The staff of the U.S. Army’s Capability Program Executive Simulation, Training, Test and Threat (CPE ST3) gathered for a relinquishment of charter ceremony for Product Manager Live Training Systems (PdM LTS) under Project Manager Training Devices (PM TRADE) on July 24 at CPE ST3 headquarters in Orlando, Florida.
During the ceremony, Michel Powell relinquished the PdM LTS charter to Liz Bledsoe, PM TRADE, to accept a promotion as Deputy PM TRADE. His replacement as product manager for LTS will be named soon.
“Live Training Systems is awesome,” Powell said. “This is definitely one of the best organizations that I have been a part of in my professional career both being in the military and as a DA [Department of the Army] civilian.”
Powell joined the PdM LTS team in December 2022. His previous civilian Army roles included serving as Product Director for Constructive Simulation Support, as the team chief within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology at the Pentagon, and as the Program Executive Office Intelligence and Electronic Warfare & Sensors product management officer for legacy systems within Product Manager Ground Systems.
“Over the past three years this team accomplished a tremendous amount of activities together,” Powell said. “The team here, we support a major monumental effort for the Army so Soldiers can go out, train, and help win wars in the future.”
Powell also thanked his family for their love and support not just during his time as PdM LTS, but for supporting his Army career both in uniform and as an Army civilian.
A decorated Army veteran, Powell was commissioned as an Army 2nd Lt. ordnance officer and later held key leadership and staff positions in the Army Acquisition Corps before retiring as a Lt. Col. in 2016.
“Most importantly what we did in LTS is we built a culture and we built a team,” Powell told the audience. “And I will say with complete confidence I will put the Live Training Systems team up against anyone.”
Bledsoe recognized Powell for his exemplary leadership, strategic vision and acquisition expertise through the successful execution of the live training portfolio that included over 50 individual capabilities.
“Mike’s leadership has never been about seeking recognition; it’s been about earning trust” Bledsoe said. “Throughout his career people learned that when the mission was difficult, Mike wasn’t looking for the easy assignment, he was asking ‘when do we start’. And I can tell you that’s exactly what happened when he found out he was going to be the deputy project manager.”
PdM LTS delivers world-class training devices and support capabilities that simulate combat scenarios across the full spectrum of training. It provides realistic, measurable, and repeatable training environments for Soldiers, units, leaders, and allies.
Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, CPE ST3 is comprised of a highly skilled and diverse workforce of 980 Soldiers, Army civilians and contractors, who work with Army partners to enhance operational readiness and support the Army’s modernization efforts by fielding and sustaining the next generation of multi-domain operations testing, training and information operations capabilities.