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THE FUN HAS ONLY BEGUN


A commonality across the Army Acquisition Workforce is that one’s greatest satisfac- tion is knowing that the work they do directly supports the warfighter. And so is true for Bharat C. Patel.


Patel is responsible for Project Linchpin, the first Army program of record focused on delivering trusted artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) capabilities. He is the product lead for Project Linchpin and sensors AI at Project Manager for Intelligence Systems & Analytics (PM IS&A) under the Program Executive Office for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare & Sensors (PEO IEW&S).


BHARAT C. PATEL


COMMAND/ORGANIZATION: Program Executive Office for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare & Sensors, Project Manager, Intel- ligence Systems & Analytics


TITLE: Product lead for Project Linchpin, Sen- sors Artificial Intelligence


YEARS OF SERVICE IN WORKFORCE: 11 YEARS OF MILITARY SERVICE: 4


DAWIA CERTIFICATIONS: Practitioner in engineering


EDUCATION: B.S. in computer science, Rut- gers University; Graduate certificate in systems engineering, Johns Hopkins


AWARDS: Civilian Service Achievement Medal (2021)


In Summer 2022, Patel pitched an idea to Army senior leaders on how PEO IEW&S can affordably deliver AI/ML capabilities across their portfolio. “Te idea was informed by the many years of lessons learned working with DOD and the intelligence commu- nity on AI/ML projects, managing my own AI/ML projects through the science and technology (S&T) community,” he said. In collaboration with Army Research Lab and Army Futures Command’s AI integration hub, the idea moved swiftly from concept to program of record in around 12 months, entering Project Linchpin into the Software Acquisition Pathway in November 2023.


“I have been able to create a program that will deliver AI responsibly, affordably and effectively to the warfighter,” he said. “Te capabilities we plan to deliver will signifi- cantly reduce Soldiers’ cognitive burden and increase their productivity.”


Patel’s first acquisition position, following four years of service in the Navy, was at a MITRE-Operated Federally Funded Research and Development Center supporting PEO IEW&S headquarters in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey in 2007.


“My first task as a young new employee was to improve technology transition. Yes—I had to figure out how to fix the valley of death,” he said. So, he took introductory acqui- sition classes which helped him with simple terminology and definitions. He studied the basics of acquisition strategy, systems engineering plans, budget activity 6.1 (basic research) and 6.2. (applied research), the role of sustainment etc. “When people would say something in the meeting I would write it down, look it up, learn. I was constantly listening,” he said, as he learned the PEO IEW&S portfolio.


“I immediately jumped into supporting the S&T portfolio trying better to integrate S&T, requirements and acquisition. I started working on 30-year plans (before they were called


“No one has the right to tell you 'no, that’s not a good idea' or 'no, you can’t do that.' "


80 Army AL&T Magazine Fall 2024


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