MLF 7-6 (July 2013)

Supply Chain Warehousing O Rock Island Arsenal O In-transit VisibilityPBLs and Delivered Savings O Organizing the Afghanistan Drawdown

The Publication of Record for the Military Logistics Community

Energy Optimizer

Sharon E. BurkeAssistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy Plans and Programs

Exclusive Interview with:

Col. Mark a. PagetCommander401st Army Field Support Brigade

www.MLF-kmi.com

July 2013Volume 7, Issue 6

Special pull-out SupplementU.S. arMy

SUStainMent CoMMand

Cover / Q&AFeatures

Your single-source solution for material and services.

www.SupplyCore.com

Sharon E. BurkEassistant Secretary of Defense

for operational energy plans and programs

16

July 2013Volume 7, Issue 6

Departments Industry Interview2 Editor’S PErSPEctivE4 Log oPS/PEoPLE14 SuPPLy chain27 rESourcE cEntEr

MikE BroganSenior Vice president for Strategymantech, technical Services Group

U.S. Army SUStAInment CommAnd SpeCIAl pUll-oUt SUpplement

coLonEL Mark a. PagEtcommander401st army Field Support Brigade

MILITARY LOGISTICS FORUM

28

“The first

thing is to

understand

what operational

energy actually

is, because

it’s not just

that the office

is new, the

concept itself,

as a term of

art, is new.”

- Sharon E. Burke

1

ExcLuSivE intErviEw with

in-tranSit viSiBiLityDoD officials are trying to use radio frequency identification technology and change management within their logistics enterprises to gain greater in-transit visibility of items and containers in their logistics enterprises. this will go a long way toward eliminating errors such as duplicated orders, as well as reducing duplicative technology, according to vendors.By William murray

8SuPPLy chain warEhouSingDla Distribution has 26 distribution centers worldwide, occupying 477 warehouses with more than 43.7 million gross square feet of storage space. these warehouses store over 3 million items valued at over $101 billion, enough to service more than 243,700 customers worldwide.By Kelly Fodel

11Making PBLs work BEttEr pBl is an outcome-based support strategy that plans and delivers an integrated, affordable performance solution designed to optimize system readiness. pBl is a robust, flexible strategy that has performed exceptionally well when properly structured and executed.By Henry Canaday

23organizing thE afghaniStan drawdownWith the end of combat operations in afghanistan looming, military Surface Deployment and Distribution command has laid out its plan to complete the herculean task of returning military equipment to the united States. SDDc’s volume velocity distribution retrograde (V2DR) approach to moving cargo in support of the drawdown in afghanistan.By mitCH CHandran

25 rock iSLand arSEnaLRock island arsenal has a long history of serving the joint warfighter. at the beginning, this arsenal produced forks, knives and spoons for meal kits. today it produces thousands of high-precision parts and systems for the joint warfighter.By rHys Fullerlove

5

As we were putting the finishing touches on this edition of Military Logistics Forum, a historical date passed us by. June 26, 1948, is recognized as the first day of the Berlin Airlift. For more than a year, American, British and French aircrews mounted one of the greatest humanitarian airlifts of all time. The Russians halted all ground access to the city, deep within the Russian zone of occupied Germany, in an attempt to stop economic changes being implemented in the western parts of the country.

When it first began, the airlift was envisioned as supplying the needs of the Americans stationed in the city, but that soon expanded to include the entire civilian population as well. At its peak, the airlift was delivering some 4,500 tons of supply each day. When you consider that the primary aircraft of the day were the venerable C-47 (carrying about 3.5 tons) and the C-54 (with a whopping 11-ton payload), the feat is nothing short of extraordinary. On average, planes were landing at three Berlin airports every three minutes. During the 15-month siege, more than 277,000 missions were flown.

From this event, logisticians and aircrews truly have a legendary example of what is possible when tasked with the mission and given the resources to get the job done.

Logistics and transportation have become more sophisticated and technologically bound over time, but the ultimate mission is the same: Have the supplies on hand and deliver them when needed, where needed.

Much as the Berlin Airlift has been studied and used as point of reference for students of supply, so too will efforts from Iraq and Afghanistan—the initial build-up of forces for the assaults into Iraq and Afghanistan; the surge of forces; adjusting networks when the PAK GLOC was closed; the retrogrades from Iraq and Afghanistan. These logistics efforts, if for nothing else than their sheer weight and volume, are worthy of study.

Military Logistics Forum often talks about educating the next generation of logisticians. The leaders of today—their instructors—have had a worldwide classroom and a wealth of real-world experiences to develop curricula that prepare the next generation to do even greater things.

Jeffrey d. mcKaughaneditor-in-CHieF

EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE

Publication of Record for the Military Logistics Community

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Air Force Lieutenant General Brooks L. Bash has been nominated for appointment to the rank of lieutenant general and for assignment as vice commander, Air Mobility Command, Scott Air Force Base, Ill. Bash is currently serving as director for logistics, J-4, Joint Staff, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.

Brigadier General Lawrence M. Martin Jr., vice commander, 618th Air and Space Operations Center (Tanker Airlift Control Center), Air Mobility Command, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., has been assigned to director, regional affairs,

Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force, International Affairs, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.

D. Mark Husband has been appointed to the Senior Executive Service and is assigned as senior advisor, root cause analysis, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics), Washington, D.C. Husband previously served as a professor of system engineering and cost analysis, Defense Acquisition University, Fort Belvoir, Va.

Compiled by Kmi media Group staffPEOPLE

DLA Support Contract in Afghanistan

The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) has awarded DynCorp International (DI) a contract to provide logistics support for the agency’s equipment in Afghanistan.

“We are excited to be able to support DLA in this important role as forces rede-ploy from Afghanistan,” said George Krivo, senior vice president, DynLogistics. “We look forward to providing long-term support to DLA.”

DI team members will provide support services including leasing designated maintenance equipment and maintaining both leased and government equipment to support DLA Disposition Services activities at seven sites in Afghanistan.

The competitively awarded, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract has one base year with two one-year options and a total contract value of $11.2 million if all options are exercised.

Air Provider Receives CARB Approval

Air Methods Corporation recently received DoD Commercial Airlift Review Board (CARB) approval to continue participation in the DoD Air Transport Program.

Conducted by the DoD Commercial Airlift Division, the CARB audit continuously monitors and oversees commercial air carriers that perform air transport for DoD. The DoD’s CAD survey and analysis office extensively examined all areas of the company, including safety, flight operations, maintenance and quality. Air Methods has continu-ously held CARB approval since 2009, and currently supports air medical, personnel transport, and hoist operations at several military bases throughout the country.

“Air Methods is extremely proud of this accomplishment and we look forward to continuing to work with the U.S. military to transport military personnel during medical emergencies,” said Aaron Todd, chief executive officer, Air Methods. “This achievement, along with reaching the highest level in the Federal Aviation Administration’s voluntary Safety Management System program, are both outstanding testaments from U.S. federal agencies that our safety and quality initiatives are making a difference.”

Protecting the Strut

Rocks kicked up when landing a C-130 on unimproved runways can damage the fuselage of the aircraft. To combat this problem, maintainers in the 302nd Maintenance Group here began putting tape on the plane’s belly.

In January, they took another step by applying protective tape to the forward landing gear in an effort to extend the life cycle of the struts and in turn save the Air Force money in repair costs.

“The tape was originally approved to help prevent rock damage from unimproved landing strips,” said Senior Master Sergeant William Harris, the fabrication flight chief of the 302nd Maintenance Squadron. “The landing gear takes as much or more impact from rocks. We want to prevent as much damage as possible to the main landing gear by applying the tape.”

The main landing gear struts cost about $100,000 each and are rated for a four-year lifespan, Harris said. However, getting that much service out of the landing gear struts is rare because the aircraft frequently deploy to Southwest Asia.

“To replace a single strut, it takes a two-person team from the repair and reclamation section eight hours,” Harris said. “That does not take into account all of the scheduling, hangar time and downtime that pulls an aircraft off the flying schedule.”

The tape is an industrial product made of 36 mm thick, abrasion-resistant polyurethane elastomeric designed to resist punctures, tears and erosion. It comes in a 24-inch by 36-yard roll which is enough to cover 108 struts. It is easy to apply and creates no hazardous pollutants.

The estimated cost of materials and labor to install the tape on one strut is $100. Unless punctured by rocks, the tape remains in place until the strut completes its serviceable life. If there is a hole in the tape, maintenance personnel will simply remove it and then inspect the strut.

The 302nd MXG already has approval from the C-130 systems engineering program office to apply the tape to the forward struts of one aircraft.

By Master Sgt. Daniel Butterfield, 302nd Airlift Wing public affairs

www.MLF-kmi.com4 | MLF 7.6

Greater efficiency, or “getting there faster and better,” is the goal of many logistics enterprises, whether Amazon.com, DoD, FedEx or UPS, according to David Lincourt, a former Canadian military officer and vice president for field services for SAP’s Global DoD Business. That’s not to mention the goal of having items spend less time in warehouses and more time in the possession of operators who need them.

DoD officials are trying to use radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and change management within their logistics enterprises to gain greater in-transit visibility of items and containers in their logistics enterprises. This will go a long way toward eliminat-ing errors such as duplicated orders, as well as reducing duplicative technology, according to vendors. Over time, it is clear that DoD logis-ticians and the vendors that they work with will pay close attention to commercial logistics breakthroughs and best practices, and DoD is seeking to implement them within their supply chains.

Not only do military logisticians have to carry side arms and pre-pare to be engaged in battle when in a theater of opera-tions, but they also should be prepared to read Business Week and The Wall Street Journal to stay on top of what the Global 500 companies are doing in logistics if they want to get ahead.

Through in-process visibility, “We want to know the status of the order,” SAP’s Lincourt said—similar to how customers using Amazon.com, FedEx and UPS want know the status of their product orders, regard-less of whether the product is in the physical custody of the logistics enterprise. “It may be in a container or in a warehouse,” Lincourt said. The reality of asset vis-ibility, he said, is that it can be very fragmented within a military enterprise. Regardless, logisticians then have to make their supply chains more mobile, to get their assets “as close as possible” to operators within the enterprise, he said.

With the ending of the war in Iraq and the draw-down of American troops in Afghanistan, Lincourt understands that the logistics community will play a large role in making decisions on equipment to be shipped out of theater. Much like Iraq, the retrograde from Afghanistan is a huge operation with the added challenge of geography.

DoD suppliers have to ensure that all items transitioning through military distribution centers are RFID tagged, a requirement that started in 2004-2005, according to Michael Fein, service product manager for RFID at Zebra Technologies Corp., an RFID company in Lincolnshire, Ill. Fein sees the influence of commercial logistics companies such as Walmart, which instituted a tracking requirement for palettes and cases for its 1,500 vendors that became mandatory in December 2006, eventually giving way to a mandate that covered indi-vidual items. Zebra sells both active and passive RFID technologies.

DoD requires passive RFID tags, which are less expensive than active RFID tags. Active tags have batteries to send signals to readers that provide real-time updates.

An emerging requirement to use RFID on heavy metal containers might be driven by DoD, according to Fein, whose company claims to spend four times as much on research and development as its closest competitor. Overall, he has seen improvements in accuracy and range

in RFID solutions deployed by DoD in recent years.With continuous asset visibility that provides loca-

tion and status information at the container and item level, the wireless networking technology to be used in the Army and Defense Department’s Next Generation Wireless Communication (NGWC) for Logistics Appli-cations could result in reduced operations and main-tenance expenses and better accountability throughout the supply chain, according to Jim Kilfeather, vice presi-dent of global engineering and operations for Cubic Corp. of San Diego. DoD officials will need to conduct audits to determine the effectiveness of the NGWC for Logistics Applications. The Army is using this technol-ogy at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, and in Kuwait.

“They don’t care how it’s collected,” Kilfeather said of military logisticians and the data they seek on assets. Some of the information they collect comes through satellite and WiFi networks. “The information flows into the back end systems,” he said.

DoD has also been implementing least cost rout-ing, which means selecting a route from origin to destination for an item or container based on least cost, and keeping a close eye on the cost of tag readers and sensor networks, he said.

Technology aids Tracking The movemenT of maTeriel.

By William murray

mlf correspondenT

david lincourt

James Brian kilfeather

www.MLF-kmi.com MLF 7.6 | 5

For more information, contact Editor-in-Chief Jeff McKaughan at [email protected] or search our online archives for related stories

at www.mlf-kmi.com.

In a mesh system such as the NGWC for Logistics Applications, every tag can communicate with every reader. Kilfeather predicted that mesh networking will become the focal point for every total logis-tics solution. He believes that Cubic Corp. is best positioned to provide secure, scalable and cost-effective mesh solutions for military logistics enterprises, given the company’s track record.

Satellite tracking of containers, according to Doug Brown, senior vertical marketing manager at Honeywell Scanning and Mobility, Nor-cross, Ga., allows for greater information to pass through the supply chain, such as the temperature in the container and information on when the container is moved.

Brown is seeing significant gains in commercial logistics from the use of two-dimensional barcodes, which can store information horizontally, like one-dimensional barcodes, as well as vertically. While a one-dimensional barcode can only store up to 20 characters, a two-dimensional one can store up to 7,089 characters. Many companies are popularizing the use of 2-D code through quick time codes, integrated with smartphones and content on websites.

Two-dimensional barcodes have been around for more than 20 years, but only in the last five years has Honeywell’s Brown seen ware-housing software available that can unpack the potential of the extra data generated by 2-D barcodes through item unique identification technology.

“Through AIDC [automatic identification and data capture] tech-nology, personnel can make real-time decisions,” Brown said of a tech-nology with which 2-D barcodes work well. As a result of the increased amount of data about an object or container—and the faster speed at which this informa-tion is delivered—it is easier for front line employees in a logistics enterprise to reroute packages and items to updated destinations.

Savi’s solutions span the range of AIT and sup-port active, passive, GPS, GPRS, and satellite tracking capabilities all on a single integrated platform. Because there is no one size fits all solution, Savi’s device-agnostic platform enables users to read and write to virtually any Savi or third-party supplied asset and in-transit visibility tag, sensor and reader. “Our software technology captures and aggregates data—in any for-mat and at any velocity—from those devices to provide valuable information that helps organizations respond to a variety of logistics challenges—from route opti-mization to asset security,” said Rosemary Johnston, Savi’s vice president of federal sales and strategy.

There are a host of solutions used across the com-mercial world that are not necessarily well-suited for use in military circumstances. Asset tracking systems, however, usually can be used without a loss in capabil-ity. “Military and commercial supply chain managers all want to know where their assets are and when they can expect to receive them,” said Johnston. “Savi’s technologies respond to both environments with equal effectiveness.”

High on Savi’s radar is the January 1, 2014, deadline for DoD’s mandate that requires all software and hardware information sys-tems that read and write to/from aRFID devices be compatible with ISO 18000-7. “Savi helped drive the creation of the active RFID ISO 18000-7 standard to support active RFID interoperability on a global basis. ISO 18000-7 has since been adopted worldwide by commercial enterprises and defense organizations,” explained Johnston. “Our

products, such as the ST-654 ruggedized active RFID tag, support the ISO 18000-7 protocol and are purpose-built for the locating, tracking and managing of medium to high value assets in both defense and commercial applications.”

One of the U.S. Army’s largest depots, covering 59 square miles, has achieved nearly 100 percent location and condition accuracy for the tens of thousands of containers, pallets, vehicles and ship-ping crates stored in and across the facility using Savi solutions. The resulting efficiencies have helped drive down personnel costs, improve response times and decrease asset spoilage.

Looking to the future, Johnston said that Savi sees both evolution-ary and revolutionary technology advances. “Significant evolutionary improvements, like those provided by Savi’s System on a Chip, extend the range, reliability, battery life, storage capacity and computing capa-bility of the tag, sensor and reader devices. This allows users to identify and track critical assets over longer ranges, at greater speeds, and with greater reliability and accuracy.”

According to SAP’s Lincourt, the massive amounts of data that become possible in a logistics enterprise enable logistics planners to use predictive analytics based on ordering history and changes on the ground and in the supply chain. He sees the future of DoD logistics also including more machine-to-machine interfaces in the logistics enterprise and a larger role for big data analysis.

In the future, Brown sees organizations such as DoD emulating large logistics enterprises such as Walmart in their use of cross dock-

ing. Cross docking enables the giant retailer to decrease the amount of time it holds inventory through the use of long, thin warehouses with many doors on each side, which allow trucks to quickly load and unload palette and crates.

Military logisticians also might consider giving more latitude and decision-making capabilities to junior enlisted personnel within the logistics enter-prise, a practice that Brown sees operating well in European commercial warehouses but not followed as much by American companies.

Brown also predicts that logistics enterprises like DoD will implement devices such as iPads and smart-phones given the demands and comfort level of their users. Honeywell, in addition, has seen its customers need to hot swap ruggedized computers in warehouses to allow employees to work more efficiently. Honeywell is also pushing out greater capabilities for customers to repair their own computers.

Mike Lennon, industry principal for DoD for SAP and a former U.S. Marine officer, would like to see the gap between SAP’s research and development efforts and DoD customer implementations better bridged. “We’re working with DoD applied research organiza-tions in implementing technology that is baked” and

could be ready for broader deployment, he said. With the amount of money that commercial RFID and technology

companies spend, it’s clear that DoD has a number of willing publicly traded and experienced dance partners to accompany it as it seeks to emulate commercial best practices in supply chain logistics. O

Michael lennon

rosemary Johnston

[email protected]


Route items more effi ciently with fewer disruptions using sense and respond logistics.

To learn how Savi’s 23 years of military logistics experience can

help improve your operations visit www.savi.com/militarydefense.

Savi Technology’s next generation active RFID tags and analytics software turn

sensor data into real-time information on the location, condition, and security

status of assets and shipments. Defense organizations use Savi’s solutions to

access, analyze and learn from new data in ways previously impossible, yielding

streamlined operations, enhanced security, and more-timely decisions.

Savi_MLF_july13_V3.indd 1 7/3/13 12:29 PM EDT

DLA Distribution has 26 distribution cen-ters worldwide, occupying 477 warehouses with more than 43.7 million gross square feet of storage space. These warehouses store over 3 million items valued at over $101 billion, enough to service more than 243,700 custom-ers worldwide. In 2010, DLA Distribution pro-cessed 22.9 million transactions, and shipped 18,425 containers and 35,279 air pallets.

According to William H. Budden, deputy commander, Defense Logistics Agency Dis-tribution, “The distribution and warehousing operating system is the Distribution Standard System, or DSS. This automated information system operates all warehousing and distribu-tion business processes throughout our 26 distribution centers. DSS allows us to control the receipt, stow, warehousing, pick, pack and shipment of material in support of our opera-tions worldwide.”

The supply system used by all DLA supply centers is the Enterprise Business Systems (EBS). This contains the customer orders and requirements and delivers them as DLA mate-rial release orders (MRO) along with other DLA inventory transactional information to the DSS. This happens through a DLA rout-ing agent via transactional system interfaces, designed to ‘translate’ information so that the DSS can process DLA MROs through the distribution system to the customer.

The DSS establishes and maintains all of the warehouse storage facilities and physical locations for DoD material. The DSS incor-porates various asset visibility technologies, such as RFID and bar code utilization, within its system design, that it can interface with a variety of military service and commercial supply and distribution systems.

The DLA supply centers used the EBS to keep product in stock. “There are stock posi-tioning models in EBS to ensure DLA mate-rial is positioned at our distribution centers all over the world based on the local customer

base of the center and those customers’ DoD inventory consumption levels,” said Budden. “There are monitors in both EBS and DSS to ensure that inventory stock levels are kept in accordance with changing customer require-ments.”

The DSS has material distribution func-tionality built into its system design that receives, stores and issues DoD parts and supplies for all warehouse storage facilities within the DLA network. Upon receipt of DLA and service MROs, DSS has pick, pack and shipping modules within its functional operation that tracks internal movement of all orders, providing visibility of a customer’s order throughout the distribution processes.

“DLA Distribution’s expeditionary capabil-ity allows our organization to deploy a distri-bution center anywhere in the world,” said Budden. “A good example of that capability came in 2010 when, as a result of the first-ever Request for Forces issued by the Secretary of Defense to the Defense Logistics Agency, DLA Distribution’s expeditionary team deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan. The mission was to set up and maintain forward positioned stock and providing multi-modal distribution services to U.S. forces within Afghanistan. As part of the expeditionary campus, we use portable air beam structures that are set up within minutes. These structures provide an environment that allowed us to perform the basic distribution functions of receiving, stor-ing and issuing supplies. We currently have six air beams ready for deployment as necessary.”

DLA Distribution’s goal is to provide employees with the knowledge and skills they need to execute the distribution operations mission. “We have developed standardized distribution operations courses that include receiving, warehousing, inventory, preserva-tion, packing, packaging and marking, as well as stock readiness procedures and material handling equipment,” said Budden. “We also

extend our training into occupational health and safety and security. All of this course-ware is under continuous review for content and delivery methods. We have identified additional training opportunities that will be developed and provided over the next year in collaboration with the DLA training center. Our 26 distribution centers are managed by either a military officer or a civilian director. Each has responsibility for the day-to-day operations at their facilities, which includes any and all on-the-job training required to enhance standard classroom training.”

The challenge forward is to refresh that training to ensure that they evolve with the changes that are being injected into the logis-tics community as a whole. “For example, we could not execute $2.1 billion annually in transportation purchases without a significant amount of standardization across a broad spectrum of jobs,” said Budden. “We can respond to changes in programs like defense transportation coordinator rapids, and our systems and training programs allow us to do that without impacting customer support programs.”

sToring gloBally

Supreme currently operates several fuel and food supply contracts for the DLA glob-ally. In 2005, the company was awarded the Subsistence Prime Vendor Afghanistan (SPV) contract by the Defense Logistics Agency. Since that time, Supreme has delivered food, water and other supplies to around 250 loca-tions in Afghanistan for up to 130,000 troops and contractors on a daily basis. In 2012, Supreme was also awarded the first ever SPV Panama contract by the DLA, for the delivery of food in Panama and the surrounding area.

Supreme maintains 25 strategically located food/dry goods warehouses globally to rapidly deliver food supplies to clients at

even When Trying To keep invenTories loW, Warehousing is necessary.By kelly fodel

mlf correspondenT


all times. The state-of-the-art warehouses vary in capacity from 300 to 40,000 pallet spaces, and incorporate a variety of storage systems.

“The storage facilities feature ambient, chilled and frozen temperature zones to ensure proper climate control for fresh and frozen foods,” said Lieutenant General (Ret) Robert T. Dail, Supreme’s chief commercial officer. “This constant temperature stability preserves food quality and reduces sanitation risks.”

In Afghanistan specifically, Supreme operates nine warehouses (chilled, frozen and dry goods) with a total capacity of more than 76,000 pallet spaces, reflecting an area of around 802,000 square meters.

Supreme’s facilities are complemented with U.S. VETCOM-approved warehouse and cargo loading facilities to support the transfer of substantial quantities of cargo throughout the International Security Assistance Force Afghanistan area of operations.

The company’s vehicle tracking system is a GPS-enabled vehicle and shipment track-ing system designed to meet the opera-tional requirements of distribution in remote regions. The system provides in-transit vis-ibility allowing the users to track a shipment by region by vehicle or convoy with reference to geographical coordinates. It also offers real time information on status of the shipment and the vehicle or convoy movements. In addition, the system has inbuilt features such as geographical fencing, alert reporting and diversion management to facilitate effective and informed decision making.

innovaTive logisTics infrasTrucTure

The North American Government & Logistics Business Unit within KBR manages a variety of contracts that pertain to supply chain management and logistics on a contin-gency and sustainment basis, most notably the LOGCAP III contract. Through this, KBR established a large and innovative supply and logistics infrastructure. Additionally, KBR has provided logistics, supply chain management and operations support in contingency areas for the U.S. government for more than 20 years.

According to Ty Hippert, KBR’s direc-tor of supply management, KBR utilizes a specially developed client interfacing system across projects to provide clients with real-time work order status and an accurate inventory management system.

“KBR coordinates with Defense Logistics Agency on projects where a Supply Support Activity is used,” said Hippert. “Where an SSA is available, KBR works with DLA to keep essential supplies such as lumber, pack-aged petroleum, oil and lubricant products, repair parts, small tools, dining facility paper products, office materials, cleaning supplies, etc., in stock in quantities determined to be appropriate for the operation.”

KBR uses its specially developed system to track the movement of supplies in and out of warehouses. The system shows records of receipt, tracks work orders and keeps a record of the exact location of all supplies. Some-times temporary warehouse structures are necessary. “KBR is renowned for delivering

supplies to very remote, austere locations,” Hippert said. “It is the first to arrive at a location to construct temporary supply ware-houses until construction units are mobilized and permanent structures built.”

Managing such a large supply and logis-tics infrastructure requires a well-trained staff. “KBR takes the training and manage-ment of all staff very seriously, particularly those that will be operating heavy machin-ery,” explained Hippert. “We conduct an internal safety and quality training program as well as specific specialized training to those employees involved in the use of equip-ment and machinery. In addition, KBR has a distance learning program that is web-based for our supply management personnel. This training covers the technical aspects of main-taining a government approved property management system. Lessons on acquisi-tion requisition, receiving, storage, property records, maintenance, utilization, physical inventory and disposal are provided.”

KBR is routinely called upon for its exper-tise in delivering supplies and executing proj-ects in very remote locations. Navigating a new location with no existing supply chain infrastructure can be a challenge. Over time, KBR has developed the skills and experi-ence to identify and qualify local vendors where possible, procure supplies and physi-cally enter a contingency operations region. For example, at the beginning of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, very little busi-ness infrastructure was in place to allow for the import of supplies into the region to support the warfighters. KBR worked with

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DLA through the Maintenance Repair Opera-tions Prime Vendor program, and over time KBR was managing almost $5 billion of gov-ernment property, executing a 99+ percent inventory accuracy rate.

Another challenge of working in remote locations is the disposal of U.S. government property at contract completion. While com-pleting operations in Iraq under the LOGCAP III contract, KBR was responsible for disposal of all government property. DLA worked very closely with KBR, providing defense reutiliza-tion and marketing office operations. DLA established roving disposal teams that trav-eled from camp to camp and worked with KBR in the disposal of scrap and unservice-able items.

“KBR has had an exceptionally positive experience working with DLA to coordinate supply management on the United States Army Europe Support Contract, where KBR operates the SSA,” said Hippert. “On this project, we manage inventory control and return of materials and equipment to the point of origin of military units as they enter and exit the AOR. Our SSA warehousing, issuing, inventory and record-keeping was awarded the 2011 USAREUR Chief of Staff, Army Supply Excellence award for the fourth time in five years. KBR also earned an “Excep-tional” score from the Award Fee Evaluation Board in 2010 for our achievement of 100 percent location survey accuracy and 100 percent inventory accuracy rate for the 127th consecutive month.”

augmenTing dod capaBiliTies

LOGCAP IV, DynCorp International’s (DI) largest contract, provides material, logistics and sustainment operations in support of military bases in Kuwait, Oman and Afghani-stan. The company’s largest task order under LOGCAP IV is in southern Afghanistan.

Under that task order—in addition to the wide variety of life support, transporta-tion and other services provided—DI pro-vides warehousing and logistics support to manage and operate corps logistics services support such as military supply support activities, central issue facilities, and Class II and IV warehouses. At some facilities, DI manages and staffs the operations and reports to an Army officer. At other facilities, DI pro-vides augmentation to military-managed facilities and operations. DI also manages and operates its own contractor warehouses at several forward operating bases in support of sustainment operations. At all

warehouses—government or contractor—the same functions of receive, store, issue, ship and inventory are performed.

DI operates Standard Army Management Information Systems (STAMIS) and its own logistics management system, DynMRO, at its forward locations. In the company’s management and augmentation role for gov-ernment supply support activities, they oper-ate the Standard Army Retail Supply System (SARSS).

“At our troop issue subsistence activi-ties, we operate the Army Food Manage-ment Information System (AFMIS),” said Mark Mirelez, vice president, supply chain, DynCorp International. “For DI internal sus-tainment operations, we use our proprietary logistics management system called DynMRO. All of our contractor supply support ware-houses and contractor supply warehouses use DynMRO as our system of record in managing our material and equipment. We have also implemented the use of handheld scanner technology in our contractor warehouses. The use of handheld scanners expedites and streamlines the receive, store, issue, ship and inventory functions, and they interface with DynMRO to keep our system of record current and accurate.”

DI is in constant contact with DLA to ensure the timely requisitioning and ship-ping of material required by the soldiers and other personnel. On a bi-monthly basis, DI conducts customer reconciliations to ensure that all requests are valid in the Federal Sup-ply System with DLA and GSA. Their routine communication with DLA and GSA customer service representatives in Afghanistan and CONUS locations ensures that they are cur-rent with any product commodity issues in the supply chain.

In order to track parts and supplies in and out of warehouses, DI uses stan-dard warehousing methods and practices consistent with the American Society for Testing and Materials, with Army Regulations and DA pamphlets that govern warehouse operations.

“Material arriving at our warehouses is staged in lanes until the detailed receiving pro-cess is complete and entered into DynMRO,” said Mirelez. “Material is issued for immedi-ate use if required, assigned to locations in our warehouses if it is determined to go to storage, or staged for shipment to supported forward locations. When we store material in our warehouses, we use a standardized loca-tion naming convention. Material is stored in accordance with government and commercial

policies and procedures. First in, first out is a common practice, along with utilizing mate-rial before its shelf-life expires. Material ship-ping to forward locations is assigned to a pallet identifier then to a transportation movement request. All material has in-transit visibility in DynMRO.”

Temporary storage lanes are used when receiving and shipping material. The receiv-ing area is designated to properly account for all material and provide accountability in DI’s logistics management system. The shipping lanes are easily identifiable by using location placards with the destination of the material to be shipped.

“The creation of authorized stockage lists [ASLs] at our DI contractor warehouses allowed us to build demand-based inventories and maintain operational readiness and sus-tain operations more efficiently,” said Mirelez. “Putting ASLs in place reduced our supply chain lead time creating a large improvement across the theater. Our warehouse manage-ment processes and procedures, along with our trained workforce, have resulted in our ability to fill 80 percent of our theater require-ments from existing theater stocks. This reduces overall supply chain requirements while maintaining contract performance and quality support to the force.”

DI provides initial training and sustain-ment training for all managers and staff. They have two teams of trainers that provide sched-uled annual training. One team is located in Afghanistan and one team is in DI’s program management office (PMO) in Fort Worth, Texas.

“We conduct training on our approved logistics management system, DynMRO, as well as all system enhancements to DynMRO that occurred since that last training event,” said Mirelez. “The PMO training team con-ducts specific training for Federal Supply Systems twice per year at a minimum. New equipment training and testing was con-ducted as part of the total package fielding for handheld scanners across all task orders on LOGCAP.”

Certainly there are some challenges to this process. Mirelez said maintaining a flow of high-volume consumable material is chal-lenging. To meet demand, DI must use DLA, GSA and commercial suppliers and must bal-ance transportation and warehouse capacity.O


at www.mlf-kmi.com.


pBls Work, BuT They have To Be designed and managed ThroughouT The process.

Defense and industry have been working under performance-based logistics (PBL) contracts for well over a decade now. What have been the lessons learned for the future?

“PBL is an outcome-based support strategy that plans and delivers an integrated, affordable performance solution designed to optimize system readiness,” summarized an official in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). “PBL is a robust, flex-ible strategy that has performed exceptionally well when properly structured and executed.”

The OSD official said government needs to work with industry counterparts in a collaborative and transparent manner, clearly communicating requirements and constraints. And government must structure the arrangement so that industry is incentivized to behave in the fashion most beneficial to the government. “By rewarding performance, industry is incentivized to improve prod-ucts and processes, reducing cost of delivery and ultimate cost to the government, while meeting warfighter needs,” the official said.

The OSD official said contract type and length should provide the contractor the flexibility and incentive to incorporate improve-ments for maintainability, sustainability and reliability. He recom-mends maintaining a business environment based on professional levels of collaboration, transparency and trust.

As vice president of rotorcraft support at Boeing for six years, Peri Widener has been responsible for nine PBLs covering rotor wing aircraft for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps and several international customers. From this experience Widener has drawn a number of lessons on making performance-based approaches work.

“Have a very clear, transparent and crisp understanding with the customer on what their most important objective outcome is and the right metrics to measure it,” Widener urged. “For many of our customers, it is material availability and the effect of avail-ability on fleet readiness.”

Next, there must be a true partnership between government and industry, not just a contract formula. “When you get that, the magic happens,” Widener said.

PBLs must also have some flexibility, because there are always unexpected events. “You have to be able to handle these things without negotiating a new agreement,” Widener said.

Boeing regards platform-level PBLs as offering the best oppor-tunities to reduce cost and improve performance. “You have more options across the full spectrum of supply chain and mainte-nance,” Widener noted. Customers that cannot do platform-level PBLs or are skeptical of PBLs in general should “get started, find a component, measure it, look at the data and decide if you want to move on.”

PBL incentives must be tied to the most important metrics to drive behavior. “Sometimes that is not done,” Widener said. “You may have metrics for other things the customer wants.”

Long-term is better than short. “The knee of the curve is typically five years,” Widener said. “You need long-term to justify investments.”

Sophisticated IT systems make a big difference, because PBLs require sharp modeling and forecasting, which in turn means knowing the location and status of parts and repair turn-times.

One barrier to PBLs is fear that the government will lose flexibility. “But you can have five-year re-openers in a 30-year contract,” Widener noted. “You lean out and learn part failures and real requirements, so you can share gains by renegotiating price and value.”

Another fear is that the government loses core competencies under PBL. “It does not have to,” Widener said. “Identify core competencies and write PBLs to preserve them.”

To those who fear that industry makes too much profit on PBLs, Widener said she has not seen excess profits in six years. The way to avoid the problem is to do transparent business cases for both industry and government and re-open contracts periodically.

Andrew Murphy is vice president and general manager of defense systems and logistics at AAR but previously worked abroad, including extensive experience in the U.K. “What I saw over there contrasts with what I see in the U.S.,” Murphy said. “In the U.K, you see more focus on longer-term partnering

By henry canaday

mlf correspondenT


relationships, not in the legal sense. Rather, both sides work together in order to get [the] best value out of it.”

To produce the best value, Murphy said industry has to invest in people, processes and systems, especially systems for manag-ing information, forecasting and planning. “You have to improve prediction of requirements to get a network of vendors in the sup-ply chain better aligned. Then you can pass through incentives to these vendors so they build very robust infrastructures.”

In contrast, Murphy said U.S. PBLs tend to be short, one to three years with options. “That increases risk and uncertainty for vendors and denies government best value.” Some think the government gets more competition this way. “But if you look at the cost of running competitions and the transition, it does not really pay.”

For long-term contracts to work, it is necessary to have inno-vative pricing arrangements in order to reduce costs and increase value. “You need to incent industry to perform better and pass savings on to customers. You want to motivate them to invest in information systems so we can use more data and less inventory.”

That is the specialty of Clockwork Solutions, which makes soft-ware that predicts maintenance and part requirements. CEO Joe Berti explained, “We provide visibility and predictive analytics.”

Berti said many forecasters still use just historical usage to forecast. “We do asset-based forecasting that is grounded on the use and condition of specific assets. We use big data and calculate use and failure rates to identify future cost avoidance and have been doing this for 20 years.”

“Assets change if they fly over deserts or more frequently,” Berti said. “Often, others look at usage for the last five years and use that for the future. But historical usage will not capture the current operating environment.” And if an engine comes out of an overhaul, that will change the parts that are needed in the future.

This asset-based approach leads to more accurate forecasts than the historical method, Berti argued. That in turn can make a PBL much more effective at holding costs down while maintaining availability.

Rockwell Collins has been involved in a number of successful PBLs, according to Kurt Kaufman, principal program manager for Technical Service Solutions. He said aligning requirements with metrics is crucial. “The worst thing you can do is put metrics in place that don’t marry up to mission requirements. Spend the time up front to understand what you want from the program and structure the contract to meet that.”

Most PBLs generate massive amounts of data. “Make sure that the data adds value to the program,” Kaufman cautioned. For PBLs already in place, “change requirements as the mission evolves.”

On PBL term, Kaufman said longer is always better. “The whole idea of a PBL is that contractors are going to make product improvements on their nickel and need time to recoup that invest-ment, which is why longer duration is better.”

Kaufman sees the government increasingly moving to enter-prise resource planning (ERP) systems like SAP. “That gives industry the flexibility to align our ERP with government systems. The more that order processing can become automated, the more savings the government will see with their ERP.”

Kaufman worries that government business case analyses (BCAs) do not value everything PBL brings to the table. “Many BCAs view PBLs as a repair-only contract and place no value on additional efforts and risks contractors take as part of PBL.”

“Overall, Pratt & Whitney has 2,700 engines under some sort of performance-based sustainment around the world,” noted Mark Buongiorno, director of domestic and aftermarket business devel-opment for Pratt Military Engines.

“The metrics of our best-performing programs are very simple and aligned with customer goals,” Buongiorno pointed out. For example, for the F117 the metric is serviceable propulsion systems and Pratt is paid in dollars per engine cycle.

There are differing points of view as to whether PBLs done in short—three years or less—contracts really show value for the government and the contractor in the long run. Contracts need to offer incentives and reasonable goals for all parties. [Photo courtesy of DoD]

PBLs have always offered the government a direct window into how the commercial world operates and how it views work, time and money. While not every example fits in every circumstance, the benefits are clear. [Photo courtesy of DoD]


Pratt has considerable flexibility in how it maintains the engine. “We have an incentive to overhaul engines to high per-formance with lots of margin capacity and [high reliability].” Pratt’s goal of limiting maintenance on the F117 is aligned with the customer goal, which is to minimize the removals that cost manpower and might ground aircraft.

Government can foresee what the operating cost per unit will be and gets guaranteed readiness. “If you have too many lower-level metrics, it cuts back on flexibility to achieve main goals and adds to administrative burdens,” Buongiorno said.

Simple metrics make for very transparent costs, which is gen-erally good. But there may be a downside in terms of perception, Buongiorno added. When the government pays an outsider to do a job, the payment must reflect all the costs of doing the job. When the government does the job itself, it may not be able to pull all of the costs really incurred from different systems, causing total costs to be underestimated.

The Pratt exec said contract length is very important and should be commensurate with asset life and how long it takes to extend that life. Military engines spend three to 12 years on wing and more than 25 years for low-utilization fleets. “You need a contract length that will incent the contractor to keep the engine on wing longer, so you need a contract length that is the current time on wing.”

PBLs also need to share benefits with customers. “When the first years are up we include improved reliability rates so in the next contract the customer can share benefits,” Buongiorno explained.

Aligning customers and contractors and sharing benefits are also important, because Pratt wants the government to have an incentive to keep engines on wing as long as possible. Buongiorno does not think sharing arrangements are generally very mature in PBLs today.

On PBL payments, Buongiorno acknowledged that both posi-tive incentives and negative penalties can motivate behavior. But he thinks incentives do a better job. “Penalties keep you from missing a minimum; incentives make you shoot for greatness.”

“From my experience in both commercial and military sec-tors, you can’t get performance unless you measure it,” said Jane Feitler of Gartner Research’s Supply Chain Group. “What you measure, you get.”

One challenge for defense PBLs is that many military suppli-ers have never had to do a PBL before. “If you suddenly tell them they have to do this, they will either not enter into it, or if they do they will not know how to perform well,” Feitler said.

These firms need training in performance-based environ-ments, learning how to work back from delivery obligations to required activities. Training is available, Feitler said, from the Defense Acquisition University or by visiting PBL-familiar firms or defense PBL programs and working with them.

The Defense Department also needs more people in program offices familiar with PBL. “They need to learn how to work col-laboratively, get barriers down, change from them-versus-us scenarios and [push] suppliers to save money,” Feitler said. “It’s going to take time, but the government, too, has to get on the dime.”

Mutual learning is even more important now that the Pro-gram Support Initiative is taking performance-based principles back to the acquisition stage of program lifecycles. “You have

to design support in earlier, rather than wait for a milestone and turn it over to a program office for sustainment,” Feitler noted.

Feitler points to the Defense Logistics Agency’s new enter-prise PBL with Honeywell as an improvement in PBL methods. Consolidating many programs should save more money. She said savings will come from eliminating duplicate overheads on both government and contractor sides, from sharing lessons between programs more easily and by giving suppliers better forecasts. “It’s being pilot-tested now. I see it as the wave of the future.”

“Honeywell stands ready to support the next generation of PBL programs focused on common components used by multiple services under one contract, an enterprise approach,” said Brian Sill, vice president of Defense Americas Aftermarket, Defense & Space, Honeywell Aerospace. Sill said 12 years of PBL experience in defense yields these tenets for success: focus on warfighter-defined outcomes; use fixed price with incentive fee and gain-sharing option; have payment based on defined performance metrics; use long-term contracts, 10 years; and have contractors address obsolescence challenges during the contract period. O


at www.mlf-kmi.com.

www.clockwork-solutions.com 1 (800) 994-1336

Blue: C= 77 M= 24 Y=19 K=0Font: Avenir

CLOCKWORK SOLUTIONS IDENTIFIES BILLIONS IN COST AVOIDANCE

FOR THE DOD

EAM solutions for managing complex, capital intensive, mission critical assets.


Compiled by Kmi media Group staffSUPPLY CHAIN

STAMPSThe cost of a ship’s crew is the single largest

expense incurred over its life cycle. To help the Navy solve that challenge, Aptima

is partnering with Applied Research Associates Inc. (ARA) to develop STAMPS, the Simulation Toolset for Analysis of Mission, Personnel & Systems. STAMPS simulates ship systems and crew operations, allowing naval designers to define the crew size and skill set early in the design process. Aptima’s $2.6 million subcontract to ARA will produce a crew modeling module for

the larger STAMPS system. That system, devel-oped for the Office of Naval Research, is part of a Navy initiative to reduce the total operating costs of vessels over their lifetime, right-sizing personnel for a new generation of ships built with advanced technologies and automation.

“The bulk of a ship’s total lifetime oper-ating costs—up to 90 percent—is locked-in by decisions made in design. This contract rein-forces the Navy’s dedication to controlling those costs with accurate manpower planning in every

milestone phase,” said Jared Freeman, Aptima’s chief scientist.

Using STAMPS, acquisition managers and naval designers will be able to integrate humans systems early in the design process to assess the most cost-effective mix of personnel, hardware, and software systems. The design of legacy ships, in contrast, has typically focused first on the detailed engineering of the ship infrastructure, with manpower estimates that are rougher or later than those decisions.

New Lightweight Multipurpose Shelter Passes Army First Article Testing

AAR recently announced that its Lightweight Multipurpose Shelter (LMS) Type V has passed first article testing by the U.S. Army, a critical milestone in the production and delivery of the shelter system. LMS shelters are the primary platform the Army uses to house and operate command and control equipment for situational awareness and tactical support in various theaters of operation.

The LMS variants include the Type I (elec-tromagnetic interference, or EMI, shielded), Type III (EMI shielded with tunnel), and Type V (non-EMI shielded with double rear doors). The durable shelters are designed to be mounted on high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles (HMMWVs).

“This milestone is significant in that all three LMS variants have now been approved by the U.S. Army for use in multiple programs that require HMMWV-mounted shelter systems,” said Lee Krantz, vice president, technology products. “The results are a demonstration of our manufacturing innovation capability and our commitment to meeting customer requirements.”

AAR was awarded the competitively procured contract in 2011 based upon its demonstrated experience, proven capa-bilities and innovative ASTM-compliant solu-tion, which features a multi-panel design versus the traditional folded two-panel design,

manufactured using advanced friction stir welding techniques.

Friction stir welding enables metals to be bonded in their natural state, without melting or the use of studs or fasteners. The result is a stronger, lighter-weight shelter that is EMI capable, providing added value, isolation and protection for critical in-theater military and defense equipment. AAR is the first U.S. manufacturer of aerospace and defense products to use friction stir welding technology in the development and production of multipurpose mobility structures.

“Through this state-of-the-art manufacturing process, AAR improved the design and durability of these critical defense structures while meeting weight requirements,” Krantz added. “We believe friction stir welding is a breakthrough approach to building these shelters and represents the future in welding and lightweight design. It is another way AAR remains committed to leading innovation in the industry.”

Maximizing Energy Efficiency

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has selected Mortenson Construction and HDR Architecture for a $94.9 million design-build contract for the 13th Combat Aviation Brigade Barracks at Fort Carson, Colo. Designed to maxi-mize building energy efficiency by preparing to adapt to net zero energy use, it will create a lively and livable military residential commu-nity for nearly 1,000 soldiers who will call it home.

Comprised of a 370,156 gross square-foot complex, the new construction will provide three apartment buildings. A one-story glass pavilion links each pair of four-story buildings. The loft-like glass lobby offers a visual connec-tion between the landscaped entrance plaza in the front and the sports and activity courtyard in the back.

The Mortenson/HDR design-build team pushed the sustainable design envelope to a new level and is committed to achieve LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

“We’re excited to help satisfy both the Corps’ short-term and long-term goals. The energy efficiency initiatives on this project will continue to provide long-term operating cost savings,” said Maja Rosenquist, vice president and general manager of Mortenson’s Denver office.

To further reduce cost and schedule, Mortenson will install prefabricated bathrooms and kitchens in each unit for a speedy “plug and play” operation. Other features of the facility will include courtyard areas with basketball courts, picnic tables, and grills for the soldiers to relax and unwind.


Deployed Synchronizer

Colonel Mark A. Paget

Commander401st Army Field Support Brigade

U.S. ArMy SUStAinMent CoMMAnD

2013

Colonel Mark A. Paget assumed command of the 401st Army Field Support Brigade headquartered in Afghanistan in Septem-ber 2012, where he commands Army Materiel Command’s face to the field consisting of more than 50,000 soldiers, Department of the Army civilians and contractors executing missions across the Combined Joint Operations Area-Afghanistan.

Paget enlisted in the Army in 1984. After One Station Unit Training at Fort Bliss, he served in the Federal Republic of Ger-many at Kitzingen with the 3rd Infantry Division as a Stinger gunner and team chief. He then attended Arizona State Univer-sity, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and was com-missioned a second lieutenant in the Regular Army as an ROTC distinguished military graduate.

Paget served as a platoon leader in the 2nd Transportation Company during Desert Shield/Storm and eventually became company commander for the unit in Friedberg, Germany. He then served an unaccompanied tour in Kuwait as the transportation officer for U.S. Army Central Training and Security Assistance. In 1994, he returned to Germany and served with the 27th Movement Control Battalion (MCB), deploying to Hungary and established the rail movement operations center with the Ministry of Defense in Budapest for Operation Enduring Freedom. Paget subsequently assumed command of the 515th Transportation Company at Sla-vonski Brod, Croatia in support of IFOR and redeployed with the company to Mannheim in December 1996. Following company command, he served with the 39th MCB as commander for Move-ment Control Team Mannheim.

He returned home to his native California in 1998 and served as the Newport Beach Recruiting Company commander. After the Army Logistics Executive Course and Command and General Staff College, Paget reported for duty with the 1st Corps Support Command at Fort Bragg, N.C., and served as assault command post support operations officer. This was followed by deployment to OIF II as the 7th Transportation Battalion executive officer at Balad, Iraq, in 2004. After deployment, he served as an exchange officer in England with the Defence Transport and Movements Agency from 2005-2007. Immediately upon return to the United States, he assumed command of the 180th Transportation Bat-talion at Fort Hood. He then became deputy commander for the 15th Sustainment Brigade and deployed to Q-West, Iraq from 2009-2010. Paget then moved to Washington, D.C., in order to attend the Industrial College of the Armed Forces and

subsequently served in a joint assignment with the Navy’s Military Sealift Command where he became the director, N-3/5 (Opera-tions and Plans).

Paget is a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College, Florida Institute of Technology, and National Defense University with M.S. degrees in logistics management and national resource strategy.

His decorations include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Commendation Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Achievement Medal with Silver Oak Leaf Cluster, the National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Star, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Southwest Asia Service Medal with three Bronze Stars, the Iraq Campaign Medal with Campaign Star, the Army Global War on Terror Expedition-ary and Service Medals, as well as the NATO Medal, both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait Liberation Medals, and the Army Parachutist Badge.

Q: What are the primary missions you are assigned while here in theater?

Colonel Mark A. PagetCommander

401st Army Field Support Brigade

Deployed SynchronizerSustaining and Maintaining Logistics Materiel Movements in Afghanistan

Q&AQ&A

www.MLF-kmi.com U.S. Army Sustainment Command | MLF 7.6 | 1

u.S. ArMy SuStAinMent coMMAnd

2013

Maj. Gen. John WhartonCommanding General

Sandra SchneiderG1, Human Resources

CSM James SpencerCommand

Sergeant Major

Col. Regina DraperG2, Intelligence

Col. Victor Harmon

CSM Kevin Jones

Col. Mark Paget

CSM Charlie Chavez

Col. John Kuenzli

CSM Nathaniel Bartee

Col. Michael Lopez

CSM Dexter Speights

COmmand Staff

diStributiOn management

CenterRock Island Arsenal, Ill.

401St army field SuppOrt

brigadeBagram, Afghanistan

402nd army field SuppOrt

brigadeCamp Arifjan, Kuwait

403rd army field SuppOrt

brigadeCamp Henry, Korea

united StAteS ArMy SuStAinMent coMMAnd

Col. Leafaina Yahn

CSM Terry Burton

Col. Christopher Roscoe

CSM Bryan Kroontje

Brig. Gen. Duane GambleDeputy Commanding

General

Col. Robin MoralezG3, Operations

Kathryn SzymanskiChief Counsel

Norm TrierG6, Information

Technology

Col. David Wilson

CSM Vance Snider

Col. Scott LofreddoChief of Staff

Jim CoffmanG4, Logistics

Carl CartwrightField Support

Dave McKillipG7, Exercises

Col. Steve Allen

CSM Nathaniel Richardson

D. Scott WelkerDeputy to the Commander

Col. Benjamin NuttG5, Strategy and Concepts

Matthew SannitoLOGCAP

Jerry DeLaCruzG8, Resource Management

Col. Vincent Barker Col. Alex Fink

CSM Vernon Perry

404th army field SuppOrt

brigadeJoint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.


brigadeKaiserslautern,

Germany


brigadeFort Bragg, N.C.


brigadeFort Hood, Texas

aSC army reServe elementRock Island Arsenal, Ill.

lOgCap SuppOrt unit

Fort Belvoir, Va.

A: The 401st Army Field Support Brigade, located at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, is a subordinate brigade to the U.S. Army Sustain-ment Command, whose mission is to sustain Army and joint forces around the world in support of combatant commanders. We are one of seven regionally aligned field support brigades located around the world to support units within the Central Command [CENTCOM] area of responsibility, specifically the U.S. forces in Afghanistan and coalition forces. The 401st provides the strategic link from the national industrial base to the tactical commander in the field.

Our primary missions in theater are field level sustainment—consisting of maintenance, supply, base support and distribu-tion services—property accountability, retrograde operations and synchronization of PMs and their programs in support of the warfighter. We provide command and control for over 45,000 servicemembers, Department of Defense civilians, and contractors across the Combined Joint Operations Area-Afghanistan [CJOA-A] and serve as AMC’s face to the field for support to the Army, joint and coalition forces. First, we sustain combat operations by equip-ping and uparming units rotating into and out of Afghanistan, provide basic life support and services, and maintain an incred-ible 95 percent equipment readiness rate for intensively managed items across the CJOA-A.

Second, we are responsible for all theater property equip-ment, which is roughly 20,000 pieces of rolling stock and 413, 000 pieces of non-rolling stock equipment valued at $16.7 billion.

Third, we operate eight retrograde property assistance team [RPAT] sites where we relieve units of accountability and prepare equipment for transportation to the continental U.S. via land, sea and air. This is a labor-intensive process as each vehicle goes through equipment de-install stations, four ammo abatement inspections, and thorough cleanings in order to pass customs inspections.

At the same time during the process, 401st Army Field Support Brigade person-nel are preparing and verifying shipping instructions to CONUS depots with Army Materiel Command subordinate commands and coordinating with the Surface Deploy-ment and Distribution Command [SDDC] for carrier pick-up.

Finally, we synchronize the fielding actions of the program managers and the sustainment of their fielded systems. We do this by providing mission command for over 46,000 military, DoD civilian and contract personnel at 38 locations across Afghanistan.

In addition to what we do in theater, we also provide reachback to ASC and its capabilities as the Army’s lead materiel inte-grator, providing us with guidance on dis-position of equipment, maintenance and property book issues as well as base support. This reachback also connects us, through ASC, with the full range of the Army Materiel Command’s logistics capabilities. By doing this we bridge the national sustainment base with the operational commanders.

Our brigade also manages the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program, or LOGCAP, which fills the gap in lieu of using combat support units for base support and services to the warfighter. Through the program, we build bases and take them down, we provide dining facilities, laundry, warehousing, transportation, base maintenance, emergency services, and morale, welfare and recreation for Army, joint and allied forces in theater. This provides us with the flexibility to expand or contract services as needed and frees our military to perform their combat mission.

We do this as the Army’s executing agent with Title 10 respon-sibilities.

Q: How does the balance look between inbound supplies and equipment to maintain operations versus outbound retrograding materiel?

A: We continue to reduce the inbound flow of supplies and mate-rial as forces redeploy and requirements shrink. The scale has definitely shifted in favor of retrograde as outbound cargo now exceeds inbound.

We will see a large reduction in our Joint Program Office-MRAP footprint this summer. At the same time, we are culling the fleet to retain only the best equipment and divesting of the remaining materiel in accordance with DA guidance through the Defense Logistics Agency Disposal Services right here in Afghani-stan.

Along the same line of effort, we are fielding Capability Set 13 [CS-13], a package of integrated communication capability to deliver voice and data throughout a brigade combat team. CS-13 represents the last big program we have underway and the high water mark for new programs on the battlefield. From here on out, all the program executive offices/program managers have

The 401st Army Field Support Brigade is responsible for all theater property equipment, which is roughly 20,000 pieces of rolling stock and 413,000 pieces of non-rolling stock equipment valued at $16.7 billion. [Photo courtesy of U.S. Army]

www.MLF-kmi.com4 | MLF 7.6 | U.S. Army Sustainment Command


www.amgeneral.com

Logistics

t r a i n i n g s u p p o r t i l s p a r t sIf you can’t move it, you can’t use it. That’s why customers worldwide rely on the award-winning team of logisticians at AM General to deliver critical parts and services, affordably and on time around the world. With more than 50 years of experience in shipping tens of millions of parts around the globe for the more than 1.5 million vehicles we have produced, AM General is the proven logistics solution for mission readiness and success.

their marching orders and are on a steady drawdown glide path aimed at reducing excess and redundancy. All of this ensures that we maintain the highest readiness possible in theater as well as filling requirements with the equipment in good condition at home base.

We have the best equipped force anywhere in the world right here in Afghanistan. Now, as we drawdown in a fiscally constrained environment, it is time to make tough choices on sustaining only those enduring capabilities required to maintain an advantage across the spectrum of conflict.

Q: Do you have much interaction with logisticians from the other services? How about DLA?

A: Yes, I interact with logisticians from other services on a weekly, if not daily, basis as we participate in a number of boards and working groups.

We have great partnerships with the logistics organization from all services, to include the U.S. Transportation Command, Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, the Defense Logistics Agency, and CENTCOM.

I have a DLA senior command representative embedded on my special staff and we see each other on a daily basis. At the tactical level, my logistics task force commanders work closely with DLA and Defense Contract Management Agency to synchronize the enterprise and ensure unity of effort. Hand in hand with these two organizations, we are working to retrograde more than a billion dollars’ worth of equipment from Afghanistan and turn it into the hands of the U.S. Army and our allies based on Department of the Army priorities.

My AFSB, as an AMC organization, is responsible for the synchronization and integration of support to the acquisition, logistics and technology [ALT] mission and for coordination of follow-on AMC support to PEO/PM requirements in the CJOA-A. In collaboration with the Director, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology forward operations, we coordinate, synchronize and integrate ALT planning and execu-tion conducted by over 40 PEO/PMs, Army Test and Evaluation Command, Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organiza-tion, and the Rapid Equipping Force within the CJOA-A in order to ensure these actions are nested within theater operational plans and priorities for material fielding, sustainment support and sci-ence and technology insertion.

Q: Do you have any responsibilities as far as supporting coalition partners or the Afghan military?

A: The 401st AFSB has played a key role in supporting foreign military sales transfers to the Afghan military. Most recently, Army Field Support Battalion-Bagram issued 49 M1114 vehicles to the Afghan National Army under a foreign military sales case. The 49 vehicles were the last of more than 950 vehicles that were involved in the program that lasted about 2.5 years. Before the vehicles were turned over to the ANA, they were completely checked and restored to a fully mission capable status at Bagram and Camp Lindsey near Kandahar. In some cases the vehicle was practically rebuilt from the ground up while other vehicles required only minor repair and refurbishment.

For approximately one year, we conducted a maintenance men-torship program in which Afghan soldiers worked alongside 401st mechanics to learn more about the vehicles and improve their proficiency in maintaining them. They worked on the very vehicles that were turned over to the ANA under the sales case.

Q: How challenging is property accountability in Afghanistan?

A: Property accountability is tough in Afghanistan, due to the number of rotational units entering and leaving theater, but get-ting better as the drawdown proceeds on schedule.

As the number of small combat outposts and tactical bases served by air decreases, we are in a better position to sustain sup-port through a hub and spoke network. Property accountability is all about standards and discipline at the unit level and the major-ity of tactical units get it right with assistance from our theater property book teams.

Everyone recognizes property accountability was lost during the surge, but we continue working to re-establish accountabil-ity for large and small items every day. We conducted causative research and instituted an amnesty program to accept any piece of equipment found on installation—FOI—with no questions asked. It has been a huge success through the dedicated and persistent efforts of our investigating officers and property specialists.

We have taken the lessons learned from our experiences in Iraq and are instituting those lessons, where applicable, in Afghanistan. As a result of all of our efforts, property accountability has greatly improved.

Q: The Army Sustainment Commands AFSBs have responsibil-ity for Directorates of Logistics [DOLs] operations at 73 posts, camps and stations across the continental United States. Does the 401st AFSB in Afghanistan have responsibility for DOLs across Afghanistan?

A: Not yet, but we are moving in that direction and will be able to make the transition if there is an enduring presence requir-ing those functions beyond 2014. We are currently working with the Bagram Garrison to consolidate maintenance activities and assume DOL responsibilities.

Q: Any closing thoughts?

A: Our Army must be manned, equipped and trained to able to deploy, fight and win our nation’s wars decisively, and redeploy. I am honored and proud to support the 401st AFSB, ASC and AMC in their mission to support CENTCOM operations.

The 401st began as a unit responsible for war reserve stocks within the Persian Gulf region. In October 2001 it assumed respon-sibility to support U.S. Forces in Afghanistan. The unit continued to support combat operations from Qatar and Kuwait, and in 2006 moved to Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan.

We maintain readiness for the Army and joint forces to provide the best materiel which our nation has to offer in a very austere environment.

We will continue to support joint forces after combat forces have withdrawn, such as we have been doing with the U.S. Depart-ment of State in Iraq. O

www.MLF-kmi.com6 | MLF 7.6 | U.S. Army Sustainment Command


Compiled by Kmi media Group staffSUPPLY CHAIN

More Power, Less Footprint

The U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command’s Communications-Electronics Center Command, Power and Integration Directorate, (CERDEC CP&I), recently hosted a demonstration of a novel power unit for its Department of Defense partners.

The tubular solid oxide fuel cell 10 kW power unit exhibits high efficiency, a low acoustic signature, a low visible signature and weighs approximately 960 pounds dry with a volume of 38 cubic feet. Comparatively the Army’s 10 kW tactical quiet generator set weighs 1,100 pounds dry with a volume of 41 cubic feet.

Attending the demonstration were representatives from the Office of Naval Research, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy Plans and Programs, Naval Sea Systems Command, the Army Research Laboratory and the Army Test and Evaluation Command.

Following the demonstration CERDEC CP&I will begin a test and evalu-ation program to assess the unit’s overall performance. The solution will be a part of the 2014 demonstrations under the Technology Capability Demonstration 4a for Sustainment and Logistics Basing.

Injection Molded CasesSKB has introduced a new case, the

3i-2617-12 injection molded case for industrial and military applications. Canyonwest Cases is making them avail-able to companies needing proven-tough cases to safeguard sensitive or expensive equipment.

The new 3i-2617-12 case measures 26 inches by 17.5 inches by 12 inches deep ID (inside dimensions) and is available in four interior configura-tions: custom foam, foam filled, padded dividers and empty.

SKB 3i Series cases are available in 28 sizes. Cases are waterproof, dust-proof and crushproof. They also have an automatic purge valve and uncon-ditional Lifetime Guarantee. Some sizes are equipped with wheels and retract-able pull-handle.

SKB 3i Series waterproof cases meet a variety of military specifications including: MIL-C-4150J, MIL-STD-648C and MIL-STD-810F. Cases are also Air Transport Association compliant.

Ship-to-Shore Connector Tests

Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division (NSWCCD) engineers recently concluded preliminary ship to shore connector (SSC) seaworthiness model tests in the David Taylor Model Basin.

SSC is the replacement for the Navy’s existing fleet of Landing Craft, Air Cushion (LCAC) vehicles, which are nearing the end of their service life. SSCs—like the LCACs they replace—will be primarily used to haul vehicles, heavy equipment and supplies through varied environmental conditions from amphibious ships to over the beach.

“All new Navy platforms, such as the SSC, are required to undergo a comprehensive test and evaluation program to assess tech-nical and operational performance prior to full-scale production. This allows the Navy to resolve any potential problems prior to deployment,” said Gerald Lawler, NSWCCD

senior vulnerability analyst. “A platform’s performance—with respect to survivability—typically falls under the responsibility of the live fire test and evaluation [LFT&E] program for the system. For SSC, we’re leading a multi-year effort to assess the craft’s survivability, and just completed testing on one of the craft’s key performance parameters, or KPPs.

“This seakeeping and survivability test was the third major test performed for the SSC LFT&E program. Over the next several years, additional testing will be conducted to evaluate the craft’s susceptibility, vulnerability and recoverability to various threats,” said Lawler.

The SSC Program requirement is for a total of 73 craft (one test and training, and 72 operational craft). Deliveries are expected to begin in fiscal year 2017, with initial opera-tional capability projected for fiscal year 2020.


Sharon E. Burke was sworn in as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy Plans and Programs on June 25, 2010.

As the assistant secretary, Burke is the principal advisor to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense on operational energy security and reports through the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics. She is the inaugural assistant secretary for the office, which was created to strengthen the energy security of U.S. military operations. The mission of the office is to help the military services and combatant commands improve military capabilities, cut costs, and lower operational and strategic risk through better energy accounting, planning, management, and innovation. Operational energy, or the energy required to train, move and sustain forces, weapons, and equip-ment for military operations, accounted for 75 percent of all energy used by the Department of Defense in 2012.

Prior to her appointment at the Department of Defense, Burke was a vice president and senior fellow at the non-partisan and independent Center for a New American Security (CNAS), a defense policy think tank. At CNAS, she directed research on energy security and initiated the Natural Security Program, which looked at the national security implications of global natu-ral resources challenges.

Burke has extensive previous U.S. government service. She served as a member of the Policy Planning Staff at the Depart-ment of State, a Country Director in the Department of Defense’s Office of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, and a speechwriter to Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and Secretary of Defense William Cohen. She started her career in the Energy and Materials program of the U.S. Office of Technology Assess-ment, contributing to a multi-year study of energy in developing countries.

First joining the Department of Defense as a Presidential Management Fellow, Burke has received medals for Exceptional Public Service from the Department of Defense and the Superior Honor Award from the Department of State. She has served on the Leadership Team of the American Assembly’s Next Generation Project, as the Director of the National Security Project at Third Way, as the Middle East Advocacy Director at Amnesty Interna-tional USA, and is the author of numerous reports, including A Strategy for American Power: Energy, Climate, and National Security.

Burke graduated from Williams College and Columbia Uni-versity’s School of International and Public Affairs, where she focused on international energy policy and earned a Certificate of Middle Eastern Studies. At Columbia, she also was a Zucker-man Fellow, an International Fellow, and a recipient of a foreign language and areas studies grant for Arabic.

Q: The Operational Energy Plans and Programs office is rela-tively new. Could you start us off with what motivated the office’s creation and what its purpose is?

A: The first thing is to understand what operational energy actu-ally is, because it’s not just that the office is new, the concept itself, as a term of art, is new.

The difference here is that the Department [of Defense] has a long history of managing energy use at facilities and fixed site installations. We also have a very long history of excellence in logistics when it comes to energy and moving energy from place to place.

Where we don’t have very much experience is in managing our demand for energy in military operations. That part of our energy has generally been exempt from targets, laws and executive orders. Not lost on anyone is that the majority of DoD’s energy use is operational—three-quarters of all the energy we use comes

Sharon E. BurkeAssistant Secretary of Defense for

Operational Energy Plans and Programs

Energy OptimizerRefining and Reducing the Operational Use of Energy

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under the category of supporting military operations. This office was established to look into this use of energy.

In 2009, Congress authorized the establishment of this office. It also defined operational energy as ‘the energy required to move, train and sustain military operations and related equipment.’

In 2010, President Obama stood up the office as a signal of his commitment to both national security and energy security.

And, the demand signal for all of this came even earlier from our deployed forces. It was our forces in Iraq and in Afghanistan that were asking for some kind of change. The volume of fuel and the difficulty of moving it, especially to the tactical edge, was not lost on anyone deployed.

When General [James N.] Mattis came back from his first two deployments into Afghanistan and Iraq, around the 2004-2005 timeframe, he actually directed the Naval Studies Board to look into the issue. He saw our demand for energy had grown so much that in both Afghanistan and Iraq it had become a limiting factor, and we needed to find a way to operate with a lower fuel require-ment. He wanted to find a way to ‘unleash us from the tether of fuel.’

All of these factors came together at the right time as drivers for the creation of this office.

Q: What are your guiding principles?

A: I’ve really looked at three main lines of effort. The first has been rapid fielding of technologies, but also techniques and procedures to improve fuel use and improve the energy security of operations in Afghanistan. For the first three years of this office we focused heavily on that. Over that time, we promoted the fielding of new technologies—everything from better-insulated shelters, to better power distribution at bases, to tactical solar, as a few examples.

The second line of effort is building energy security into the future force. The intent is to incorporate what we’ve learned in these wars—about the burden of energy on a distributed battle-field, particularly one where you have foes who have precision weapons—into building a more resilient force from the very beginning. This means getting into the force development process and the strategic planning process.

The third effort is to promote innovation and the adoption of better energy technologies. I oversee energy-related RDT&E and also have a specific fund that I manage that I push out to the mili-tary departments in order to seed the sort of innovation that we would like to see enter into programs.

Q: Energy has always been a part of military planning, even if it hasn’t necessarily been in the same way as it is now being approached. Were there cultural challenges in standing up the new offices and carving out its territory and responsibilities?

A: Yes, it’s always difficult to establish a new office in the middle of a very mature and robust institution.

One of the factors that helped us to establish the office is the way the department structured the organization. This office is a direct report to the Secretary of Defense, but the department situated the office with the under secretary for acquisition technology and logis-tics. Being under his sponsorship has helped us a great deal. So for example, I am a member of the Defense Acquisition Board and have been very closely aligned with the innovation part of DoD.

I’ve been very fortunate to have good support, first from Ash Carter and then from Frank Kendall [under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics], so that bit of organizational planning helped the office off on the right foot.

The law that established this office also required the military departments and the Joint Staff to establish similar offices, so to have capacity building across the entire institution at the same time certainly helped.

I have put a lot of emphasis on finding allies and finding where the natural partnerships are on this. Who is going to have a built-in interest in seeing improvements in this area? Who has the capabil-ity and the need to improve? Identifying those people has helped as well.

It’s a mixture of carrot, sticks and friends.One of the things that has made it particularly difficult is that

in the entire life of the office, we’ve been under CRs [continuing resolutions]. Being under CRs as a new startup has been very chal-lenging, and sequestration has added layers of difficulty.

We have good bicameral/bipartisan support on the Hill for this office and our activities. In fact, they really want us to get things done, but they’re not giving us the tools by not passing budgets.

Having said that, we’ve put together a good team at this point. It’s just been a very turbulent environment to be building a new office.

Q: You mentioned that you have some degree of RDT&E fund-ing. Can you provide some background and detail on that? Do you direct any procurement dollars?

A: We have a small annual research, development, test and evalua-tion budget item that we use to promote research and development within the military departments. To date, we have focused on load reduction—on reducing the demand for energy, at contingency bases specifically.

I decided to look at that fund not so much for me to support spe-cial projects, but to build capacity in the departments, to improve in the areas I would like them to improve for the long term. So, for example, we didn’t come up with a new next-generation shelter; we invited the services who had programs in that area to compete for that money, and then we got them all to work together, because they all had similar programs.

As for procurement, I don’t personally own procurement dol-lars; I do have study monies that I’ve used to build relationships with the COCOMs [combatant commands] and others.

I also have a very unusual statutory authority: budget certi-fication. I’m one of two offices in the department that, by law, is required to review the entire DoD budget and pass judgment for the secretary, and ultimately for the Congress, on how we’re doing in programming and budgeting in this area. So I do use that authority to look at whether or not we have a healthy level of investment in these energy areas.

Earlier I mentioned finding allies. One example of a great ally has been with the Army’s Program Executive Officer for Combat Support and Combat Support Services, Kevin Fahey. Not only does he own a lot of the vehicles that are really important to the fight, but he also owns contingency base kits, which are ripe targets for consequential energy improvements.

Since almost anything to do with contingency base procure-ment comes through his office, he’s been a great partner.


In the broader procurement picture, our main role is to influ-ence people’s choices and make them more aware of the operational energy consequences of their acquisitions.

Q: Do you see any variances necessary in the near term to your three primary focus areas that you just described?

A: By law, the office was required to produce a strategy for the department on operational energy, and we did that in June 2011. That strategy basically was a directional strategy, sort of a ‘go west’ strategy.

For the department, the goal is to make sure that our forces have the energy they need and are going to have what we need. Our strategy outlined our mission to reduce the amount of fuel required to support operations, to reduce demand, to improve our supply diversity and the security of our supply, and build energy security into the future force. So that was an important area as far as our direction and focus for the whole department and how we’ve guided the department.

Along with the statutory requirement for a strategy, there was a similar requirement for an implementation plan. That plan, published in 2012, focuses on capacity building within the military services.

Q: Last year, DoD reported on the energy key performance parame-ters [KPPs] and the fully burdened cost of energy analysis [FBCE]. First, let’s look at the energy KPPs and what that means.

A: The Energy KPP is a really important tool for building energy into the future force.

In January 2012, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs made the energy key performance parameter a mandatory KPP. Before that, by law it was selectively applied.

Now, the services are responsible for enforcing the energy KPP across all programs. It’s not always going to be directly germane; but for anything that’s a major energy consumer, they’re required to apply the energy KPP.

The KPP is all about inserting energy as a military requirement early in the force development process, where it really matters.

That’s because as you get further down the line in that process, your options for incorporating energy improvements become more limited. If you haven’t considered up front how the energy demand of a platform or a system is going to affect your ability to execute a mission, then it’s too late to do it after you’ve already built it. You can make marginal improvements that can be helpful, but if you really want to make a difference, it has to come early on.

The goal of the KPP is to inform energy performance targets and thresholds which will drive specific energy improvements in later phases of development. It’s about determining the opera-tional impact of the energy demand for the system being devel-oped. It’s not just about O&M [operations and maintenance]—it’s about when this piece of equipment is used in a mission scenario, knowing what the energy demand on the force will be. It’s about

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knowing and being able to predict the energy burden and not allowing it to become a limiting operational factor.

The whole point here is to put a value on energy as a military input, and to make sure it isn’t being just assumed as a given, because as we’ve seen over the last 12 years, you can’t assume it away. Energy has been a target in these wars.

Q: Does your office have a role in determining these major pro-grams as they’re being developed, in establishing that energy KPP?

A: Yes, when the chairman put in the mandatory requirement for the KPP, it listed us as a consulting office. We have been supporting the Joint Staff, director for logistics, in the methodology and developing with him and his staff how to actually do the supporting scenario analysis.

Q: Has the FBCE reporting process started and has it been useful in determining metrics that can be used in the future?

A: The FBCE requirement has been in place for a while, and we did publish a methodology in the Defense Acquisition Guidebook last year, so there is a methodology for that as well—and it is being used.

The FBCE comes in a little further down in the acquisition process during the analysis of alternatives. FBCE requires fuel, logistics, and force protection costs associated with energy logistics to be considered. In the private sector, this might be referred to as activity-based costing.

This provides a basis for making trades. It puts energy in the trade space. We are seeing this analysis being done now on several major systems, so we know it’s a factor.

In late May/early June, the Marine Corps commandant put out new guidance on how to implement the energy analytics specifically for all new Marine Corps acquisitions. This reaffirms that the mes-sage is being received.

Q: What’s been the reaction to the fully burdened cost of energy implementation?

A: The fully burdened cost of energy has provoked some confusion over the years. Some people think we’re pricing all the externalities: what does it cost the United States to defend sea lines of communica-tion and things like that. That’s not what it is.

There was also a number floating out there at one point that the fully burdened cost of energy was $400 a gallon, which is not the case. There was a scenario analysis that was done in 2001 that was based on outmoded concepts of operations. We’ve done some analy-sis using actual data from Afghanistan. When you count the com-modity costs plus logistics and force protection, we’ve seen anywhere from $10-50 a gallon as the cost, and $50 being at the tactical edge.

That doesn’t mean that there isn’t a scenario in which it would cost far more than that. But again, this was meant to be a tool to help you make trade-offs in the acquisition process, not as an accounting tool right now.

It should be a factor in deciding what you need to buy—whether you want a more efficient engine, whether it’s worth it to you to put that investment in there, or lighter-weight materials, or better tires if it’s a vehicle, or drag reduction if it’s an aircraft. FBCE can help when considering how much it is worth to make a specific investment. It should help answer the question: what’s the mission return on an

investment if you invest in certain kinds of technologies or concepts of operation?

Q: Trying to compare energy consumption in the military can be difficult, when you’re talking at the operational end, because no two days are the same. That being said, are there metrics that allow you to say if the military has become more energy efficient in the past three years?

A: First I would say that I do believe we’re getting better, and we do have some data to suggest that, particularly for Afghanistan.

You’re right; it’s very difficult to measure because energy consumption in an operation is so closely tied to the nature of the mission and the op tempo. It’s very difficult to hold all the other variables even and say how much is due to energy efficiency improvements. However, we’re increasingly getting data that will help us understand what kinds of improvements are making an impact.

One very important part of that is getting the volume of fuel off the battlefield. It’s possible to look at straight numbers and say that we are using less today than we did yesterday. But that’s not really an accurate barometer of effectiveness.

Combat outposts at the far tactical edge are not high-volume consumers. Many of their ops are mostly foot patrols with few vehicles—if they have vehicles at all. While they’re not high vol-ume, they’re the hardest place to resupply, and what they need when they’re walking a three-day or a 10-day foot patrol is highly mission-critical. They’re carrying a lot of gear that requires lots of batteries—which means lots of weight—so even if you’re not mak-ing a big volume dent, by changing the way they use energy, you’re making a big mission impact.

It’s really difficult to assign how much of our improvements are due to efficiency improvements, but even if it were easier, you don’t always want to do that, because some of the highest-impact benefits that we’ve seen at the individual level may not show up as big numbers on a stat sheet but may have a big impact for the troops.

Q: What are some other ways you are looking to impact opera-tional energy usage?

A: There are certainly areas that we’ve focused on in which we have numbers that show us that impact is big. Overall, the largest consumers of our entire force are mobility platforms.

Air Mobility Command has made some efficiency improve-ments and has shown something like $500 million in savings over the five year defense budget just from some of their process changes—not even technology changes necessarily.

The Navy has put in hybrid electric drive on the USS Makin Island, which had something like $20 million in savings on its first six-month tour.

By their operational nature, we know certain platforms are high energy consumers, particularly the Air Force’s aircraft and the Navy’s ships. We know they are big volume consumers but that is dependent on their operational demand, which is harder to predict.

Even small changes can add to operationally significant ben-efits. But there’s also that criticality issue, so I would say we’ve looked at our targets is at the individual level. We’ve been asking: what can we do to reduce the battery load that a soldier or Marine


is carrying; how can we make battery improvements and power use improvements to make that a more effective mission? Then, we’ve looked at contingency bases.

In Afghanistan right now, contingency bases as a platform are a major consumer of fuel, and that has definitely been low-hanging fruit in terms of energy savings; there improvements we could make there that aren’t that hard, that can really cut the fuel demand, so we’ve focused a lot of effort there.

On even the bigger platforms, small things can have a big impact. The Navy, for example, by using new hull and propeller coatings has reduced energy use by 2 percent, which adds up sav-ings for every deployment.

Changes at a structural level are also impacting energy use. One such example is unmanned systems, which may be replacing missions previously performed by manned platforms. These sys-tems consume far less fuel than the platforms they may be replac-ing or augmenting, and they also have more flexibility for the kind of fuel they use. For example, for unmanned systems, the military departments are experimenting with hydrogen fuel cells and solar cells that cut the fuel demand and extend the range and endurance of these systems.

A final thought for this, and where I have a concern, is that the the big platforms that are coming into the force at this point have a higher fuel requirement than the platforms they’re replacing. So right now, our trend line isn’t so good. We’re working it, but until we incorporate energy as a military-relevant good in our force development, that’s going to continue to be a challenge.

Q: We’re a fossil fuel military, but biofuels are finding their way in right now. What is the official department line on biofuels, and what’s the reality of matching up those goals with the budget realities and the expense of a new fuel chain in there?

A: When I said that we had to create a new term of art in opera-tional energy, not just a new office, I also meant we had to create a new budget exhibit. There was no budget line that said ‘operational energy.’ So over the last three years we’re tracked something like 300 program elements and subprogram elements that in some way improve the operational energy footprint of the DoD. That’s largely an investment in modernization, and in research, development, testing and evaluation. That’s a portfolio of energy improvements that we expect to be about $2.6 billion in fiscal year 2014, which is what the president’s request was. Almost 90 percent of it is on the demand side—to reduce in the demand for fuel on the battlefield.

We do have a small effort, about 2 percent in the president’s 2014 budget, to look at alternative fuels, research, development, test and evaluation. The department has been engaged in these types of activities since about 2003, and they are to allow the force to take advantage of a more diverse fuel supply.

As you said, we are a liquid-fuels-using force. We’re designed that way. For example, consider the tanker aircraft. We’ve got the new one coming in. The one it’s replacing is about 50-60 years old and this new one will be in use for a long time to come. In general, we have a force designed to use liquid fuels that is going to be with us for many decades, so it’s very much in our interest to make sure that we’re going to have liquid fuels available.

The department’s policy is that we will only buy bulk alternative fuels if they’re cost-competitive with petroleum. We will continue to keep a hand in biofuels development though. For example, we

have a project that we’ve engaged in with DoE and the Department of Agriculture to look at whether some of the more proven biofuel-refining technologies are capable of scaling up—because again, it’s in our interest to have a diverse fuel supply as a country and certainly as a military force that’s liquid-fuel-dependent.

Q: Can you tell me about your efforts in the solar arena?

A: Sure. What we’ve been looking at in Afghanistan, where we’ve actually facilitated the deployment of some solar technologies, is if there’s a way that solar energy—since this is a place with a lot of sun—can actually decrease the fuel requirement.

We’ve seen it be especially useful at combat outposts and for-ward operating bases that are difficult to resupply, where you’re resupplying fuel over contested or inadequate roads or by helicopter or cargo aircraft. Most of these locations are not high-demand users, so in many cases solar can actually displace much of the liquid fuel requirement. That can free up delivery assets for other missions.

Specifically, we have had success with solar hybrid generators. “Hybrid” means that we combine solar panels with a battery of some kind, a rudimentary micro-grid that manages the energy loads, and usually with a backup generator attached, because we want resilience.

One of my favorite examples was an application for a GPS guidance system for a mortar pit in Afghanistan. Prior to solar, to recharge the system’s batteries, a HMMWV would drive up every day and just plug into their batteries to recharge it. The Army’s Rapid Equipping Force bought these folks a solar hybrid system that ran the mortar pit 24/7 with no noise, no fumes and no one needed to babysit the HMMWV or a generator. That’s where the technology is especially well matched to the demand.

The Marine Corps and the Army also both have deployed flexible solar panels for their dismounts that recharge batteries. The Army Center for Lessons Learned did a study that said today, on a three-day foot patrol, a soldier may be carrying 10 pounds of batteries, seven different kinds, and they foresee that it’s climbing up to 18 pounds. That’s a lot of weight. These solar rechargeable panels can cut the weight of the batteries carried.

This is the kind of impact that ripples across the supply chain, because that means you don’t have to fly in so many batteries, fly them out or dispose of them.

Q: For the solar applications in Afghanistan, were the products basically commercial off-the-shelf?

A: This is actually a full-circle investment. You may have seen prod-ucts in the commercial sector for hikers and campers like backpacks and satchels that have solar panels on them. That actually started as Army research. When the Army moved in another direction, the technology migrated into the commercial sector, and now it’s coming back full circle. So I would say that most of the solar tech-nologies that we’re deploying have been commercial off-the-shelf adapted and ruggedized for military use.

Our value proposition at the tactical edge is a little different than the commercial sectors, so we’re working with Department of Energy on what the possibilities are of getting a higher-efficiency solar output that will help us more on the tactical edge. Another fac-tor is getting the cost down, of course, but first, we are focused on how we can improve solar efficiency?


Q: Now that the office is established, your strategies are in place, and you have the support of the military and Congress, what are your next steps?

A: One thing that we are focused on is the secretary’s guidance on the pivot to the Asia-Pacific, and supporting that. We’ve been highly engaged with Pacific Command and looking at incorpo-rating energy into exercises, as an equipping issue as well as a planning issue. We also need to make sure our war plans look at energy supportability.

The current J4, Lieutenant General [Brooks] Bash has been a terrific leader and partner in this, just a great thinker on these issues—specifically on operational energy and how to improve the energy footprint of future missions. We’ve been working with him a great deal on that, and we will continue to do so.

We’ve also been looking at things like the KPP as one of the tools needed to actually enforce the energy strategy. We will be continuing to lay in new tools in the future, and considering how to actually implement that strategic guidance.

We’ll continue looking at strategic planning in the depart-ment and incorporating energy, including into war games and other planning tools. We’ll also continue to engage with the clas-sified and unclassified guidance, including the 2010 Quadren-nial Defense Review—which certainly included energy—and its importance to the department.

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

A: Since this is a logistics journal, I think one of the things of note is that this is such a point of change for the department and for national security. What has really helped us is that logisticians and logistics are really coming to the fore. The relevance of logistics to the future fight as a strategic input has really been coming out. I think being a new office, and introducing a new line of business at the same time that has been happening, has been a great benefit. Learning more about our logistics community and being in close partnership with them has been a great benefit for our mission and personally very satisfying.

We have such great leaders in people like General Ray Mason in the Army; Loren Reno in the Air Force, who was wonderful to work with; Judy Fedder; Kathy Gainey, who is just finishing a tour at USTRANSCOM; and Brooks Bash, who as I said has been terrific to work with. Not only was [Bash] a previous leader [at AMC], he established their energy office they have; that was his creation. He has always been leading the way on how this fits—not just as a budgetary savings matter. All the things we’re talking about ulti-mately do save you money. But the number one thing is, ‘How do they allow you to be a better force?’ That’s our mission.

Being an honorary part of the logistics community has been a terrific part of this job. Even when I travel overseas, I usually travel with the logistics chiefs, so I have a lot of respect for this community. O

The Navy’s shift to the Pacific inspires our twelfth title and website...

OUR INAUGURAL ISSUEwill support the Navy with the latest program developments in air and sea for Congress, the executive branch, other services and industry.

Contact Nikki James at [email protected] or 301-670-5700 to participate in the inaugural issue!

OUR 12 TH TITLE


With the end of combat operations in Afghanistan looming, Mili-tary Surface Deployment and Distribution Command has laid out its plan to complete the herculean task of returning military equipment to the United States.

“Afghanistan return, reset, redeployment, redistribution and dis-posal [R4D] will require innovation and creativity to solve the move-ment challenges to meet national objectives, and SDDC is committed to ensuring the success of this mission,” said Major General Thomas J. Richardson, SDDC commanding general. “We must maximize effi-ciencies gained through volume—the amount of cargo moved—and effectiveness through velocity—the speed at which cargo is moved. By achieving a balance between volume and velocity, we can satisfy the needs of the warfighter and provide cost savings for the military services.”

The general wrote these words in an introduction to a recently published white paper addressing SDDC’s volume velocity distribu-tion retrograde (V2DR) approach to moving cargo in support of the drawdown in Afghanistan. Richardson said the thoughts and ideas discussed in the V2DR white paper provide a starting point for dia-logue and socialization in regard to the R4D processes and challenges. “As we move forward,” he added, “we welcome partnering with other organizations on new ways to attain mission accomplishment of the coming monumental task—Afghanistan retrograde.”

The v2dr approachThe V2DR approach designed at SDDC will achieve the desired

balance necessary to meet R4D movement requirements. Exploiting best value routing (BVR) requires sound equipping forecasts, free flow of carrier multi-modal (MM) sites, adjusted retrograde required delivery dates (RDDs), and ship/rail cargo consolidation to optimize transportation efficiencies.

Key V2DR activities include: 1. Mode Neutral-BVR using Universal Service Contract (USC)-7

and MM contracts that fit within U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) geographical constraints

2. Identify requirements earlier and realign the transportation requisition process (TRP) for retrograde equipment while allowing realistic RDDs

3. Build a requirement to synchronize the line haul capacity4. Identify and designate strategic retrograde CONUS seaports of

debarkation (SPODs)5. Trans-ship retrograde equipment from CONUS port to final

destination via the most cost-efficient manner and in concert with industrial base reception capabilities

6. Modify carrier performance measures

Synchronizing the MM contract with how JOPES [Joint Opera-tions Planning and Execution System] records are built and executed will achieve the required velocity and reduce the TRP by up to seven days. Consolidating the cargo at a CONUS location for no more than two weeks will allow SDDC to achieve more than 40 percent

(estimated $2.5 million per 100,000 20-foot equivalent units) in cost savings when moving via rail vice line haul.

BackgroundSince October 7, 2011, there has been a substantial buildup of

coalition troops, bases and equipment in the Afghanistan campaign. On the other side, the Operation Enduring Freedom drawdown will end on or about December 31, 2014. The current retrograde effort is supporting the drawdown of hostilities in Afghanistan and minimal deployments are projected. USC-7 and MM contracts are available to meet operational requirements.

Currently, DoD estimates more than 750,000 major end items, worth in excess of $36 billion, currently in Afghanistan will cost an estimated $5.7 billion to transfer or return.

Political-military (POL-MIL) country access challenges and stated capacity goals on PAKGLOC (Pakistan Ground Lines of Communica-tions) and NDN (Northern Distribution Network) impact cargo flow.

USCENTCOM requires the use of JOPES for all retrograde coor-dination and validations.

Reset constraints are not present as most of this cargo is not going into the Army force generation cycle. Factors that are influenc-ing movement include force management levels, base closure, dispo-sition instructions, and on-hand materiel inventory levels.

As part of a common theme, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Tank, U.S. GAO, and Department of the Army memorandums have all stressed cost-focused retrograde planning and execution.

challengeTo attain success of the R4D mission, U.S. forces must overcome

large impediments, including physical, environmental, political and operational constraints, as well as enemy threats and cost factors. Commanders inside the Combined Joint Operations Area-Afghani-stan (CJOA-A) want velocity (fast move) and military services want volume (low cost). Balancing speed and low cost in a defense trans-portation system is challenging when given multiple operational constraints such as universal JOPES RDDs; documentation errors; untimely disposition instructions; and combatant command-man-dated distribution routing. These factors sub-optimize the use of commercially available distribution networks and drive costly trans-portation solutions from CONUS ports to final destination.

Afghanistan, unlike Iraq, does not have a theater-specific loca-tion that allows surface movement and reception of outbound cargo. To meet the December 31, 2014, goal, velocity and volume are essential to success. SDDC created V2DR to outline the com-mand’s concept to support R4D operations. V2DR is based on the following three core premises: necessity to move large amounts of cargo in a very short time; overcoming multiple impediments (e.g., POL-MIL, weather, route saturation); and cost-conscious transportation operations. This synchronizes JOPES planning with contract acquisition tools to meet operational requirements; it focuses on cultural changes to the traditional ready to load (RLD)/RDD JOPES records building model to optimize commercial best

v2dr approach To reTurning maTeriel supporTing afghanisTan draWdoWn.By miTch chandran

business practices; and it leverages point-to-point movement flow to maximize efficiencies gained through volume and effectiveness through velocity.

concepT in applying v2dr• Adjust time-phased force and deployment data (TPFDD) letter

of intent guidance for retrograde to allow expanded movement times outside of CJOA-A to allow better rail/ship consolidation of rolling stock/non-rolling stock

• Long-range strategic materiel movements forecasting plan• Inserting transportation planning assets earlier in the

equipment retrograde process• Create strategic shipment destinations of specific cargo types• Meter CONUS flow• Ensure accurate and timely shipping documentation [i.e.,

transportation control and movement document]

enTerprise r4d sTraTegic planningMoving the COCOM validation requirement 60 days to the left

will create a volume of work in progress to maximize the pipeline to incentivize carriers to better position assets along their transportation assets to achieve velocity. This allows SDDC to retrograde 87 percent of MM movement out of Afghanistan, book 100 percent of the seaport of embarkation to SPOD, and manage 100 percent of traffic from SPOD to final destination.

miTigaTion of operaTional consTrainTsThe mitigation of operational constraints focuses on the employ-

ment of JOPES in retrograde planning and execution. As a planning tool, JOPES provides a framework for movement data and require-ments that facilitate deployment/redeployment. In V2DR, however, the role of JOPES planning dates—such as RLD (e.g., the first date cargo is available for pickup), available to load, and RDD—serve to build speed and volume.

BesT value rouTing (Bvr)BVR focuses on aligning COCOM operational requirements

to redeployment and retrograde contracting performance at the best cost. SDDC employs both USC-7 and the MM contract to ful-fill theater-generated movement requirements for military service departments and others via the PAKGLOC, NDN, or MM routing. At present, MM represents more than 87 percent of the movements out of Afghanistan, which validates the need for MM capacity. Although capacity exists within the distribution network to meet USFOR-A’s retrograde goals of 1,200 rolling stock and 1,000 non-rolling stock pieces, greater opportunities to reduce cost are possible with the cor-rect TPFDD rules and JOPES application

afghanisTan reTrograde To conus - lines of communicaTion neTWork assessmenT

Joint Staff Route Mix Cost Analysis Scenarios*Scenario 1: 50% Multi Modal/100% PAKGLOC/Cost: $4.1BScenario 2: 100% Multi Modal/0% PAKGLOC/Cost: $5.3BScenario 3: 75% Multi Modal/75% PAKGLOC/Cost: $4.8BScenario 4: 100% Multi Modal/75% PAKGLOC/Cost: $4.6BScenario 5: 100% Multi Modal/100% PAKGLOC/Cost: $4.4B

* Data based on percentage of route usage goals and shrinking time line.

lines of communicaTion assessmenTNorthern Distribution Network (NDN):

The NDN grew to become fully operational for the inbound resupply of U.S. forces. From a cost perspective, pure surface NDN is two to four times more expensive than using the PAKGLOC, but still significantly cheaper than MM. To date the amount of cargo that has successfully transited this route has been minimal and has an unproven capacity.Pakistan Ground Lines of Communication:

The PAKGLOC was established in 2002 and moved 30 percent of all inbound OEF cargo, taking an average of 54 days to move CONUS origin cargo to the AFG-PAK border. The pure surface movement along the PAKGLOC is by far the BVR for retrograde cargo. Prior to the 2011 closure, the PAKGLOC was the only sur-face route that allowed two-way flow of cargo. As a result of the closure, proofs of principle were developed to re-open the route. These PoPs are delayed due to Pakistani interagency discussions concerning internal processing issues. Until political issues are resolved, this important GLOC will be unable to be leveraged in the drawdown of forces in Afghanistan. As a result of these limiting operational capabilities, DoD relied on MM (air and sea) transport, a more costly transportation option.

door-To-door conus reTrograde cosT analysisWith “Port” booking scenarios, the shipper actually realizes a

cost increase regardless of RDD. The billing rate in USC includes delivery to final destination. However, when shipments are stopped at the port, they must be rebooked via a global freight manage-ment (GFM) contract. This cost is passed through to the shipper, resulting in two payments for the same move. Costs associated with the second move can be reduced by extending the RDD to allow for utilization of rail versus truck movement.

DoD owns a fleet of rail cars used to transport heavy equip-ment. SDDC receives Transportation Working Capital Fund revenue when DoD flatbed/box rail cars are used for transport by commercial rail carriers ($0.50 per mile flat cars, $0.30 per mile box car: 2,000 mile journey x 50 flat cars x $0.50 per mile = $50,000 DoD revenue. FY12 revenue was $4.16 million). Com-mercial rail carriers operate in every major CONUS water port, all run intermodal operations, cargo exchange agreements, and have business operations with the 400-plus short line rail carriers in the United States. All major DoD depots are connected to the CONUS rail interchange.

SDDC G9 and TCAQ are currently reviewing the USC-7 contract to incorporate a rail rate option for returning CONUS retrograde equipment. The current USC rate is based on per con-veyance truckline CONUS haul rate. Rates review will be based on truckline haul rates versus rail.

Consolidation at CONUS DoD sites needs to be reviewed for a temporary aggregation solution of retrograde equipment to avoid port storage fees, carrier storage fees and depot/instal-lation congestion. Army depots and commercial receiving facilities will play a key role in the scheduling and receiving of equipment for retrograde, and must effectively manage fleet avail-ability. O

This article is an abbreviated version of the V2DR white paper which is posted in the right column at: http://translog.armylive.dodlive.mil


President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill into law 151 years ago, establishing the Rock Island Arsenal for the deposit and repair of ordnance. Destruction of Harper’s Ferry Arsenal in 1859 spurred Congress to see the need for insurance for the military’s ordnance. At its inception, however, the arsenal was used as a Civil War prison for Confederate soldiers. After the Civil War, the newly established Rock Island Arsenal became the repository for Civil War surplus. As the arsenal buildings were constructed, arsenal employees cleaned, repaired and shipped Civil War-era infantry, cavalry and artillery equipment to support troops on the western frontier.

A lot has changed over the last 151 years, but the Rock Island Arsenal’s commitment to the soldier has not.

“Throughout our long history, the arsenal has changed and adapted to meet the needs of the warfighter,” said Rick Nesbitt, deputy commander at the Rock Island Arsenal Joint Manufactur-ing and Technology Center (RIA-JMTC). “At the beginning, this arsenal produced forks, knives and spoons for meal kits. Today we produce thousands of high-precision parts and systems for the joint warfighter.”

RIA-JMTC’s ability to adapt has made it relevant and reliable in its support to military readiness. This has been done through the years by always re-inventing itself. Today, the arsenal is transi-tioning out of supporting a long-term conflict and is changing its culture from the ground up.

Just this year, they changed their mission statement after a long period of time. The mission statement now reads: “Provide rapid response manufacturing capability and world-class quality manu-factured products, services and logistics in support of our nation.”

“We added rapid response into our mission statement because we learned over the last 10 years that we have an enemy that adapts to our technology. We need to always be one step ahead,” said RIA-JMTC’s Sergeant Major, Sergeant Major Ceaser Roberts. “To do that, we must be able to provide a rapid and agile organic manufacturing capability to the military.”

In 2011 the Rock Island Arsenal was approached with a daunt-ing task. Enemies found a vulnerability gap in the armor protection around a Caiman and were able to laser target their EFPs in the gap and kill soldiers. The solution was a redesign of the armor kit. Approached in June, RIA-JMTC was asked to produce 504 kits in 30 days and more than 1,000 in 60 days. The kits counted for 113,000 parts. RIA-JMTC dedicated the personnel and the machines to deliver on a promise. Not only did RIA-JMTC deliver on the 504 kits in 30 days, 22 of those kits were installed in theater within that 30-day window.

Like commercial manufacturing companies, quality is para-mount for this vertically integrated metal manufacturing facility.

“Those on the front line depend on us to make sure we are producing to milspec on our products and not form-fit-function,”

a long hisTory of serving The joinT WarfighTer.By rhys fullerlove

MLF 7.6 | 25 www.MLF-kmi.com

Roberts explained. “When a soldier is in the heat of a fight, we must ensure that the first time and every time he pulls that trigger, he gets a bang and not a click. Our quality standards can mean life or death for a warfighter.”

For the last decade, the Rock Island Arsenal has been an original equipment manufacturer for systems like the forward repair system (FRS) and the M119 howitzer.

“We have had a lot of success with long-running programs,” said Greg Lupton, manufacturing operations director. “Using Lean principals, we were able to improve our output per month, increase our quality, lower the cost per unit, and return money back to the Army on some of our long-run programs.”

Rock Island’s evolution goes beyond just changing its mission statement. They are changing the way they do business. In 2006, RIA-JMTC made history by becoming the first Army organization ever to receive the Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing (Public Sector Award at the Gold Level). Since then, the arsenal has been rooted in continuous process improvement across all areas of the factory.

It is critical that the arsenal establishes a Lean culture upfront, because the days of long-run programs are coming to a close. Today the arsenal receives shorter run, lower quantity type work. Right now the arsenal has more than 300 different products with delivery dates across a spectrum of systems to include, mobile maintenance equipment, add-on-armor, small arms repair parts, and artillery recoil mechanisms.

To push those 300 products through the factory across 16 dif-ferent sub-manufacturing processes, it takes a whole team approach and a business model not found anywhere else. The arsenal relies just as heavily on its pre-production engineering skills as their jour-neyman machinists on the floor.

“We don’t just manufacture products at this arsenal, we develop cradle to grave manufacturing processes,” said Travis Themas, chief of the Process Validation and Technology Branch & N/C Program-ming. “By being the only vertically integrated metal manufacturer in DoD, we get a variety of products that require utilization of multiple core competencies within our facility. Our job is to take technical data packages for products and find the most efficient and effective way to manufacture them.”

In 2004, the Rock Island Arsenal changed its name to the Rock Island Arsenal Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center; how-ever, it did not catch up to its new name right away. From fiscal year 2008-2010, the arsenal’s customer mix consisted of 96 percent from Army with only 1 percent coming from the joint services.

That changed in 2009, when RIA-JMTC instituted a market-ing strategy and team to diversify and tell their story to the joint services. Since then the product mix has spread out, and today joint service work makes up 38 percent of their portfolio with an additional 8 percent coming from commercial and direct sales along with foreign military sales.

The type of work at the arsenal is also transitioning. Staying ahead of the enemy is critical for the commanders on the battlefield, and the arsenal finds itself manufacturing more prototype work to support evolving threats.

The influx of short-run programs is having a ripple effect across the entire factory floor and changing the mentality of the workforce. The arsenal is accommodating this by establishing more

flexible manufacturing lines as well as relying on better collabora-tion between the skilled artisan labors, engineers, acquisition offi-cers and everyone else that supports the end-to-end process.

“We have to become more ‘job shop’ focused,” said Lupton. “We no longer have years to figure out a process, we now only have months and sometimes weeks. We need everyone to come together at the table to figure out how best to meet the cost, schedule and quality goals so we can get a the soldier the product they need.”

Another way RIA-JMTC evolves is to stay on top of the latest manufacturing technology. In addition to investing more than $100 million in new machining equipment over the last six years, they have worked to bring brand-new technology to the factory.

The arsenal became the first organic facility to have a titanium casting capability. In addition, they have a composite armor center that came online four years ago.

As the arsenal looks to the future, it is working on doing more with less. One way to accomplish this is to find energy savings wherever possible. The arsenal is by implementing an Energy Sav-ings Performance Contract (ESPC). This will address several areas of improvement, including one of their most energy-eating areas: the plating shop. ESPCs allow federal agencies to accomplish energy savings projects without up-front capital costs and without special Congressional appropriations by paying for the improvements with proven energy reduction savings.

“We have been working with the Army Corps of Engineers to find a way to modernize our plating operation while reducing operating costs,” said Brad Niles, chief of plant engineering. “We are planning to achieve an 80 percent reduction in operating costs needed to maintain this EPA-regulated environment and look for similar savings in other areas.”

It is a different world that Rock Island Arsenal operates in today than what it has over the last century and a half. They find them-selves facing fiscal challenges just like the rest of the Department of Defense; however, that cannot stop their resolve for delivering products to those fighting in harm’s way.

Dwight Eisenhower once said, “Neither a wise nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him.” The Rock Island Arsenal has refused to wait for the train, but instead has been the engineer of that train, driving towards a path that always focuses on the men and women serving in the armed forces.

“The Rock Island Arsenal has been supporting military readi-ness for more than 150 years. We have been able to do this due to the tenacity of our skilled workforce and the ability to adapt to change,” Nesbitt closed with. “Though we have no crystal ball, we do know through studying history that nothing stays the same. We will continue to look towards the future, standing ready to support the Army, the warfighter and the nation with world class quality manufactured products, services and logistics.” O

Rhys Fullerlove is with the Rock Island Arsenal public affairs office.


at www.mlf-kmi.com.


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Mike Brogan is the senior vice president for strategy at ManTech’s Technical Services Group. Before joining ManTech, he served more than 31 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, retiring as a brigadier general. An acquisi-tion professional, he spent nearly four years as the commander of Marine Corps Systems Command. During that time, he performed the additional duty of Joint Program Execu-tive Officer for the $45 billion mine resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicle program. He also serves on the Defense Acquisition University Board of Visitors.

Q: ManTech has had a large presence in Afghanistan. How are you positioning the company for the post-OEF environment?

A: We are extremely proud of both our cur-rent work during Operation Enduring Free-dom and our previous efforts in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Our employees have directly contributed to the lifesaving programs that protect our nation’s service men and women, as well as the lives of many coalition partners. Throughout those operations, we delivered logistics support to the Joint MRAP vehicle program office and to the route clearance vehicle, U.S. Special Operations Command, and elevated sensors programs. We served—and continue to serve—with U.S. forces at forward operating bases and worked alongside our armed forces in those combat areas. Look-ing forward, we remain prepared to go where our customers go to conduct future contin-gency operations. Post conflict, we are well positioned to offer a wide range of logistics support to the Departments of Defense, State, and Homeland Security, as well as other fed-eral agencies and the intelligence community. Located across the United States and in more than 40 countries around the world, ManTech delivers the people, processes and tools to meet our customers’ logistics needs.

Q: What are some of ManTech’s specific focus areas for the future?

A: ManTech capably supports the services and other customers on bases and stations throughout the United States and around the

world. To meet their needs, we deliver a wide range of logistics services, including supply chain management, property management, inventory tracking, warehousing, shipping, receiving, repair, maintenance, fielding and training. We have formed strategic partner-ships to combine formidable collective exper-tise and offer cost-competitive enterprise logistics solutions. One partnership resulted in winning a position in the Enhanced Army Global Logistics Enterprise program—we are waiting for the Army to begin awarding those task orders. We also recognize the govern-ment’s small business and socio-economic contracting requirements. ManTech partners with small businesses to deliver tailored logis-tic offerings to the marketplace.

Q: Describe some of the strengths that Man-Tech brings to the logistics arena.

A: It all begins with talented people focused on program execution. Military veterans make up nearly half of the current ManTech workforce of more than 9,000 people. For the seventh year in a row, G.I. Jobs ranked ManTech in the Top 10 on its list of the Top 100 Military Friendly Employers. We hire veterans and military spouses not because it is a popular fad, but because it is the right thing to do, and because they have been there and done that. Veterans know our customers, understand their needs, share their values, demonstrate their commitment to mission, and possess the skills and ability we need to meet their requirements.

But having great people does not end with hiring. Through our in-house training organi-zation, ManTech University [MTU], we offer our employees the opportunity to obtain, maintain

and enhance the professional credentials that keep both the individual and the company competitive. With hundreds of online offer-ings; partnerships with certification organiza-tions, colleges and universities; and resident classes, we support the education and training needs of our workforce. For example, several times each year we host a resident Program Management Professional [PMP] boot camp to prepare employees for Program Manage-ment Institute’s [PMI] PMP exam. Many MTU courses earn PMI continuing education units to allow our PMPs to retain their certification. After bringing to bear a capable workforce, we deliver excellent execution.

Within ManTech’s Technical Services Group, we demonstrate our commitment to continuous improvement by holding both the ISO 9001:2008 and CMMI Level 3 credentials. ManTech’s integrated program management system supports our program managers during program execution. Built on Microsoft SharePoint, it brings together con-tract, employee, funds, procurement, travel, action item and deliverable information from authoritative, corporate data sources in near real time and delivers it to the program manager. With a few mouse clicks, a program manager can view top-level program informa-tion or drill down to individual time cards or purchase orders. With the correct access rights and permission, the tool is web-acces-sible. Program managers can grant both cus-tomers and team members access to various subsets of the information. All of these people, processes and tools combine to make Man-Tech both effective and efficient. Combined, they help us deliver cost-effective solutions for our customers as they operate in and navigate today’s fiscally constrained environment.

Q: Any final comments?

A: At ManTech, we are proud of our talented workforce, the support they deliver, and their dedication to our customers’ missions. As the nation winds down combat operations in Afghanistan, ManTech stands ready to sup-port the logistical needs of the Department of Defense, other federal agencies and com-mercial clients. O

Mike BroganSenior Vice President for Strategy

ManTech, Technical Services Group

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