TAKING CHARGE OF THE NARRATIVE W SEAN BRANDT


COMMAND/ORGANIZATION: Project Director for Joint Bombs, Joint Program Execu- tive Office for Armaments and Ammunition


TITLE: Project management officer


YEARS OF SERVICE IN WORKFORCE: 12


DAWIA CERTIFICATIONS: Level III in program management and engineering; Level I in production, quality and manufac- turing; logistics; and test and evaluation


EDUCATION: Master’s of engineer- ing in mechanical engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology; MBA, Florida Institute of Technology; B.S. in mechani- cal engineering, Penn State University


hen he’s not at work, you’re likely to find Sean Brandt at a martial arts gym in northern New Jersey. Te project management officer has trained in martial arts since childhood, and got started in Sayoc Kali, a Filipino martial art known as “the art of the blade,” in 2004.


“Te blade is a powerful teaching tool: every movement you make, no matter how small, matters; there is no margin for error,” said Brandt, who’s assigned to the Project Director for Joint Bombs within the Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments and Ammunition (JPEO A&A). “Steady pressure at the razor’s edge drives incremental growth. I bring this same mindset to my job: I believe that every- thing matters, so I strive to do the best I can in every moment, and to be better today than I was yesterday.”


When knife or sword drills are performed in Sayoc Kali, one participant—the feeder—controls the action. “Te creator of Sayoc Kali, Tuhon Christopher Sayoc Sr., said, ‘Be the feeder,’ ” Brandt said. “Being the feeder means to be the author; to be the one who writes the story, who controls the narrative. In the office, it’s my duty to take ownership and lead the stakeholders to a successful outcome. I work tirelessly to make sure my programs are successful. When my programs have failed, I look at what caused us to miss the target, and adjust fire on the next program. My goal is write the story of delivering good-quality ammunition to the warfighter on time, while being mindful of our government’s resources.”


Brandt leads a team that acquires conventional ammunition for the Army, Navy and Air Force. “Ensuring that joint warfighters have quality product, when they need it, is our duty,” he said. “But everything has a cost, and it is taxpayers who ultimately foot the bill. So the other part of our work is to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars.”


Acquiring weapons for all three services “means that we work with three different chains of command, as well as foreign military sales customers,” he explained. “Te biggest challenge I face is coordinating those chains of command—knowing who to talk to in order to get a certain task accomplished.”


TEAM EFFORT


Brandt and the team he worked with on the Tritonal Bombs Project: From left are John Curran, Mike Grant, Brandt, Mike DeMaria, Kathy McGinley, James Vanatta, John Swift and Jon Irizarry. (Photo courtesy of Picatinny Photographic Services)


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Army AL&T Magazine Winter 2020


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