ARMY AL&T
vehicles including the Materials and Development contract, mandatory sources on the Federal Procurement List, and Full and Open Competition contracts to source and meet require- ments, until Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support (DLA TS) can effectively transition existing contracts or award new contracts for sustained production of OCP items.
To manage and meet the requirements and timelines under the SecArmy’s directive regarding the fielding of OCP, the PEO Soldier team conducted weekly internal Integrated Product Team meetings to synchronize technical development and procurement actions. Additionally, PEO Soldier met biweekly with DLA TS to review transition of technical packages, supply request pack- ages, and DLA TS contracting strategies.
The first unit fielded with OCP uni- forms received them by the end of July 2010, one month ahead of schedule. This effort continued through the remainder of FY10 and into FY11, with more than 10,000 Soldiers fielded through the end of the fiscal year and more than 72,000 Soldiers expected to receive the new uniforms and gear through FY11. Fielding will take place both in theater and in CONUS, further demonstrating the team’s commitment to ensuring that our Soldiers have the best equipment for today’s fight.
Phase IV (Long-Term Plan) The Army is now implementing Phase IV of its plan for camouflage, the evaluation of long-term ACU camouflage options for all Soldiers. The U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command has the lead to develop a performance-based requirement for future uniform and OCIE camouflage. That requirement could result in multiple camouflage patterns for the FR ACU, or a universal pattern.
On June 29, 2010, the Army released a Sources Sought notice inviting industry
15 OCTOBER –DECEMBER 2010
PFC John D. Macintosh, a gunner with 3rd Platoon, Chosen Company, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, talks with a young resident of the Wata Poor district, Afghanistan, while on patrol Feb. 7, 2010. (U.S. Army photo by SPC Albert L. Kelley, 300th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.)
to submit candidates for a family of three different camouflage patterns (woodland, desert, and transitional) and one pattern for OCIE that blends with all three patterns. “Family” is defined as being “of the same or similar geometry with coordinating color palettes to cross the global operating environments.”
This family of patterns could enable the Army, as one option, to issue the tran- sitional (also thought of as universal) pattern to all Soldiers while issuing the woodland and desert patterns to Soldiers operating in those environments.
The evaluation methods used earlier, both photosimulation and field testing, will be applied to the candidate pat- terns as well, underscoring the validity and utility of the Phase II effort. The objective is to develop a new family of patterns, again based on rigorous testing and evaluation, for issuance to Soldiers within 2 years.
Camouflage alternatives represent one facet of the Army’s efforts to improve the ACU, based in large part on feed- back from Soldiers. The Army has made more than 26 improvements to
the ACU since it was first fielded in 2004. PEO Soldier will continue to evaluate the form, fit, and func- tion of our Soldiers’ uniforms and make improvements as needed, with invaluable feedback from Soldiers who are speaking from experience on the battlefield.
COL WILLIAM E. COLE is the Project Manager Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment, PEO Soldier. He holds a B.S. in human factors psychology (ergonomics) from the U.S. Military Academy, an M.S. in systems acquisition management from the Naval Postgraduate School, and an M.S. in national resource strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. Cole is certified Level III in program management.
LTC MICHAEL E. SLOANE is the Product Manager Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment, PEO Soldier. He holds a B.A. in business management from Columbus State University and an M.B.A. from Webster University. Sloane is Level III certified in program management.
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