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(Arlington, Va.) Lt. Gen. Eric Fick, Program Executive Officer (PEO) of the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) held an F-35 JPO “Ask Me Anything” Skype session to connect with the workforce during this period of social distancing. The session also allowed F-35 JPO personnel to ask questions and hear immediate feedback from the Executive Leadership Team (ELT).
Approximately 150 JPO attendees joined the Skype call. Lt. Gen. Fick opened the meeting by announcing to the community that during our “new normal,” every Wednesday the Executive Leadership Team “will be hosting this virtual brown bag” to encourage and maintain a strong relationship with the workforce. Lt. Gen Fick also stated that the ELT appreciates and is amazed by the JPO’s accomplishments during the past five weeks in an office environment that finds 92 percent of its core positions teleworking full-time.
“We are upholding the SECDEF’s objectives, which include protection of our people, national security and support of the government and its response to COVID-19,” said Lt. Gen. Fick. As the JPO continues to support the nation and government’s response to this global pandemic, the F-35 weapons system remains “an essential worker” that “flies and fights around the world.” The PEO highlighted the aircraft’s support in March and April during Norwegian operations with its F-35s in Iceland on behalf of NATO, training exercises in the Middle East between the air forces of the U.S. and Israel (“Enduring Lightning”), and the on-time graduation of F-35C student pilots in the TOPGUN Strike-Fighter Weapons and Tactics Instructor (SFWTI) course. Even in times of uncertainty, the F-35 Enterprise forges onward and upward.
A recurring question dealt with the future return to the office and the PEO’s thoughts on JPO’s “back-to-work” set-up. “It is uncertain at this time, but we have made such amazing progress [in a virtual environment]. We had an opportunity to learn to use distributed tools to cut down on travel and to be more flexible in the future.”
Attendees asked about updated telework guidance (now that the virtual environment has been tested and used), and inquired about whether they will be required to take the COVID-19 antibody immunity test before returning on-site. The PEO expressed that telework guidance is “dependent on the type of work you do and the type of team you are on,” and “we will follow our SYSCOMs and DOD to figure out future requirements [in regards to antibody immunity tests] to return to work.”
The PEO also addressed questions about IT support as the workforce maintains its op tempo at home. People were interested in the increase of bandwidth and additional operational IT support.
“We work to improve the VPN and make more improvements depending on the tools being used…if there is an operational requirement to be used, it is the programs’ responsibility to get that requirement passed and funded in order to obtain the capability.” Overall, said the PEO, the OCIO is doing a remarkable job to keep the JPO connected. “Hats off to the team as we continue to march forward in a distributed workforce environment.”
Another message the PEO brought to the JPO was about the Organizational Pivot, which now sees its working groups continuing action plans in a virtual setting. The JPO continues to make good progress since the launch and is building towards key milestones within the IOC to FOC Action Plan, which will get the workforce to full operational capability across key areas, to include the CONOPS development.
Above all the questions and concerns that discussed JPO tasks and guidance, the PEO presented one overarching theme: “Spend time with your loved ones, take care of your family. Your well-being is my primary concern, and most importantly, please stay healthy and safe.”
| Date Taken: | 04.21.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 04.21.2020 19:47 |
| Story ID: | 368034 |
| Location: | ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 118 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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