COMMAND/ORGANIZATION: Unmanned Aircraft Systems Project Office, Program Executive Office for Aviation
TITLE: Chief, Acquisition Management Branch; Supervisory Procurement Analyst, Business Management Division
YEARS OF SERVICE IN WORKFORCE: 12
YEARS OF SERVICE IN MILITARY: 15
DAWIA CERTIFICATIONS: Level III in contracting
EDUCATION: Master of public administration, Troy University; B.S. in business and communication, West Texas A&M University
AWARDS: Superior Civilian Service Award; David Packard Excellence in Acquisition Award as a member of the Defense Energy Support Center’s Operation Iraqi Freedom Bulk Helium Support Team; Defense Meritorious Service Medal; Air Force Meritorious Service Medals; Air Force Commendation Medals; Air Force Achievement Medals
MAXIMIZING CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
by Ms. Susan Follett
Stefanie A. “Alix” Gayton really got a lot out of the Senior Service College Fellowship (SSCF) program. In addition to honing skills that help with leadership, planning and decision-making, the program helped her find her current position: chief of the Acquisition Management Branch for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Project Office within the Program Executive Office for Aviation and supervisory procurement analyst in the Business Management Division.
SSCF coursework included actual acquisition cases, including sessions on UAS. SSCF Director Diane Whitmore “said that previous fellows would ‘leap tall buildings’ for an opportunity to work for the UAS program office,” said Gayton. So when a job there opened up, Gayton grabbed it. PM UAS is “the eyes of the Army,” she said, “and as a career acquisition workforce member, it just doesn’t get better.”
PM UAS supports five unmanned platforms, each with variants, as well as supporting system equipment, including Gray Eagle, Hunter, Warrior Alpha/Gray Eagle, Shadow, Raven and Puma as well as the One System Remote Video Terminal, the Tactical Open Government Architecture Controller and the Universal Ground Control Station. Gayton leads a team that coordinates contract requirement packages and critical components of contract packages for more than 90 PM UAS requirements for seven products across five product offices. Those contracting requirements support research, development, test and life cycle efforts for the UAS family of systems, which totals approximately 8,200 unmanned aircraft.
For Gayton, Soldier feedback is a vital part of her team’s success—even if that feedback is collected in some unlikely places. Gayton was on hand recently when Jason Lucas, chief engineer for the Shadow UAS Product Office, demonstrated a Shadow Tactical UAS to visiting grade-schoolers. As the Shadow launched and circled the area, Lucas explained the latest set of technical upgrades that Gayton and her team are working to place on contract and eventually field to the Soldier. “I could see through the demo how technical enhancements make a difference to those deployed in a war zone,” she said.
She also had the chance to gather Soldier feedback during an event commemorating the 2 millionth flight hour for the Hunter UAS. The Hunter has been used by Soldiers for more than 21 years, and although it’s old compared to other UAVs, feedback indicates that Hunters are accessible, reliable and well-supported by the Army contractors deployed downrange. “I spoke with one Soldier who said that his unit could not get enough Hunters and Hunter flying hours,” said Gayton. “Connecting my place in the mission and my team’s contributions to the Soldier brings clarity to the choices we make, the passion we bring to the job and the focus we maintain toward achieving objectives.”
Gayton got her start in military acquisition with the Air Force. Joining in 1984, her initial assignment was buying B-52 spares as a contracting officer with the Oklahoma Air Logistics Center at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. She served for 15 years, with her Air Force service culminating in a post as the base contracting officer for Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, during the B-1B bomber bed-down, the stand-up of the Strategic Warfare Center Bomb Scoring Range and the decommissioning of the Minuteman Missile Wing. She transferred to the Air Force Medical Service Corps in 1990, working as a hospital resource manager, medical logistician and patient administration officer as well as awarding and improving the performance of medical contracts.
She retired from the Air Force as a major in 1999 and accepted her first civil service position as the deputy director for acquisition management at the Defense Health Agency in 2000. She moved to Army acquisition in 2009, starting as a procurement analyst for the Mission and Installation Contracting Command (MICC) at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and chief of staff for MICC Director Dr. Carol Lowman. “When I first interviewed at MICC, I was incredibly impressed by Dr. Lowman’s vision for the MICC as a learning organization. She described her goal to create a future where every workforce member is a leader; every leader continually expands their capacity to create the results they desire; and where people are continually learning to see the whole picture together.”
For Gayton, SSCF participation was a “fantastic opportunity” for developing her career. “Our SSCF advisers told my class that the coursework and introspection the class provides is intended to ‘open the aperture’ of the leaders who complete the process. It worked—I loved the program.” She noted that her career also benefitted from positions to which she was assigned—positions she refers to as “not volunteered but volun-told.” Most required her to backfill an unexpected retirement or vacancy and took her outside of her comfort zone. “I’ve grown more than I ever imagined” from those spots, she said. “It’s a scary ride, but has always been well worth it.”
She’s quick to note that mentors have also had a big role in her career development, including Maj. Gen. Kirk Vollmecke, MICC commander who nominated Gayton for the SSCF, and SSCF coaches and mentors Whitmore, Marian Guidry and Dr. Jerry Davis. “My current supervisor, David Lancaster, drives the PM UAS Business Management Division to take ‘what is’ and make it better,” she said. She also noted the impact of Col. Courtney Cote, project manager for the UAS Project Office. “His philosophy is servant leadership, and he demonstrates it in his investment in long-term acquisition solutions, leader development and his mantra: ‘Let’s go do it for the Soldier.’ ”
She added, “One of my early mentors told my team that if we couldn’t describe what we did to make a Soldier’s life a little better every day, then we haven’t earned our pay. For me, this is what leading and serving is all about.”
Gayton meets with members of her team at in the UAS Project Office. From left, David Beddingfield, Lady Pollard, Gayton, Rebekah Massey and Sheila Triplett-Howard. (Photo by Bill Stern, PM UAS)
This article is scheduled to be published in the July-September 2017 issue of Army AL&T Magazine.
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