BECOMING THE MIDDLEMAN
goal of the two-year program—while not a guarantee—is to be promoted and potentially selected to serve as a program manager at either the lieutenant colonel or colonel level. Te six-month assign- ment at the Pentagon is just one of three phases bookended between two longer nine-month positions at my primary duty location, which is Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.
As a DASC, I worked with the Mobile Protective Firepower, Stryker brigade combat team and Vehicle Protection Suite portfolios within the Soldier and Maneu- ver Directorate, which supports the PEO for Ground Combat Systems in Warren, Michigan. I served as the eyes and ears of these programs in the building and could be either proactive or reactive, depending
on the circumstances. Most DASCs manage multiple programs, depend- ing on the size and scope and where the program is in the acquisition life cycle. By being located in the Pentagon, DASCs can attend meetings on behalf of the programs and respond quickly to tasks related to our programs, and then relay any messages to our offices.
ARMY PROGRAM BUDGET BRIEFS A system coordinator’s job is to maintain the Army’s position for our programs and work all related aspects of cost, schedule and performance between our program and product managers and Army staff offices that support plans, programs and resources at the Army headquarters level. While we support or represent the different
PEOs, program and product managers, we work for the OASA(ALT)—it is our job to represent the intentions of the headquar- ters. Shortly after I started, I was told I would need to start preparing for key brief- ings and engagements. Te annual budget cycle begins after the president’s State of the Union address is delivered and his budget is released to Congress. I would quickly need to become an “expert” for the programs I would be supporting.
Tough my background was working for the PEO for Aviation and the PEO for Missiles and Space, now I would need to learn about ground combat systems. So, over the next month, I drafted, reviewed and updated the current and near-term status of the Stryker brigade combat team and the Vehicle Protection Suite while
A TEAM EFFORT
Swinford, front row, second from right, enjoyed his time as a DASC with Soldier and Maneuver Directorate colleagues, from rear left, Judy Gachupin, Jonathan Brown, Maj. Ryan Ressler, Capt. Tony White, Carlton White and David Nelson. (Photo courtesy of the author)
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Army AL&T Magazine
Fall 2022
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