,” O’Connor said. “We are pulling from other funded requirements to offset the costs of what we know we need to do to set the conditions for the future.”
O’Connor highlighted areas such as depot forward teams and theater equipment packages; both capabilities allow AMCOM to deliver ready-combat formations while saving the Army time and money.
Depot forward teams return combat systems to fully mission-capable status faster and cheaper. Artisans from the depots deploy forward to save second-destination transportation costs and bring advanced technology to the point of need.
Theater equipment packages are managed by AMCOM, which O’Connor described as “mini depots.” They are equipment packages that can be deployed forward to support the National Guard. This capability allows the Guard to keep its resources stateside to support missions at their home stations.
He said, “About 20 years ago, we developed a theater equipment package, which is managed here at AMCOM and composed of tool sets, shop sets, power generation capability, etc. Those packages can then deploy forward to allow the guard to surge as needed.”
He gave an example of a sustainment command that intended to build an engine-repair facility downrange. O’Connor offered to send a theater equipment package, which would provide a cleanroom capability immediately with only the cost of shipping, saving millions of dollars and months of construction.
In addition to funding discussions, the AMCOM team demonstrated several data-driven tools. One tracks aircraft health by leveraging data to ensure readiness. The system uses data input by AMCOM Logistics Assistance Representatives and is refreshed multiple times daily for the most accurate picture of items needed for each aircraft.
Another tool provides a holistic view of secondary item management and strategic depth. It takes lead times and demand and determines if AMCOM has enough stock to meet that demand. The AMCOM Data Analytics Team built the program internally; it is not currently funded.
“This is how we see ourselves in terms of supply,” O’Connor said. “‘Do we have the right contract coverage of the repair parts needed to meet mission requirements?’”
AMCOM Command Sgt. Maj. Bradford Smith discussed the features and benefits of the high-velocity training program initiated by the Office of the Secretary of Defense and now sustained by AMCOM. The program closes the skills gap for new employees by capturing the knowledge, experience and competencies of long-term depot artisans and creating videos and heat maps to train the next generation using technology.
Although currently tailored to specific weapons systems at the AMCOM depots, O’Connor said it could be adapted for broader use and sees it eventually incorporating virtual reality to be utilized beyond the schoolhouse and depot environment.
Throughout the update, Mohan listened, asked questions, took notes and requested additional information so he could fully understand where he could provide assistance. Before departing, he told the AMCOM team that the budget was not going to get better. However, he would communicate with senior leaders and help balance the risk.
“Our role as leaders is to take a step back and say, ‘this is what’s really important,’ and then be able to articulate that with the backing of resource-informed models,” he said. “This will help the Chief of Staff of the Army and the Secretary of the Army balance that risk while still maintaining our capability. We want them to be informed; we need to communicate, and we need them to make those decisions with their eyes wide open, and that’s our job.”
| Date Taken: | 06.07.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 06.07.2024 09:27 |
| Story ID: | 473342 |
| Location: | REDSTONE ARSENAL, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 44 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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