Photo By Colette Topfer | Joint Program Executive Office for CBRN Defense (JPEO-CBRND) held a Wearables...... read more read more
This past July’s Green Dragon Ball marked one year since the inception of JPEO-CBRND’s P.A.I.D. U.P. approach, which stands for People first, Adapt to the joint force’s needs, Integrate layered CBRN defense, Deliver on our commitments, Unity of command and effort, and Pivot to incremental capability. JPEO-CBRND’s Joint Program Executive Officer, Mr. Darryl Colvin, came up with the acronym at the 2023 Green Dragon Ball after being inspired by the depth and intricate partnerships of the CBRNE enterprise. It represents Senior Leadership’s commitment to collaboration, teamwork, and creating a positive work environment by supporting each other; building stronger relationships with interagency partners, stakeholders, and customers; and delivering incremental, layered CBRN defense capabilities to the joint force.
The JPEO-CBRND is made up of four Joint Project Managers and two Joint Project Leads, each focusing on a unique capability of CBRN defense, thus an approach that brings the workforce together with a shared purpose and vision was crucial for Mr. Colvin. It is the legacy he wants to leave behind as the JPEO for CBRN Defense, to be “paid up” on his commitments to his JPEO-CBRND team, the warfighter, and the Nation.
The workforce plays a critical role in ensuring that commitment is fulfilled. Mr. Colvin and Deputy Joint Program Executive Officer, Ms. Nicole Kilgore, seek ongoing feedback from the workforce to strengthen what is already working, make improvements where needed, and ensure the organization’s culture continues to be flexible and resilient enough to accommodate dynamic mission requirements and advanced capability development strategy.
P is for People First
At the heart of a workforce is its people. Putting people first means going beyond managing and caring for immediate team members. It is a commitment to creating an inclusive, positive, safe, and supportive work environment for all.
To foster a “people first” environment, Mr. Colvin encourages continuous learning and development in communication and teamwork through initiatives such as workforce leadership development panels, lunch and learns and leadership offsites. Trainings are also offered on crucial topics such as sexual harassment, assault, discrimination, suicide prevention, and important JPEO-CBRND-focused topics like risk management and digital transformation, which keeps the workforce adaptable and capable of using and acquiring digital technologies.
Colvin also established a few “people first” initiatives such as presenting Baby Cups, a tradition of welcoming children born to JPEO families by giving them a silver cup engraved with their baby’s name. The cup, traditionally made of precious metals like silver, symbolizes prosperity and a successful life. For Colvin and his wife Griselda, this tradition not only honors new JPEO family members, but emphasizes the significance of a strong support system.
Another approach to this pillar is ensuring every member of the workforce has a voice. This has been implemented through the Virtual Suggestion Box, which provides a safe and anonymous space for staff to share thoughts, feedback, and suggestions, and serves as a catalyst for candid discussions and insightful questions.
Colvin noted “It’s important to give our workforce the opportunity to have their questions and comments seen and addressed. That’s the importance of our Virtual Suggestion Box, where we have seen more than 40 questions and comments answered and addressed over the past six months. Sometimes these are more conversation-starters, but they also give us a pulse on where there may be needs to address for our staff or hurdles, we can help eliminate to ensure success for our teams across the JPEO-CBRND.”
A is for Adapt to the Joint Force’s Need
A healthy workforce is adaptable, and JPEO-CBRND’s workforce must remain flexible to the joint force’s needs by staying agile and responsive to emerging CBRN threats. The recent revamp of the U.S. Chemical and Biological Defense Program (CBDP) mission and vision and JPEO-CBRND’s collaboration with Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) Joint Science and Technology Office (JSTO) empowers adaptability and proactiveness through its integrated layered CBRN defense strategy—an approach that promotes rapid development, fielding and integrates capabilities to maintain deterrence and a decisive edge for warfighters.
At the heart of this strategy is an incremental approach to capability rollout, allowing for more flexibility and trade space in acquisition decision-making so that technological advancements made in the private sector are aligned to emerging threats. This dynamism ensures that the capabilities JPEO-CBRND delivers meets warfighter operational needs and its acquisition paradigms match the speed and scale of innovation. Digital transformation and data analytics initiatives further enhance this.
I is for Integrate Layered CBRN Defense
Integration is foundational to the JPEO-CBRND mission of supporting the joint force’s men and women in uniform and ensuring their safety from CBRN threats. It spans many themes—from incrementally integrating technologies, to integrating and collaborating with stakeholders and partners, to integrating best practices in acquisition and digital transformation, and achieving integrated deterrence for warfighters—and is layered for full optimization.
From a programmatic and capabilities perspective, the integrated layered approach enables warfighters to quickly understand any CBRN threat, effectively protect themselves and their equipment, and mitigate any impacts so they can fight and win in a CBRN-contested environment.
Across the JPEO-CBRND, driven by the Joint Project Lead for CBRN Integration, are several integration-focused programmatic and process improvement initiatives. These range from the CBRN Support to Command and Control (CSC2), a system that seamlessly integrates networked sensors to provide Commanders with situational awareness for informed decision-making on the battlefield; to the Data Transformation Working Group charged with developing the JPEO-CBRND-wide Data Strategy to integrate the various data sources within the organization, enhance its data analytics capabilities, and ensure alignment with DoD and Army data strategies, not to mention several other integration initiatives across program, processes, people, teams and organizations.
D is for Deliver on Commitments
Delivering on commitments is the core of JPEO-CBRND’s mission to field and deliver CBRN defense capabilities to the warfighter. The pillar includes everything from workforce development to international commitments.
A recent example of such delivery is the successful fulfillment of the first year of annual procurement requirement for BioThrax® (Anthrax Vaccine Absorbed), a pre-exposure prophylaxis for anthrax disease, which showcases the JPEO-CBRND's ongoing commitment to vaccine readiness for active-duty service members to support their mission needs.
Other recent examples include the final delivery of an oral smallpox treatment, delivery of the Joint Service Aircrew Mask for Strategic Aircraft to U.S. Army units in Korea, and completion of new equipment training for the Tactical Advanced Threat Protection for increased protection against non-traditional and advanced CBRN threats.
U is for Unity of Command and Effort
Unity of JPEO-CBRND’s command and effort fosters a sense of collaboration and cohesion among teams and partners to maximize effectiveness in fulfilling the mission.
Mission requires that JPEO-CBRND is united with its partners across the CBDP, United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ASA(ALT)) leadership, Program Executive Office (PEO) peers, and international partners and allies. This is critical to the success of the forward-leaning acquisition strategy and incremental approach to capability delivery with warfighter touchpoints—none of which can happen in a siloed environment.
JPEO also prioritizes building and maintaining relationships with its end users. Getting direct feedback from the Joint Force helps continuously improve the development and delivery of capabilities needed to keep them safe in CBRN contested environments. The AJPEO for Strategic Engagements (SE) team, for example, helps do that by providing unique, valuable support to the CBDP, JPEO-CBRND, and warfighters through more than a dozen Strategic Stakeholder Engagement (SSE) Officers. SSE Officers are embedded with the Combatant Commands around the world, and domestically with DoD partners and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The SSE team serves as a critical touchpoint for CBRN defense requirements and capabilities for the joint force, collects real-time feedback, provides capability assurance, and strengthens inter-agency and international partnerships.
P is for Pivot to Incremental Capability
Pivoting to incremental capability means embracing continuous capability improvement and building upon it over time based on user feedback. It is an essential part of JPEO-CBRND’s integrated layered CBRN defense strategy to keep pace with the evolving threats of today and emerging threats of tomorrow.
The CBRN threats our warfighters face require faster movement, delivery, and iterative improvement of capabilities to increase readiness and preparedness in Joint Combined All Domain Operations. Mr. Colvin emphasizes, “In today’s information-enabled environment, it is more important than ever to use flexible, agile approaches to drive continuous progress and ensure the joint force has the capabilities it needs to fight and win in CBRN-contested environments.”
With an incremental delivery approach, there is an assumed risk to ensure delivery of improved, adaptable capabilities that align with requirements from the DoD Joint Requirements Office (JRO). That is why a key part of successfully pivoting to incremental capability depends on strengthening and maintaining partnerships with CBDP counterparts at JRO and DTRA/JSTO. JPEO-CBRND continues to see the positive effects of building strong relationships internally within the CBDP, its stakeholders, and with the services as well.
Enduring Dividends
One year since inception, the P.A.I.D U.P. philosophy's six pillars have bolstered the JPEO-CBRND workforce’s commitment to excellence to provide integrated layered chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense capabilities to the joint force across Combined Joint All-Domain Operations.
While Mr. Colvin and the JPEO-CBRND team prioritize being “paid up” on their commitments using this approach, the legacy of each of these pillars will yield perpetual returns for the workforce and the warfighters the JPEO-CBRND serves.
| Date Taken: | 10.01.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.01.2024 14:49 |
| Story ID: | 482211 |
| Location: | ABERDEEN PROVING GROUNDS, MARYLAND, US |
| Web Views: | 29 |
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