Photo By Kelly Burkhalter | Hon. Brent Ingraham, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology and Ms. Nicole Kilgore, CPE CBRND observe The Robot Dog, part of the CPE CBRND CSIRP Program during Mr. Ingraham’s Dec. 2025 visit to CPE CBRND. see less
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Operationalizing Speed and Modernization as a Capability Program Executive
The U.S. Army made several changes to its structure and processes to prioritize speed of delivery to warfighters in 2025. These changes, known as Army Acquisition Reform, are a sweeping transformation of Army acquisition process. Changes included renaming Program Executive Offices (PEO) to Capability Program Executives (CPE); combining parts of legacy PEOs into new CPEs with refocused mission spaces; and establishing Portfolio Acquisition Executives (PAE), a single entity responsible for a specific capability area to accelerate and consolidate decision-making. The newly established PAEs include Fires; Maneuver Ground; Maneuver Air; Command and Control and Counter Command and Control; Agile Sustainment and Ammo; and Layered Protection and CBRND.
As a result of these changes, the organization that was once known as the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND) is now called Capability Program Executive for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (CPE CBRND), and is a part of PAE Layered Protection and CBRND.
CPE CBRND is still responsible for providing integrated, layered CBRND deterrence capabilities toour ready, resilient forces. The name change allows CPE CBRND the opportunity to put Capability Portfolio Management (CPM) into action and take a fresh look at its identity and how it does business. As part of the Department of War’s Acquisition Transformation Strategy, CPM aims to optimize the purchase and fielding of similar products for efficiency, speed and effectiveness and ensure that support to the warfighter extends beyond the acquisition and delivery of individual “widgets,” focusing instead on delivering broad CBRND capabilities that can integrate into existing systems to protect the joint force from known and unknown threats.
CPM allows CPE CBRND to buy down risk and make risk-informed decisions by reviewing capability sets versus individual programs of record. Under this approach CPE CBRND asks, “How does this capability set fill a gap?”rather than looking at individual “widgets” or capabilities that only address one finite threat.
“Becoming CPE CBRND codifies an ideological shift that we, as well as the entire Department of War, have been making to enable speed, modernization, and decrease burden on warfighters. Recently, we have been focused on delivering integrated capabilities that can work with existing systems; delivering incrementally to warfighters to ensure that they are not left waiting for enhanced capability; and increasing our touchpoints with warfighters to gain valuable feedback to ensure what is developed matches their needs,” said Nicole Kilgore, the Capability Program Executive for CBRND.
CPE CBRND is task organizing around the Chemical and Biological Defense Program’s (CBDP) four Capstone Capabilities - Integrated Early Warning, Protection, Medical Readiness and Response, and Contamination Mitigation - as well as applying data integration, data as a product, integrated/system-of-systems testing and training approaches, and modernized software acquisition practices to strengthen these areas.
“Our mission is ensuring that our warfighters and the joint force are prepared and protected against CBRN threats,” Kilgore said. “With this reimaged focus and structure as a CPE working in lockstep with a PAE, we can accomplish that mission and minimize unnecessary risks.”
