Chicago takes warfighter commitment to the Maxx

Courtesy Photo | DCMA Chicago team members, MaxxPro program manager representatives and Navistar executives recently met for the first program management review for the Navistar Defense MaxxPro Tactical Wheeled Vehicle reset and upgrade effort in West Point, Miss.  

CHICAGO, IL, UNITED STATES

05.20.2015

Courtesy Story

Defense Contract Management Agency

WEST POINT, Miss. - Team members from Defense Contract Management Agency Chicago recently traveled to West Point, Mississippi, to attend the first program management review for the Navistar Defense MaxxPro Tactical Wheeled Vehicle reset and upgrade effort.

Led by their commander, Army Col. D.D. Mayfield, the agency team met with MaxxPro program representatives and Navistar executives to discuss strategies for resetting these vehicles to a 10/20 standard. The standard is a sustainment term requiring all routine maintenance be executed and all shortcomings and deficiencies be repaired.

The Army has retained more than 8,500 mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles in its tactical wheeled fleet, which includes the MaxxPro Dash and the MaxxPro Ambulance.

Mayfield, who served in Afghanistan as a contract management office commander, was eager to share his MRAP knowledge and experience regarding its operational capabilities during the review. Mayfield also assured program management office officials the agency’s steadfast commitment and support of the MRAP program would continue.

“The purpose of the MaxxPro reset and upgrade with Navistar is to meet projected fielding schedules and to ensure the readiness of the MaxxPro fleet for future deployments to support and protect the warfighter,” said Mayfield. “Failure to meet the upgrade schedule can seriously jeopardize the current training plan for units deploying to any contingency operations. In addition, delays would limit the ability to fill Army prepositioned stocks.”

Michael Thompson, the DCMA Chicago MaxxPro program integrator, has been involved with the project since 2007. He explained why his experience and familiarity with the Army program office staff is beneficial to both the agency and its customer.

“We share a common goal, which is to ensure that our men and woman who are in harm’s way receive the best vehicle possible while serving abroad,” he said. “And even though the program is currently in the sustainment phase, I have been an intimate part of this project since the vehicle conception and through production. My knowledge about the vehicle is quite extensive and offers the type of collaboration needed when interfacing with our Army customer.”

The initial program management review resulted in a plan to establish a contractor-government management council, which will assist in implementing the strategies identified during the review.

“All parties are committed to successfully fulfilling the contract and provide our troops with a fleet of relevant and ready vehicles,” said Thompson. “PMRs are vital because they provide an open forum whereby all interested parties can come together in order to share information. That information can come in various forms, but the overall intent is to resolve those issues that may impact delivery of the end product.”

“Our role helps the customer to anticipate problems, whereby alternatives may be considered,” he continued. “Being the customer's eyes and ears in-plant ensures that the government gets what they paid for. The customer has come to rely on our expertise when problems do arise.”

• Date Taken: 05.20.2015
• Date Posted: 05.20.2015 08:39
• Story ID: 163925
• Location: CHICAGO, IL, US