BALANCE IN FOCUS
really love my job now. Acquisition is absolutely the best career decision I ever made.” Tough she had enjoyed her time as a battery commander from 2015 to 2017, command can be quite difficult for families, and she wanted to find work that would offer more stability and a better work-life balance. It was in her next assignment that she first became acquainted with acquisition. “I met several acquisition officers, and started learning more about the career field. I thought it sounded like a good decision for me, so I jumped in and I just fell in love with it,” Evans said. “It’s exactly what I would want to do outside the mili- tary, but I still get to be with Soldiers and work in project management and organizational leadership.”
W MAJ. MEGAN M. PEKOL-EVANS
COMMAND/ORGANIZATION: Program Executive Office for Soldier, Soldier Lethality Project Office, Next Generation Squad Weapon
TITLE: Assistant product manager YEARS OF SERVICE IN WORKFORCE: 1.5 YEARS OF MILITARY SERVICE: 16
DAWIA CERTIFICATIONS: Level I in Program Management
EDUCATION: MBA with a concentration in strategic leadership, Trident University; B.S. in administration of justice, Penn State University
AWARDS: Bronze Star Medal, Meritori- ous Service Medal (3rd award), Army Commendation Medal (4th award), Army Achievement Medal (2nd award), Meritori- ous Unit Commendation, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expedition- ary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, NATO Medal, Combat Action Badge, Parachutist Badge
In her current role as assistant product manager for the Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW), within the Program Executive Office for Soldier (PEO Soldier), Evans leads a team that is planning, managing and executing an excit- ing middle tier of acquisition program. Te NGSW will replace the M4 carbine, the M16 and the M249 squad automatic weapon. “I love working with people, working toward a goal, and it’s great when it’s a goal you’re passionate about, like supporting Soldiers,” she said. “It’s the best when you really feel like you’re working toward something bigger than yourself.”
But it’s not just the mission that has changed her mind about her Army career— she said it’s the leadership, too. “I truly have been so lucky to have some great bosses. Tey set out goals clearly and give you a good compass and a direction for how to get there, but they let you go do it your way,” she said. “Tey are open for discussion, and you do not see that often as a young officer, where you can just go to the colonel or the general and just have a good candid conver- sation with them, and you don’t feel like you were bothering them, or that it wasn’t your place to say something.” Evans said she feels fortunate to have worked with leaders, from the O-5 level to the program executive officer, who have been open to discussion on recommendations and ideas, whether or not they directly aligned with the original plan. “Tey’re open for conversation and you don’t feel intimidated to do that. I really love that.”
Evans said she has always been a curious and inquisitive person. “My dad would probably say, ‘Meg, you are always asking all these questions and trying to solve people’s problems. You can’t solve everybody’s problems all the time.’ ” But it does serve a purpose in acquisition, she said. In fact, she wrote a white paper about obsolescence strategy in acquisition, which she started during her first acquisition job, stemming entirely from her desire to understand why things are the way they are. “Tis is something that I started in my former APM [assistant
hen Maj. Megan Pekol-Evans started working on her MBA in 2010, she was planning to separate from the Army and start her civilian career as soon as possible. One thing changed her perspective entirely—the Army Acquisition Workforce. “I
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Army AL&T Magazine Winter 2022
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