COMMAND/ORGANIZATION: Program Executive Office for Combat Support and Combat Service Support
TITLE: Executive officer (6 month assignment)
YEARS OF SERVICE IN WORKFORCE: 15
YEARS OF MILITARY SERVICE: 34
DAWIA CERTIFICATIONS: Practitioner in program management; Foundational in life cycle logistics
EDUCATION: Master of Strategic Studies, United States Army War College; Master of Public Administration, Georgia Southern University; Master of Public Affairs from Savannah State University; B.A. in political and military science, Augusta University, Georgia
AWARDS: Bronze Star (4); Army Commendation Medal (2); Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal (3), National Defense Medal (2); Armed Forces Reserve Medal; Meritorious Service Medal (2); Defense Meritorious Service Medal; Certificate of Achievement by the Chief of the General Staff – Afghanistan (Joint Command)

Steven David Gavin

by Holly DeCarlo-White

Steven David Gavin has served the U.S. Army in a number of capacities throughout his career providing mission planning support, new system capabilities and interoperability worldwide. His experiences and lessons learned have paved the way for fellow Soldiers and Army acquisition professionals. “It is fulfilling to execute a whole-of-program effort to build and provide defense material to our allied partners that will achieve their national security goals and objectives,” he said. “By focusing on synchronization, customer expectations, effectiveness and efficiency, as well as inoperability of global capabilities … the U.S. warfighter and the allied partners can fight as one on the battlefield.”

Gavin retired after 34 years from the Army/Army Reserve as a colonel at the end of September 2022 and transitioned into government civilian service within Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) in Security Assistance (Foreign Military Sales) under the Program Executive Office for Combat Support and Combat Service Support (PEO CS&CSS).

On Feb. 1, 2024, Gavin transitioned to serve as the PEO CS&CSS executive officer as part of an ongoing leadership development process where he will also attend the Acquisition Leadership Challenge Program. For the next six months as executive officer, he is responsible for the management of day-to-day activities on behalf of the PEO and PEO staff such as preparing briefings and reports and acting as the principal point of contact on issues as required.

This assignment differs from the position he was hired on, as assistant program manager under PEO CS&CSS, where he was responsible for the management of all security assistance programs for the JLTV program’s deliveries, retrofit efforts, contractual activities, logistical support and programmatic efforts. In this role, he is often required to interact with internal and external customers (other acquisition program offices and U.S. government agencies) and with industry to ensure our partner nation’s defense material requirements can be achieved through the proper processes, so necessary resources can be obtained and directed.

“The one thing that others find interesting or surprising [about his role in acquisition] is the amount of time and effort spent interacting with all foreign defense establishments (DOD, Department of State and partner nations) to build defense relationships that promote specific U.S. security interests, develop allied and friendly military capabilities for self-defense and multinational operations, and provide U.S. forces with peacetime and contingency access to host nations,” he said. “This may require extensive travel to host nation countries for face-to-face meetings and countless hours on teleconferences.”

During his Army career, Gavin was the first African American officer to serve as the chief of staff for the 80th Training Command (The Army School Systems-TASS) which has oversight for all training under the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command and U.S. Army Reserve Command. He was also the first African American commander of the U.S. Army Command General and Staff Officers College Brigade, responsible for providing the “next group 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 developed detainee prison on Camp Cropper.” Gavin was the senior operations officer for Task Force-134 for Multi-National Corps – Iraq at Camp Cropper, a detention facility operated by the U.S. Army in Western Baghdad for detained high value targets, criminals and individuals.

Following that deployment, in 2007, Gavin was assigned to his first acquisition position as the Army executive officer and operation officer for the newly established Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) program and a systems acquisition manager for system integration.

“What appealed to me about this position was that it allowed me to see first-hand the strategic planning that is involved to effectively execute acquisition programs,” he said. Less 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 assortment of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

“During the Iraq War, Soldiers, Sailors, Airman and special operators were being killed or heavily injured by IEDs,” Gavin said. “The program office was able to field the first JLTV in 2008, one year after operational testing, and deploy more than 12,000 vehicles in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan.”

“During my tenure with the JPO [Joint Program Office] Army PM [Product Manager] MRAP, I was exposed to the innerworkings of DOD acquisition and the defense acquisition system process and how it is implemented by DoD Instruction 5000.02 and DoD Instruction 5000.85, which are the management foundations for all defense programs,” he said. “This exposure provided me the acquisition knowledge on what is required to conceptualize, initialize, design, develop, test, contract, produce, deploy, modify and place on contract the capabilities that the warfighter needs to support and complete their mission(s).”

Because of his first-hand 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, Optical Tracked, Wire-Guided Improved Target Acquisition System, or TOW ITAS, and other key critical capabilities on the MRAP family of vehicles.

“The most satisfying of all is to see acquisitions 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 throughout his career and said he would advise junior personnel to “garner enough information about DOD capabilities and have a keen understanding what the warfighter requires and needs.” Also, read the National Defense Strategy, National Military Strategy and other major DOD or service strategies. “This aids in a junior acquisition leaders’ ability to develop, acquire, deliver, sustain and safely dispose of weapons systems and provide contracting services to Soldiers in all military operations,” he said. And “more importantly, build relationships with external organizations and personnel.”

“I would recommend anyone in the Defense Acquisition Workforce participate in any of the acquisition leadership programs in order to increase their professional growth,” he said. He also highly recommends they attend any of the Senior Service Colleges because they provide “the opportunity to study and critically evaluate broad national security policy, strategy, interagency affairs, civil-military relations and operational issues, which is needed in this ever-changing global environment.”

“The 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.”