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    HON Lord visits USARCENT to review Sustainment

    CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait – On Friday, Apr. 20, the Honorable Ellen Lord, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment came to Camp Arifjan to visit with United States Army Central and their counterparts to get a closer look at the sustainment and logistics mission across Central Command.
    “I am very impressed with everything I have seen here,” Lord said of her visit. “I look at everything in the context of the National Defense Strategy; which focuses on three lines of effort - lethality, building partnerships and alliances, and reforming the way we do things.”
    During her visit, Lord was shown Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems and the Army Prepositioned Stocks-5 warehouse where she was able to see military vehicles and speak with members of USARCENT regarding their mission, capabilities and needs.
    Getting a firsthand look at operations has been a priority for Lord, and she said she saw a lot of resourcefulness and reform in terms of readiness during her visit here. While she said she views warfighters as her customers, they are also stewards of the resources given to them by taxpayers.
    “What I am seeing here is reform” she said. “Being great stewards of tax payer dollars, making sure that we are taking our men and women in uniform and their efforts to give us readiness, not only to fight as the US but with our Coalition partners here.”
    Lord chairs the Warfighter Senior Integration Group on behalf of the Deputy Secretary of Defense and she made the trip to speak with ARCENT so that she can better understand their mission and how the W-SIG can support current operations in theatre.
    “I keep asking everyone ‘What can I do for you?’ because I understand sometimes we have great new capability being fielded, like the counter UAS,” she said. “We need to make sure that we put mechanisms in place to get training done, CONUS if possible, and we have the right documentation and videos to allow the warfighter to do what they need to do.”
    Lord made sure she fully understood everything she was shown by asking questions and receiving hands-on instruction with the systems. She climbed into different military vehicles and spoke with soldiers on the vehicle’s capabilities and systems. Lord asked questions in each briefing from the staff members so that she could effectively capture their needs for future missions.
    “Coming into theater and speaking to people that are hands on deployed; that allows me to prioritize what I need to spend my time on,” Lord said.
    According to Lord, USARCENT’s mission is critical because a large number of Defense dollars are spent on sustainment.
    “We need to be smart about how we spend those dollars,” she said. “We also need to be very efficient with time so that we are ready for the fight tonight. What I have seen here shows a lot of smart thinking about how to get these systems ready faster.”
    Lord made it clear that buying the right equipment for the sustainers is the first step. She said making sure the equipment is useful, enhances mission capability and is appropriately designed and upgraded throughout its use is very important.
    “Sustainers are what make it all happen,” she said. “If we didn’t have our sustainers, we would not be able to go out there and fight. Sustainers have to be very agile and ready to deal with anything that comes their way. That ingenuity, that flexibility, that ability to respond very quickly is absolutely critical to all we are doing.”
    Lord said she will take the information she has learned back with her to assist the warfighters and ensuring they have the appropriate equipment as they continue their mission.
    “The focus on the mission is fantastic,” she said of her visit. “I really appreciate everyone’s generous time and their willingness to answer all of my questions. It’s really exciting.”

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 04.20.2018
    Date Posted: 05.16.2018 03:36
    Story ID: 277162
    Location: CAMP ARIFJAN, KW

    Web Views: 89
    Downloads: 0

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