IT TAKES A TEAM
LTC (USA RET) MARIE COCHRAN SENIOR ACQUISITION ANALYST, DECISION GATE PROGRAM U.S. ARMY MEDICAL RESEARCH AND MATERIEL COMMAND FORT DETRICK, MD
SAME MISSION, DIFFERENT TEAM
A
lot has changed for Marie Cochran since she retired from the Army in 2010 and became a civilian con- tractor. Te most important things about her job have not.
Cochran, a medical logistician by training, formerly held a variety of positions within the U.S. Army Medical Command, of which U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAM- RMC) is a major subordinate command. Now she is working for USAMRMC as a senior acquisition analyst employed by BRTRC. She supports Decision Gate, Army medicine’s acquisition, prod- uct development and program management process that bridges the gap between the science and technology world of ideas and the acquisition arena. “We take [a requirement] from the hands of the S&T world and help them ‘lob it over the fence’ to the advanced developers, and they work the business process to get the final product developed,” Cochran explained.
While the transition from uniformed military to civilian con- tractor has required some adjustment, she considers herself lucky to be able to fulfill both roles and finds that what drives her to succeed remains the same. “You take the uniform off, and you realize your focus has to change,” she said. “So you have to be prepared for that adjustment, and it’s been kind of hard. I do miss the uniform, but it’s because of the privilege to have worn the uniform that I realize just how important what we do here is.”
Cochran, who deployed three times as an Army officer—to Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1991, Uzbekistan
in 2003 and Qatar from February 2005 to April 2006—has a strong sense of purpose born of working directly with and for Soldiers in theater. She deployed to Qatar in support of Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom as the officer in charge, essentially the commander, for the medical depot that supported the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.
In Qatar, she saw firsthand the benefits of some of the medical materiel that emerged from USAMRMC’s Decision Gate process: chitosan bandages, the Combat Application Tourniquet for one- handed use, the Individual First Aid Kit (IFAK). “Tose are some of the quickly developed lifesaving products that were needed immediately downrange” and USAMRMC was able to provide.
Now, as one of two senior acquisition analysts for the Deci-
sion Gate program, Cochran supports and addresses the needs of multiple integrated product teams, product life-cycle review committees, the Decision Gate secretariat, the Executive Man- agement Committee and the Milestone Decision Authority to ensure the expeditious development of drugs, vaccines and medi- cal devices for the Army and DOD. On a day-to-day basis, that means coordinating, analyzing, reviewing, evaluating, facilitating and recording executive-level Decision Gate events to ensure that products meet federal and DOD statutes and codes.
“I DO MISS THE UNIFORM, BUT IT’S BECAUSE OF THE PRIVILEGE TO HAVE WORN THE UNIFORM THAT I REALIZE JUST HOW IMPORTANT WHAT WE DO HERE IS.”
130 Army AL&T Magazine July–September 2013
Compared with the day-to-day routine in Qatar of pulling together vitally needed, lifesaving medical supplies for rapid delivery to units downrange, Cochran’s job may seem mun- dane, but its challenges can be equally rewarding. “In the current environment, … my job is to help these people do their jobs and be successful. I do what I can to help the teams that are developing these products. Tere’s a lot of work, a lot of coordination and a lot of money that’s on the line with what these folks are developing. My job is to make sure that the lines of communication are open between the headquarters, the S&T world and the advanced developers.
“It’s an admin job; it’s not always sexy. But I believe it helps the leadership, and the developers know what to do, how they need
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196
