WEBVTT

00:06.640 --> 00:10.470
Yeah . I came into back into D .

00:10.470 --> 00:12.810
L . A . I had left the L . A . In 2000

00:12.810 --> 00:15.470
and four , retired from the army as as

00:15.470 --> 00:19.300
the director of lin uh

00:19.310 --> 00:21.520
weapons , land based weapons systems

00:21.520 --> 00:25.140
directorate , I came back in 2008 as

00:25.140 --> 00:27.740
the acquisition executive for a land

00:27.740 --> 00:30.090
and maritime . The very first mission

00:30.090 --> 00:33.470
that I had coming back was the support

00:33.480 --> 00:35.591
of the M raps . So that the challenge

00:35.591 --> 00:38.320
in that was we were deploying a whole

00:38.320 --> 00:40.153
variety , the United States were

00:40.153 --> 00:42.376
deploying a whole variety of em ramps .

00:42.440 --> 00:45.570
Um But the threat was continuing to

00:45.570 --> 00:49.510
change . If you go back

00:49.510 --> 00:52.170
to the to the war in Afghanistan and

00:52.170 --> 00:54.170
the war in Iraq . One of the things

00:54.170 --> 00:56.337
that was going on and you know , we we

00:56.337 --> 01:00.000
we uh we invaded Iraq

01:00.010 --> 01:03.570
in 2003 from that point until

01:03.580 --> 01:07.350
around 2007 us was taking a

01:07.350 --> 01:10.460
lot of casualties from uh what it was

01:10.460 --> 01:13.900
called I . E . Ds or uh improvised

01:13.900 --> 01:15.990
explosive devices . We were taking a

01:15.990 --> 01:17.823
lot of challenges are up armored

01:17.823 --> 01:20.380
Humvees uh even though they were up

01:20.380 --> 01:22.780
armor and just are soft skin vehicles ,

01:22.780 --> 01:25.920
there were no match for uh these I . E .

01:25.920 --> 01:27.920
D . S . And we were losing a lot of

01:27.920 --> 01:30.820
soldiers uh and marines uh to those ,

01:30.830 --> 01:32.980
to those bombs , roadside bombs and

01:32.980 --> 01:35.830
those kinds of things . Uh So the force

01:35.830 --> 01:38.070
needed some of something else to

01:38.070 --> 01:41.810
protect them . Uh Uh and and

01:41.810 --> 01:45.690
so in 2007 the

01:45.690 --> 01:49.590
Secretary Defense made a commitment to

01:49.600 --> 01:51.620
to start deploying , developing and

01:51.620 --> 01:55.460
deploying uh my resistance armor

01:55.460 --> 01:58.170
protection devices or m wraps and

01:58.170 --> 02:00.226
putting those in the field so we can

02:00.226 --> 02:02.170
protect our soldiers and and allow

02:02.170 --> 02:04.281
people to come home . The criticality

02:04.281 --> 02:06.114
of getting these vehicles on the

02:06.114 --> 02:08.337
battlefield in sufficient quantities to

02:08.337 --> 02:10.503
make a difference was really stressing

02:10.503 --> 02:12.460
industry at the time . And so the

02:12.460 --> 02:14.700
industry was at the same time they were

02:14.700 --> 02:16.922
trying to produce em raps to put on the

02:16.922 --> 02:19.240
field , the configurations of the M

02:19.240 --> 02:21.350
raps they were making were changing

02:21.360 --> 02:23.527
even as they were coming down the down

02:23.527 --> 02:25.320
the production line and from a

02:25.320 --> 02:27.376
logistician point of view , which is

02:27.376 --> 02:29.376
where land and maritime and de Ella

02:29.376 --> 02:32.000
came in . We were now having to buy

02:32.000 --> 02:35.660
parts in support of systems that were

02:36.240 --> 02:38.870
even before we bought , the parts were

02:38.870 --> 02:41.090
becoming obsolete because they have

02:41.090 --> 02:43.423
been superseded by some other variation .

02:43.540 --> 02:46.150
Um so uh

02:47.540 --> 02:50.670
our challenge was to get the right tech

02:50.670 --> 02:53.510
data to get in with the suppliers to

02:53.510 --> 02:55.830
make sure we got ahead of the curve uh

02:55.840 --> 02:57.896
to buy the right things at the right

02:57.896 --> 02:59.870
time to get it in the hands of our

02:59.870 --> 03:02.320
soldiers and marines . Uh so that we

03:02.320 --> 03:04.431
can protect their life . It didn't do

03:04.431 --> 03:06.376
any good to put an end wrap in the

03:06.376 --> 03:08.542
field and it doesn't run or it doesn't

03:08.542 --> 03:10.598
have the parts to sustain it . Uh it

03:10.598 --> 03:13.540
just becomes a uh becomes a stationary

03:13.540 --> 03:16.230
peel box . Right ? So we had to get

03:16.230 --> 03:18.230
that we had to solve that logistics

03:18.230 --> 03:21.690
problem . Um and my role was was trying

03:21.690 --> 03:24.840
to help facilitate that process . A lot

03:24.840 --> 03:26.729
of great folks , we have a lot of

03:26.729 --> 03:28.840
technical people uh , from our , from

03:28.840 --> 03:31.062
our engineering standpoint , we had the

03:31.062 --> 03:33.173
buying activities both in the marines

03:33.173 --> 03:35.740
and the army . Uh , and then we work

03:35.740 --> 03:39.620
very closely very closely uh

03:39.630 --> 03:42.060
with the suppliers and we had a variety

03:42.060 --> 03:45.540
of suppliers around the United States

03:45.550 --> 03:48.110
who were struggling quite frankly to ,

03:48.120 --> 03:50.490
to to meet the demand for the vehicles

03:50.500 --> 03:53.010
and then meet the demand for changing

03:53.010 --> 03:55.010
threat and then meet demand for the

03:55.010 --> 03:57.010
logistics . And so it took a lot of

03:57.010 --> 03:59.910
work and effort um around here , it was

03:59.920 --> 04:01.920
in rap in the morning and it was in

04:01.920 --> 04:04.220
rapid night and uh , I'm rapping

04:04.220 --> 04:06.300
between because we were constantly

04:06.300 --> 04:08.530
trying to figure out and , and I used

04:08.530 --> 04:11.600
to call it looking around the corner to

04:11.610 --> 04:14.750
see what was coming on at us , so we

04:14.750 --> 04:16.806
could be in a better position in the

04:16.806 --> 04:19.750
better posture to support uh , the

04:19.760 --> 04:22.550
field failure was not an option . We

04:22.550 --> 04:24.828
needed that we needed to be successful .

04:24.828 --> 04:27.240
And I would , I would say well , as ,

04:27.240 --> 04:29.470
as , as , as an acquisition

04:29.480 --> 04:32.490
professional . Uh , well we talk a lot

04:32.490 --> 04:34.712
about our contractors and are contacted

04:34.712 --> 04:37.850
community . Uh , there are some great

04:37.850 --> 04:40.400
americans uh , without , with our

04:40.400 --> 04:42.400
industrial , without our industrial

04:42.400 --> 04:44.940
base that couldn't happen uh , with our ,

04:44.950 --> 04:47.283
without our people and their dedication ,

04:47.640 --> 04:49.696
we weren't going to be successful in

04:49.696 --> 04:52.840
supporting , um , I will tell you ,

04:52.840 --> 04:54.680
even , even though I'm a retired

04:54.690 --> 04:57.750
retired now , even in retirement , a

04:57.750 --> 04:59.680
lot of the relationships we built

04:59.690 --> 05:01.800
personally built back in those days

05:01.830 --> 05:05.570
endure . I still converse with folks on

05:05.570 --> 05:07.903
the other side who were on the , in the ,

05:07.903 --> 05:10.014
in the industry and not as a business

05:10.014 --> 05:12.500
relationship , but just because we had

05:12.500 --> 05:15.420
a tough problem and together and

05:15.430 --> 05:17.840
literally was together , uh , we saw

05:17.840 --> 05:19.620
the power of what industry and

05:19.620 --> 05:21.731
government uh , and the Department of

05:21.731 --> 05:24.064
Defense can do uh , if we work together .

05:24.064 --> 05:26.140
So uh , those those relationships

05:26.140 --> 05:28.150
endure . There were , there were a

05:28.150 --> 05:30.372
number of armored vehicles within the ,

05:30.372 --> 05:32.428
the inventory , both for the marines

05:32.428 --> 05:35.740
and the army . Uh , but there were ,

05:35.750 --> 05:38.030
the difference with the M RAP was its

05:38.030 --> 05:41.860
ability to uh , disperse the energy

05:41.860 --> 05:44.360
from a , from a bomb , a roadside bomb

05:44.440 --> 05:46.273
and , and , and that's primarily

05:46.273 --> 05:48.273
because of the V shaped hall that ,

05:48.273 --> 05:50.660
that's , that's within the vehicle , um ,

05:51.540 --> 05:55.330
uh , Humvees or flat bottoms , uh ,

05:55.340 --> 05:58.830
delight uh , delight uh , uh armored

05:58.830 --> 06:00.830
vehicle for the marine corps is the

06:00.830 --> 06:02.941
flat bottom . And so when a bomb goes

06:02.941 --> 06:04.997
off , all of that blast of fact goes

06:04.997 --> 06:07.052
right through the vehicle and also ,

06:07.052 --> 06:09.219
you know , generally disabled with the

06:09.219 --> 06:11.560
crew and in that , so we had armored

06:11.560 --> 06:15.510
vehicles . Uh , and for most of

06:15.510 --> 06:17.740
the force , they didn't even have up ,

06:17.740 --> 06:20.018
they didn't have the armor . They were ,

06:20.018 --> 06:22.240
we , we , we would call in the military

06:22.240 --> 06:24.351
soft skinned vehicles . Uh , so the M

06:24.351 --> 06:26.462
raps changed that dynamic and it gave

06:26.462 --> 06:28.573
and they put the v Whole vehicles and

06:28.573 --> 06:30.910
that's really the that's really the key

06:30.910 --> 06:33.260
of an M . Rap is the V holes . So it

06:33.260 --> 06:37.220
disperses the uh the shock the D . L .

06:37.220 --> 06:39.700
A . Role . We were not the buying

06:39.710 --> 06:42.840
activity for the vehicles . The marines

06:42.840 --> 06:45.650
did that and the army did that and they

06:45.650 --> 06:47.817
were the buying command . So they were

06:47.817 --> 06:49.706
buying the end item itself . They

06:49.706 --> 06:52.970
unwrap itself . Our job was to make

06:52.970 --> 06:55.192
sure that when they bought the end item

06:55.192 --> 06:57.303
that once they got into theater which

06:57.303 --> 06:59.526
is the standard mission for D . L . A .

06:59.526 --> 07:01.790
Is that we had the parts to support and

07:01.790 --> 07:04.610
sustain it . Our mission turned on as

07:04.610 --> 07:06.554
soon as the first and grab hit the

07:06.554 --> 07:10.480
ground . I mean so because again once

07:10.480 --> 07:12.480
the systems on the ground and being

07:12.480 --> 07:15.650
used um you have to support it

07:16.040 --> 07:17.707
uh and you have to support it

07:17.707 --> 07:19.762
immediately . And and that's what we

07:19.762 --> 07:21.929
tried to do . Obviously we couldn't do

07:21.929 --> 07:24.096
it immediately but we had to take that

07:24.096 --> 07:26.151
time and make it as short as humanly

07:26.151 --> 07:28.262
possible . And that was the challenge

07:28.262 --> 07:30.318
for us uh spend no more time than we

07:30.318 --> 07:32.540
need . That was absolutely necessary to

07:32.540 --> 07:34.762
make sure we got the parts . And so the

07:34.762 --> 07:36.707
challenge was doing that in a in a

07:36.707 --> 07:40.050
world where the configurations were uh

07:41.040 --> 07:42.818
I have quite frankly never seen

07:42.818 --> 07:44.873
anything like it . The configuration

07:44.873 --> 07:46.929
and for good reason the threat as we

07:46.929 --> 07:49.040
deployed an M wrap the threat was you

07:49.040 --> 07:51.151
know the threat changed because these

07:51.151 --> 07:53.207
guys were smart . I mean they didn't

07:53.207 --> 07:55.207
just sit back and say , okay , well

07:55.207 --> 07:57.373
they departed member well they started

07:57.373 --> 07:59.373
to do was they started to adapt and

07:59.373 --> 08:01.596
then we had to adapt and then and so on

08:01.596 --> 08:04.120
and so on and so it became a , it was a

08:04.120 --> 08:06.342
constant battle to try to stay ahead of

08:06.342 --> 08:09.850
that curve . The only thing I would

08:09.850 --> 08:12.360
just say again just to reiterate uh

08:12.940 --> 08:15.340
uh that was a great team effort . I

08:15.340 --> 08:17.396
mean if you , when folks are looking

08:17.396 --> 08:19.618
for , what , how do you make , how does

08:19.618 --> 08:21.618
you know , how do you get everybody

08:21.618 --> 08:23.729
together and get one common purpose ?

08:23.740 --> 08:27.360
Um , I think that that was ,

08:28.840 --> 08:31.007
you know , that was it and and , and ,

08:31.007 --> 08:33.700
and now I think , you know , as we wind

08:33.700 --> 08:35.811
down in Afghanistan and we don't wind

08:35.811 --> 08:38.890
down in Iraq . Um , we

08:38.900 --> 08:41.500
probably as a nation , we've moved on

08:41.510 --> 08:43.680
quite frankly what I can tell you

08:43.680 --> 08:47.330
though , that there are a lot of

08:47.330 --> 08:49.660
fathers and mothers , sons and

08:49.660 --> 08:53.580
daughters , aunts and uncles who

08:53.580 --> 08:56.580
remember and understand that we're not

08:56.590 --> 08:59.240
for the M raps . They didn't , they

08:59.240 --> 09:00.050
wouldn't come home