His dedication and program acumen are responsible for keeping the Space and Missile Systems Center’s Global Positioning System Directorate on course.
“I’m honored to have been selected as the Department of Defense Product Support Manager for the calendar year 2016. While my name is on that award, I truly feel this is recognition for my entire team that provides product support, both here at Los Angeles Air Force Base, and at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado,” said Mediate.
“This award recognizes PSMs as key leaders in providing the very best product support for our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines,” stated Ellen Lord, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment, in her message announcing the fifth annual award winners throughout the Department of Defense. “The award furthers the Defense Acquisition Workforce vision of creating a high quality, high-performing, agile DAW to achieve technological superiority and protect America's national security.”
Mediate’s high orbit accomplishments include leading his efforts in sustaining legacy GPS satellites and ground stations, achieving all-time record GPS system performance and service to the world. He accomplished this by fielding the largest Operational Control Segment software modification in GPS history consisting of three major software releases, correcting 1,475 system problems, and improving the GPS ground system operational availability to 98 percent.
“Bruno did a phenomenal job leading our sustainment team to ensure GPS continues to be the ‘Gold Standard,’ enabling 24/7 access for porting our joint warfighters, allies, civil partners, and over four billion worldwide users,” said Col. Steven P. Whitney, director, Global Positioning Systems Directorate. “This is the guy responsible for getting you from Point A to Point B.”
Mediate continued to achieve GPS record-setting performance by awarding 18 sustainment contract modifications in less than six months during the busiest sustainment year in a decade, which was due to delayed fielding of the GPS Next Generation Operational Control System, or OCX. To ensure the global infrastructure was in place to accommodate the future OCX deployment, he successfully partnered with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to execute a $200,000 modification to prepare existing NGA remote sites for OCX, expanding GPS global reach satellite visibility while increasing overall global navigation accuracy.
Additionally, he led actions resulting in a $14 million savings in GPS Command and Control System sustainment costs, while ensuring uninterrupted operations support of C2 systems and remote sites. Mediate responded to DoD cyber security requirements by developing a $130-million cyber upgrade plan, implementing significant improvements to harden the cyber posture of GPS, and delivering continuous key capabilities to prevent GPS catastrophic cyber-attack.
“Under Bruno's outstanding leadership, he has reorganized GPS Sustainment in a way that allows us to deliver new capabilities at an unprecedented rate,” said Maj. Johnny Touchstone, Deputy, Global Positioning System Program Support Branch.
Mediate led his team to excel by updating numerous worldwide facilities to support future GPS systems, saving over $5 million in infrastructure build-out costs. Through his deliberate cost-cutting efforts, he reduced the $3-million annual support cost for the oldest satellites down to $1.5 million annually.
“Bruno and his team’s extraordinary work sustaining legacy GPS satellites and ground stations, as well as achieving all-time record GPS performance and service to the world, represent the best of SMC, and the DoD,” stated Lt. Gen. John Thompson, commander of SMC and Air Force program executive officer for Space, in a message to base personnel.
“You don’t get here by yourself. SMC as a whole, and especially within the GPS community and my specific product support team, we really operate as one unit,” said Mediate. “We’re always pulling together and making sure we’re doing what’s best for the operational customer, and as I say, the recognition and honor may have my name on it, but it’s really dedicated to all the folks that I work with, and that work for me as well, in this recognition for the support that we have for the GPS system.”