IT TAKES A TEAM
LTC AUGUST “GUS” MULLER FORMER REGIONAL COMMAND – SOUTH ACQUISITION ADVISER ASA(ALT) FORWARD OPERATIONS (KANDAHAR)
A WHOLE NEW PERSPECTIVE
B
efore deploying to Afghanistan, LTC Gus Muller had seen Army acquisition from the inside out.
He was already well-versed in products and processes
as a DA system coordinator in the Mission Command Director- ate of the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology (ASA(ALT)). He had a deep appreciation of Army Acquisition’s mission “to increase the lethality of our Sol- diers and yet provide them ever-greater levels of protection from the enemy.”
What he now understands, and says he could not have under- stood without deploying in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, is the true importance of the acquisition mission to the Soldier in the fight.
“You may have been an acquisition workforce member for years and years, but until you actually come into a deployed envi- ronment, you just don’t get it. When you come here and you actually see the work of the Soldiers and you’re sharing in the same hardships, it really does help reframe the importance of the work, and it’s inspiring. It’s no longer a 9-to-5 job. It’s your responsibility and you’ve got to get it right, or lives are at stake.”
Serving at Kandahar Airfield from December 2012 to May 2013, Muller was the Regional Command – South (RC(S)) representa- tive to the ASA(ALT) Forward director and acquisition adviser to the RC(S) commander. As such, he represented the Army program executive office (PEO) and program management (PM) staffs deployed to the region, coordinating non-standard equipment system fielding operations, upgrades and modifica- tions across the RC. In addition, he worked on the planning of retrograde and redeployment operations from Afghanistan as it gained momentum in anticipation of the withdrawal of U.S. troops by the end of 2014.
His goal in Afghanistan was to empower PEO and PM staffs in RC(S) to take on greater levels of initiative and responsibility by providing them with the latest information gleaned from his
engagements with senior RC(S) leadership. “It was my incom- ing goal to reduce the administrative burden on our PM staffs here in Afghanistan, yet improve our reporting accuracy to ensure that the [ASA(ALT) Forward] director is fully informed. I believe that in large part, the ASA(ALT) Forward leadership has accomplished that goal.”
A couple of initiatives of which Muller is particularly proud are a project he led to integrate a series of coalition capabilities on a U.S. vehicle for use by one of our partner countries in Afghani- stan; and leading the creation of a SharePoint portal that greatly improves the reporting and tracking of non-standard equipment, which will ease the redeployment burden on Soldiers as retro- grade progresses.
Te integrated capability represented “a very unique mission, one that’s never been done before, stateside or in theater,” he said. “Te synergies that we were able to leverage in theater, the
RISKY BUSINESS
Deploying to Afghanistan involves personal risks for everyone, but engaging and serving with the Soldiers who take the greatest risks is worth it, LTC Gus Muller said. Here, Muller, left, and CW4 Dewayne Casby inspect the Self-Protection Adaptive Roller Kit system attached to a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All-Terrain Vehicle. (Photo by Ana Chudkosky, ALT-D)
116
Army AL&T Magazine
July–September 2013
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