COMMAND/ORGANIZATION: Joint Attack Munition Systems Project Office, Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space
POSITION AND OFFICIAL TITLE: Product support manager and logistics director
YEARS OF SERVICE IN WORKFORCE: 32
DAWIA CERTIFICATIONS: Level III in acquisition logistics; Level I in program management
EDUCATION: M.S. in business management, Florida Institute of Technology; B.S. in education, Alabama State University
AWARDS: Army Acquisition Executive’s Excellence in Leadership Logistician of the Year Award; Commander’s Award for Civilian Service; Achievement Medal for Civilian Service; U.S. Army Materiel Command Outstanding Integrated Product/Weapon System of the Year
MS. SUSAN L. FOLLETT
Alfreda Green’s realization more than 30 years ago that teaching wasn’t the career for her might have left a hole in the classroom, but it was a boon for Army logistics. Since leaving teaching, she has been with the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) and provides support to the Program Executive Office (PEO) for Missiles and Space at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, working to ensure that Soldiers have the weapon systems and training they need. Most recently—and perhaps most notably—she was named Logistician of the Year as part of the 2016 Army Acquisition Executive’s Excellence in Leadership Awards.
“Definitely the highlight of my career,” she said. “Having been aware of other leaders in my command who had won previously, it was a big honor for me just to be nominated. And then to find out I had won was incredible. I have always had a lot of respect for the other logisticians who won the award, and I’m honored to be in that category now.”
Currently the logistics director and product support manager for the HELLFIRE Missile, Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) and the Hydra rocket systems, Green provides oversight of life cycle support plans to make sure they are viable and updated to meet warfighters’ current and future requirements. This includes budget planning and execution, reviewing engineering change proposals, fielding equipment, procuring spare parts, resetting deployed equipment, provisioning, and providing technical publications and training. “In my opinion, a logistician’s job is one of the top critical positions in any business or government entity,” Green said, “because logisticians ensure that a complete and economical life cycle support plan is executable to sustain and maintain quality products.”
She’s been pretty busy over the past few years. Green has overseen the management of an urgent materiel release of more than 300 guided rockets to warfighters in theater and training for two deploying Army aviation units. To make sure these units received the proper support, she also deployed a logistics representative to facilitate theater fielding operations. As a result of these efforts, the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System was successfully deployed in theater for the first time. Additionally, Green established a plan to accelerate conversion and depot repairs of almost 2,000 HELLFIRE missiles to support contingency operations and foreign military sales customers.
She led efforts to partner with DOD customers to share depot costs, which reduced annual Army missile repair costs from $4 million to $3 million. She also supported the reset of equipment from five Army aviation battalions and executed a life cycle sustainment plan to support the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the JAGM. Over the course of her career, she also has supported the Patriot, the Multiple Launch Rocket System, the Avenger Air Defense System, the Javelin and the TOW Weapon System either directly or while serving as a staff lead for the associate missile director.
Green has always had a lot of respect for colleagues who were honored as Logistician of the Year as part of the Army Acquisition Executive’s Excellence in Leadership Awards. In 2016, she joined their ranks by winning the award—“definitely the highlight of my career,” she said. (U.S. Army photo by Gloria Bell, JAMS Project Office)
Green began her career as a GS-5 intern, working as an inventory specialist. “It was a big difference from teaching,” she said. “I discovered early on that I really enjoyed it—and it paid well.” Training and career advancement opportunities led her to obtain required acquisition certifications, and she eventually became a member of the Army Acquisition Workforce. “I continued to follow this path because I knew it would be advantageous to advancing my career—and it was. It was instrumental in my appointment as one of the first assigned product support managers at PEO Missiles and Space.”
Green didn’t anticipate that she’d still be at Redstone some 30 years later. “One reason I’ve stayed is the flexibility to move into different areas and take on new challenges,” she said. “I’ve never been bored and have found plenty of opportunities for promotion or reassignment. I also found a home away from home: The people here are dedicated to completing the mission in a very collaborative environment.” Given her experience, Green’s advice to newcomers makes perfect sense: “Keep moving. Don’t stay in one place for more than five years. Once you are no longer challenged in a position, it is time to move to something else. Expanding your experience in different arenas increases your knowledge base and opportunities for advancements.”
Her career has been marked by significant changes, including advances in missile system technology and personnel and organizational shifts resulting from base realignment and closures (BRAC). Through BRAC, AMCOM and the U.S. Army Materiel Command (AMC) both relocated to Redstone Arsenal. “In addition to those changes, the Soldier-focused life cycle initiative was implemented, and strategic planning was executed to establish the best processes for all of these organizations to work together effectively,” she said.
Green said she has benefited from the contributions of a handful of mentors, most notably Lisha Adams, executive deputy to the commanding general of AMC; Barry Beavers, formerly the logistics director for the Joint Attack Munition Systems (JAMS) Project Office; Michael Hartwell, formerly the associate missile director at the AMCOM Logistics Center; and Marvin Smith, formerly the deputy project manager for the JAMS Project Office. “They’re outstanding professionals who I wanted to emulate. Each of them gave me the latitude to excel by increasing my duties consistently—sometimes even when I did not want to. And they allowed me to be assigned to different areas, which expanded my skills in strategic planning, budgeting, contracting, supply chain and product support management. That range of experience helped me expand my career to levels I never dreamed I would achieve.”
She’s now following their example. “I find it imperative to mentor young employees at this point in my career,” she said. “I feel obligated to train them to become our successors and great leaders. It’s my way of giving back—ensuring that young people are equipped to make sound decisions that lead to great achievements and mission success.”
This article will be published in the October – December 2017 Army AL&T magazine.
“Faces of the Force” is an online series highlighting members of the Army Acquisition Workforce through the power of individual stories. Profiles are produced by the U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center Communication and Support Branch, working closely with public affairs officers to feature Soldiers and civilians serving in various AL&T disciplines. For more information, or to nominate someone, please contact 703-664-5635.
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