ADAPTING EXPERIMENTATION AND TESTING
of Army strategic thinkers.” He was one of few officers in his career to have served two command positions at each level— twice: company, battalion and brigade, as well as having served in two joint billets as the Army acquisition executive officer for the Defense Contract Management Agency, and a deputy commander for the Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan.
“I was unofficially introduced to the Army Acquisition Workforce during my second deployment in Iraq by my sister, then Lt.
Col.Debra D. Daniels, who was in charge of Army contracting for Multi-National Corps – Iraq,” he said. “[We] worked on several acquisition and contractual contracts while in Iraq for the newly devel- oped detainee prison.”
Following that deployment, in 2007, Gavin was assigned to his first acquisi- tion position as the Army executive officer and operation officer for the newly estab- lished Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) program and a systems acquisi- tion manager for system integration.
“What appealed to me about this position was that it allowed me to see firsthand the strategic planning that is involved to effec- tively execute acquisition programs,” he said. Fewer than 50 people were tasked to lay the framework of the program’s strategy for developing a heavily armored light tactical vehicle that consisted of an armored V-shaped hull to resist and protect against land mines and an assort- ment of improvised explosive devices.
During his tenure with the MRAP program, he was exposed to the inner workings of the defense acquisition process and how it is implemented by DOD Instruction 5000.02 and DOD Instruc- tion 5000.85, which are the management foundations for all defense programs. He said that exposure taught him how to develop a contract to best support warfighter needs.
Because of his firsthand knowledge as a military staff officer and combat Soldier, Gavin said he was able to provide input, expertise and guidance in every aspect of the MRAP program. As a systems acquisition manager, he was tasked to integrate critical capabilities such as the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station, or CROWS, Check-6 rear-vision system camera, Tube-launched, Optically Tracked, Wire-Guided Improved Target Acquisition System, or TOW ITAS, and other key critical capabilities on the MRAP family of vehicles.
“Te most satisfying of all is to see acqui- sitions programs that you support or manage reach the warfighter and you as a warfighter are able to utilize those systems in real life,” he said.
Gavin has been a part of an array of important acquisition projects through- out his career and said he would advise junior personnel to “garner enough infor- mation about DOD capabilities and have a keen understanding what the warfighter requires and needs.”
“I would recommend anyone in the Defense Acquisition Workforce partici- pate in any of the acquisition leadership programs in order to increase their profes- sional growth,” he said. He also highly recommends they attend any of the Senior Service Colleges because they provide “the opportunity to study and critically evalu- ate broad national security policy, strategy, interagency affairs, civil-military relations and operational issues, which is needed in this ever-changing global environment.”
“Te most important lesson that I learned, whether on or off the job, has been the ability to build relationships with peers and external customers, either through the use of humor or a strong knowledge base or lifetime experience,” he said. “By building strong partner relationships, it creates open and honest communications and builds trust.”
—HOLLY DECARLO-WHITE
MEN OF HONOR
Lt. Col. Steven Gavin, right, with retired Army Reserve Chief Warrant Officer 5 Phillip Barshear at his retirement ceremony at the Defense Supply Center in Richmond, Virginia, in 2022. Brashear, whose father’s story of becoming the Navy’s first Black American master diver featured in the movie “Men of Honor,” was appointed as an honorary chief petty officer during the ceremony. (Photo provided by Steven Gavin)
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