COMMENTARY
On the flip side, keeping the commercial industrial base warm is also essential. Tere is value in using COTS technologies; as modernization continues to move at lightning speeds, COTS technologies help us keep pace. However, using these technolo- gies should not mean adapting to a throwaway mentality. Moving away from traditional sustainment could mean a lowered demand signal to maintain systems. If the Army stops repairing systems, certain parts may not be available, causing vital C5ISR systems to become obsolete before their time. Furthermore, when the industrial base must surge to meet the demands of large-scale combat operations, obsolescence and a cool industrial base can create enormous challenges. Accordingly, we are focused on using deliberate pricing strategies and longer-term contracts to main- tain that critical demand signal. Tis helps ensure we maintain an active supply chain.
While maintaining the organic and commercial industrial bases allows us to obtain parts for hardware, we must also consider software. Te Army is currently moving toward a continuous integration/continuous delivery, or CI/CD, model. Under this model, PEOs will maintain the responsibility to sustain software, such as fixing problems and patching cyber vulnerabilities, while simultaneously adding new capabilities via frequent releases. While this will be a major transition for the PEO community, AMC fortunately maintains a wealth of software expertise to provide tactical units with depot-level software repair. By using these existing capabilities in support of CI/CD, including critical skill sets in development, security and operations (DevSecOps) and agile development, the Army will be well positioned to main- tain software readiness and deliver new capabilities to Soldiers faster than ever before.
THE NECESSITY FOR PRODUCT USABILITY We must also think of today’s Soldiers using the equipment in the field. Specifically, our industry partners must keep system complexity in mind when creating new C5ISR equipment and technology. Te Army has shifted a great deal of resources to modernizing and building its combat forces over the last several years. Tat said, the rebalance has led to fewer C5ISR maintain- ers available than in the past. We know that on the battlefield, our ability to send out field support representatives to assist with technical issues at the tactical edge is very limited, as it could jeopardize critical operations. It is therefore crucial that our Soldiers learn to operate and fix the majority of their C5ISR equipment at the field level.
Simultaneously, within the Army, we must practice discipline in our doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership,
education, personnel, facilities and policy. Before C5ISR systems are fielded, we need to perform our due diligence in each of these areas, as a failure to do so can create gaps in sustainment. A key part of that is putting the right Soldiers with the right rank and grade, who have the right skill sets in the right places. Before we field modernized equipment to a unit, we must make sure the right military occupational specialties are on the modified table of organization and equipment. Tese are complex challenges that we are working to address in order to maintain the pace of modernization with our Soldiers.
CONCLUSION During her remarks to the McAleese Annual Defense Programs Conference held in Washington in March, Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth outlined her six operational initiatives for the Army of 2030. Te final initiative she stated was that “the Army of 2030 has got to be able to sustain the fight across long distances where the enemy is challenging our ability to move from fort to port to foxhole. In this kind of contested terrain, the force that wins will be the one who focuses on logistics, logistics, logistics.”
Ultimately, our fight-and-win doctrine will only be possible with logistics and sustainment to ensure unit readiness. Te work must be done at both ends, from industry and from the Army, to secure the highest levels of sustainability. In practice, the Army does not “throw away” equipment when it malfunctions. Tere is a responsibility at the Army level to deliver wraparound support providing higher expertise and parts, so Soldiers and units are not solely dependent on themselves. Sustainment is the insurance policy for Soldiers of both today and tomorrow. While moving to a flexible model and integrating COTS equipment has many potential benefits for our Soldiers, it is imperative that the Army continues to embrace sustainment. We owe our sons and daugh- ters in harm’s way nothing less.
For more information, go to
https://cecom.army.mil.
MAJ. GEN. ROBERT L. EDMONSON II is the 17th commander of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command. As the commanding general for a 9,000-person global command and the senior commander of a 28,000-person military base, he serves as the Army’s C5ISR and medical materiel integrator. He holds an M.S. in information resource management from Central Michigan University, an M.S. in national security strategy from the National Defense University, and a B.S. in business marketing from Frostburg State University, where he received his commission in 1991.
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