People, C5ISR field support top themes in CECOM update to AMC commander

Photo By Ann Gonzalez | Maj. Gen. Mitch Kilgo, right, and senior leaders from the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command brief Gen. Ed Daly, commander of U.S. Army Materiel Command, on Dec. 11, 2020.  

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, MD, UNITED STATES

12.11.2020

Story by Jacob Kriss 

U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command

Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. — Pandemic conditions couldn’t stop the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command from hosting a candid, informative quarterly update with Gen. Ed Daly, commander of U.S. Army Materiel Command. The briefing, which took place virtually Friday, Dec. 11, highlighted CECOM’s successes and challenges in providing unwavering sustainment for Army command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms worldwide.

CECOM initiated the briefing with an update on people, which are the Army’s No. 1 priority. Specifically, Command Sgt. Maj. Kristie Brady outlined CECOM’s recently initiated “SOUL of CECOM” program. The SOUL of CECOM, standing for selflessness, ownership, unity and larger purpose, combines efforts under Project Inclusion, the Army’s program to foster equity and unity across the force, and CECOM’s existing efforts in diversity and inclusion.

“Since our last update, the team has gotten better at seeing ourselves,” Brady said. “It’s taken a lot of retrospection to look through the lens of the workforce, its culture and subcultures.” She highlighted several SOUL of CECOM initiatives, such as a pilot peer-to-peer training program at the Tobyhanna Army Depot, CECOM’s industrial C5ISR overhaul and logistics facility in Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania.

“I know your leadership has been key to this,” Daly responded. “In the backdrop, there’s data and analytics. You’re hitting the right things in terms of outcomes, but how you measure it going forward will be critical.”

The discussion on C5ISR hardware covered the command’s increasing use of repair cycle floats, which are pools of top-tier-condition C5ISR assets that are immediately available to issue to Army units if their systems break down or need overhaul. Daly praised CECOM’s success in establishing repair cycle floats for high-priority C5ISR systems, and he noted the need to marry the initiative with the Army’s new Regionally Aligned Readiness and Modernization Model. ReARMM, as it’s known, features specified time windows for Army units to modernize, which he said could be an opportunity for CECOM to retrieve systems needing overhaul and replace them with repair cycle float assets.

“If we do this right, it’ll help with flow and velocity,” he said.

The C5ISR hardware discussion also included supply availability for critical parts. In this arena, CECOM Integrated Logistics Support Center Director Liz Miranda discussed the command’s efforts to do trend analysis to see how long C5ISR systems are non-mission-capable.

“Is it parts or maintenance?,” she asked, in reference to how her teams looks at the data. When it’s the latter, she noted CECOM field support representatives proactively visit units to determine what’s causing delays in getting equipped fixed or replaced.

Regarding field support, CECOM leaders also noted the need to reform how the command creates life-cycle sustainment plans in partnership with the Army acquisition community. These plans specify the number of field support personnel needed to sustain a C5ISR system. But because they are written at the time the system is acquired and not usually revisited, they do not always reflect the system’s current needs.

Maj. Gen. Mitch Kilgo, CECOM commanding general, noted the command’s success with the recently launched C5ISR software repository and its relationship to field support. “Now the Software Engineering Center is refining it, marketing it and helping units help themselves," he said. "That brings our reliance on field support representatives down.”

Daly closed the briefing by noting his appreciation for everything the CECOM team does in support of Army readiness. “You’re ahead of the learning curve with sustainment costs and capabilities,” he said.

• Date Taken: 12.11.2020
• Date Posted: 12.18.2020 13:39
• Story ID: 385339
• Location: ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, MD, US