RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, TEST AND EVALUATION
He said. “Tere are so many people who are disadvantaged and might need food, clothes, a place to live or financial help. It’s also about collaborating with others on how to help them.”
While he was working toward his engineering degree, Santos took advantage of a college co-op program and became a U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command intern, support- ing power and change proposals before he had the opportunity to go out into the field and support Stryker brigades. Once he graduated, he became part of the Army Acquisition Workforce, assigned to support the standard family of generator sets at Proj- ect Manager Mobile Electric Power. “My first task was working on generator-set engineering-change proposals, technical manual updates and other engineering activities. It wasn’t until a few years later, when I had the opportunity to work with Soldiers in the field and their equipment, that the true satisfaction of my posi- tion came shining through,” he said.
INSIDE OUT
Santos shows a Soldier how to connect and import power for mission equipment during routine field instruction in April 2014. Importing power reduces fuel consumption, noise and wear and tear on the engine. (Photo courtesy of Jose Santos)
have enough to worry about out there, dodging bullets, than to think about how to manage power generation and distribution in the field,” he said. “It’s vital to make sure power is readily avail- able for your mission—whether it’s running an expensive piece of C4ISR [command, control, communications, computers, intel- ligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] equipment or running a coffee pot or an air conditioner.”
For Santos, problem-solving wasn’t the only thing that motivated him throughout his career, he said. Overall, he truly enjoys help- ing people get what they need, both on and off the job. Much like collaborating with colleagues on helping warfighters set up power generation and distribution equipment in a field exercise, he works with his church in stepping up efforts to help those less fortunate get their basic needs met—food, clothing and shelter— which is also a team effort. Santos said sometimes he takes along his 5-year-old son, who is always eager to help his dad volunteer at a shelter, serving food to those who are homeless, lost their job or have fallen on hard times. “I get to spend time with my son and, at the same time, set a good example of how to help people who need it.”
“It’s that underlying view of helping others address clear needs— whether it’s out in the field or more importantly, in the real world.”
Te highlight of Santos’ career is that there are multiple opportu- nities to collaborate with power producers, engineers, logisticians and fielders in his current position at PM E2S2. He also works with myriad power consumers in the development and implemen- tation of the Central Power Solution—trailer-mounted generator sets that allow brigades and battalions to operate command post mission equipment in the field, in a safe uninterrupted method, while providing fuel savings with organically supportable gener- ator sets and power distribution equipment solutions.
To sharpen his skill set, Santos has taken career development courses like the Inspiring and Developing Excellence in Acquisi- tion Leaders program, which he said provided a great opportunity to team with people at similar points in their career and learn how to be effective leaders (not just bosses) and to avoid pitfalls. “I learned that many leadership goals and objectives can be achieved by simple steps like listening, effective communications, critical conversations and mentoring at the individual or group level,” he said.
And he’s applied these objectives—as well as field experience, education and hands-on experience—to every aspect of his life, and continues to do so by sharing what he’s learned with junior acquisition personnel. “I talk with younger engineers who have questions and I provide them with information,” he said. “I may not have all the answers by any means, but I can point them in the right direction. And I often learn from them too.”
—CHERYL MARINO
https://asc.ar my.mil
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