PEO Perspective: May 2023

Springtime begins a busy season of leadership and program transitions at PEO EIS, as well as many engagements, both internal and external.

We started off strong on the first day of May with an internal leadership offsite focused on Agile planning and implementation — a topic that will also feature prominently later this month at Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications – Tactical’s (PEO C3T) Technical Exchange Meeting 10 (TEM X) in Philadelphia.

DACM ROAD SHOW

The first week of May, PEO EIS hosts the Director, Acquisition Career Management Office (DACM) Road Show, featuring a Lunch & Learn lecture and breakout sessions for Military and Civilian acquisition workforce members. This road show is the first of its kind for the DACM, and we are delighted to host the kick-off event, which supports talent management priorities and my commitment to upskill our workforce for an Agile future.

DOD PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS SYMPOSIUM

On May 3, Base Emergency Communications System (BECS) Product Lead EJ Wasikowski will speak at the Department of Defense Public Safety Communications Symposium in Baltimore. The symposium, sponsored by both DISA and AFCEA TechNet, will focus on initiatives with the department to support public safety.

BECS is a critical supporter of Soldier readiness, providing pre-deployment, non-tactical base emergency communications. I’m proud of the work EJ and his team are doing to bring critical communications capabilities to installations, first responders, force protection and other installation management activities worldwide.

AFCEA NOVA SMALL BUSINESS IT DAY

Product Lead Sarah Mullins will speak at the AFCEA NOVA Small Business IT Day May 11 in Herndon. The event will provide valuable interaction and feedback for the research phases of ITES-4S. Read 4 Takeaways About ITES-4S for more background on this key contract vehicle.

IPPS-A INDUSTRY DAY

On May 22, IPPS-A will host an Industry Day from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Fort Belvoir Officers Club, with a virtual component on YouTube.

Release 3 (R3) of IPPS-A in January deployed military human resources (HR) capabilities to the total U.S. Army in a single authoritative system, serving as the IPPS-A production baseline for future capabilities.

We are honored to have Mr. Young Bang, ASAALT Principal Deputy, providing opening remarks, followed by a full day program highlighting a program-level notional schedule and requirements, system and contracts overview.

TEM X

The Army’s PEO C3T and Network-Cross Functional Team hosts the next network-related TEM X May 24-25 in Philadelphia to discuss Capability Set 27 development priority efforts, Unified Network Operations (UNO), Zero Trust and more.

I join my distinguished colleagues Maj. Gen. Rob Collins, DASM ASA(ALT); Maj. Gen. Tony Potts, PEO C3T; and Mr. Mark Kitz (SES), PEO IEW&S, to discuss PEO Optimization. Meanwhile, our Enterprise Services Acting Project Director Sergio Alvarez will participate in a panel discussion on Zero Trust: Software-Defined Perimeter.

For more information about both the IPPS-A Industry Day and TEM X, please visit the PEO EIS website Events page.

A FOND FAREWELL TO A GREAT LEADER

The last week of April we bade farewell to my Air Force partner and PEO counterpart, Mr. Richard Aldridge, PEO for Business & Enterprise Systems, as he retires from service.

Rich has led a distinguished career, and he was truly the transformational leader the Air Force needed as it transitions to Agile.

My counterpart PEOs and I meet regularly for collaboration and exchange of ideas and initiatives, and we make some lifelong friends in the process. Rich is among this group of colleagues, and I wish him great happiness in the adventure ahead.

Godspeed, Rich, and thank you for your service to our nation!

MAY OBSERVATIONS

This month, we celebrate Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, honoring Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders whose rich heritage has helped to influence and shape the history of the United States and the military. Their legacy of courage and selfless service will inspire generations to come.

May is also Military Appreciation Month. We will celebrate Military Spouse Appreciation Day on May 12, recognizing Army spouses for their strength, loyalty and commitment to Soldiers and today’s Army. On May 20, we honor our military members and their families as we celebrate Armed Forces Day. We close the busy month of military pride with the Memorial Day holiday on May 29. As we gather for this day of reflection, I hope you will join me in remembering and giving thanks for those who served and made the ultimate sacrifice. We are forever grateful for their bravery.

Have a wonderful May, and we look forward to seeing you at future events!

Connecting the Army. Working for Soldiers.

Ross Guckert

Connecting the Army. Working for Soldiers.