EXPEDITED DELIVERY


to get medical countermeasures into the right hands quickly. JPEO-CBRND hopes to use successes like ROCS as a blue- print for how to serve warfighters at the “speed of need” in the future. Consistent investment and prioritization in this product line was cited as a necessity to meet the immediate demands for the warfighter in the region and on the ground.


“We needed to do whatever we could to meet the needs of the warfighter, they are the number one priority,” said Shah. “At the beginning of this process, the odds were stacked against us. As a medical countermeasure, the systems were not set up for this to be an expedient process, for good reason. But in this case, we needed to get a countermeasure out the door quickly. I’m thankful that we were all able to work together to ensure our warfighters are protected and equipped.”


For more information about JPEO-CBRND, go to https://www.jpeocbrnd.osd.mil or follow JPEO-CBRND on social media @JPEOCBRND.


NOTEWORTHY TEST


A test player practices administering the ROCS autoinjector on a simulated casualty during a test in June 2021 at Camp Bullis, Texas. (Photo by Jose Rodriguez, U.S. Army of Excellence)


MEG HOLAHAN is the chief of strategic communications for JPEO-CBRND at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. She holds a B.A. in speech-language pathology and audiology from Loyola University Maryland and is certified as a Project Management Professional. She has more than 20 years of communications experience supporting defense and homeland security organizations.


heroes,” said Roberts. “Saumil Shah [assistant product manager for ROCS], led coordinating activities between the vendor and the FDA, and he helped develop a logistics plan to pre-position the investigational autoinjectors at Fort Liberty [North Caro- lina] and EUCOM to bridge a capability gap until fielding of the commercial autoinjectors was available. Jessica Livesay and Dr. Aaron Short [assistant product manager and acting assis- tant product manager for ROCS production] played key roles ensuring planning, procurement and delivery of the emergency stockpile of ROCS was successfully delivered to the services, and they coordinated directly with several of our partners.” Roberts describes the process to obtain approval and deploy ROCS as a whole-of-enterprise approach, with several moving parts being worked by people across agencies in both DOD and the FDA.


CONCLUSION Tough ROCS was the first time the middle-tier pathway was used for a medical countermeasure, the need for rapid acquisi- tion is rising. Te COVID-19 pandemic underscored the need


40 Army AL&T Magazine Fall 2023


ALEX HILLMAN is the public affairs officer for JPEO- CBRND at Aberdeen Proving Ground – Edgewood, Maryland. She holds a Master of Public Health in health policy and management and a Master of Public Policy and Administration in public policy from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance from Ohio University.


KELLY BURKHALTER is a lead associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, where she supports strategic communication projects for the U.S. Army. She holds an M.A. in communication from Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. in English and journalism from Syracuse University.


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