SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
teams and integrate the warfighter’s needs, the military’s acqui- sition procedures, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s regulatory requirements and our academic and industry partners’ processes, to provide sustainable solutions,” Bertram explained.
“Te greatest satisfaction of this position is providing the war- fighter or warfighter medic with a new capability—a battlefield oxygen generator, for example, or new protection, such as the ability to rapidly diagnose an infectious disease.”
Terein lies his focus as an acquisition professional—that which never changes, the “true north” of Army acquisition. Keeping warfighter needs, capability gaps and solutions “as the ‘true north’ is necessary to avoid becoming trapped in changing resource environments, mission drift and other people’s agen- das,” he said. Bertram spent 24 years in the Army, retiring in 2009 and becoming a member of the Senior Executive Service in July of that year. Having served in leadership positions through- out his active-duty career, he’s well-versed in the problems that warfighters face in the field and in garrison, and that knowledge
“enables USAMRMC to focus on developing the solutions that are needed in a prioritized fashion,” he said.
Anyone in his position needs two skills, he said: the ability to listen and the ability to make a decision. “You won’t ever get all the information you need, but you have to make a decision: You can’t flounder in the land of indecision.”
He got his start in acquisition when he was recruited in the late 1990s to serve as the deputy director for Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs at Fort Detrick, Mary- land, managing an annual budget of roughly $200 million in research, development, test and evaluation funds. “While those funds were primarily to support extramural or university research in cancer—at the direction of Congress—the funds and research needed to be managed according to DOD acquisi- tion regulations and processes. So, I began work toward Level III certification in science and technology management. I tran- sitioned to a greater product development focus—especially for drugs and vaccines—as a result of my command time at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, and earned Level III certification in program management.”
He started in his current role in 2009. “When I started, I noticed that our staff had much of the training and certification they needed. But what I didn’t realize is that many had gotten that training a long time ago. What they learned wasn’t applicable to the way we do contracting now, or they worked in just one area and weren’t well-versed in how other processes worked. We spent a lot of time getting our staff the right training.”
Te other challenge he faced was demonstrating to stakeholders the importance of USAMRMC’s work. “We’ve spent a lot of time with [the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology], the G-8, the House and the Senate, getting them to understand the value of what we do,” he said.
“We’ve walked people through the process of using our products as if they were a recruit, on the battlefield or recovering from injury, to demonstrate how our products work and how they help the warfighter.”
Keeping an eye on true north is good for the career, too. “If you succeed on behalf of the warfighter, career opportunities will present themselves abundantly.”
He also noted the importance of career-broadening opportuni- ties, networking with other services, agencies and industry, and completing required and recommended acquisition training.
“Lead something,” he said. “Solutions for the warfighter only happen when someone provides initiative, responsibility and direction. Let that someone be you.”
LEADING FROM THE FRONT
Dr. Kenneth Bertram addresses the workforce during the 2016 Decision Gate Awards ceremony at USAMRMC headquarters at Fort Detrick. (U.S. Army photo by Crystal Maynard, USAMRMC)
—MS. SUSAN L. FOLLETT
ASC.ARMY.MIL
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