PEO Perspective: June 2023

Happy Army Birthday month!

As always, late spring and summer are busy times here at PEO EIS, and we mark a number of changes in the months ahead. Our Agile transformation efforts are well underway, and after conducting our third offsite this week, I’m excited about the opportunity that our wholesale transformation will bring to the team and our ability to deliver value to our customers in rapid fashion.

Follow our #AgileArmy journey on social media over the next several months. By December, I assure you we’ll look like a completely different, world-class IT organization.

Read on for the June forecast.

LEADER TRANSITIONS

ACWS Relinquishment and Assumption of Charter Ceremonies

On June 9, our Defense Integrated Business Systems (DIBS) project management office will host a Relinquishment of Charter ceremony farewelling Lt. Col. Christee Cuttino, product manager for Army Contract Writing System (ACWS) since June 2020.

On June 27, ACWS will host an Assumption of Charter ceremony welcoming Mr. Steve Edsall as the new product manager, who comes to us from PEO Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (STRI).

ACWS is critical to the Army mission, providing full-spectrum contract management from requirements identification to closeout. We are already seeing the results of Agile, operational readiness and cost savings, in large part thanks to Christee’s leadership.

Thank you for your service, Christee, and welcome aboard, Steve!

ARDAP Change of Charter

On June 15, we will bid a fond farewell to Col. Rob Wolfe, project manager for Army Data and Analytics Platforms (ARDAP), as he retires after more than 30 years of service to the United States Army, and we welcome Mr. Brian Raftery as the new project manager. Brian is coming to us from his most recent role as Assistant PEO for integration at PEO Soldier.

Col. Wolfe has been an institution at PEO EIS in the more than half decade that he has served and led here.

In his first PEO EIS role as product manager for ACWS, he led a team responsible for providing a single enterprise contract writing and management system. Wolfe then served as the director for the organization’s Strategic Initiatives Group, where he was instrumental in developing the Army Leader Dashboard — later renamed Army Vantage and now a part of the Army Data Platform product office under ARDAP — a comprehensive data management platform designed to integrate data from new and legacy systems in any form and at any scale.

Finally, he also served as acting deputy PEO from July to December 2022. Rob was an invaluable teammate, straight shooter, and diligent leader in this role, helping to manage our complex technology portfolio and support our program offices on their paths to acquisition success. I value Rob’s counsel and his friendship, and we will miss him a great deal.

Godspeed, Rob, and all the best in your retirement!

AHRS Assumption of Charter

On June 20, Mr. John Crone will take the helm from Mr. Wayne Sok as the new product director, Army Human Resource Systems (AHRS). 

John comes to PEO EIS from PEO Missiles and Space, where he was deputy product manager. 

After a very successful year as acting product director, Wayne will be heading off to Senior Service College this month. More good things are in store for this leader, I’m sure — thank you for your service, Wayne!

GCSS-Army Relinquishment of Charter

After two years of leadership, Mr. Erik Scott steps down as the product manager for Global Combat Support System – Army (GCSS-Army) on June 28 in a ceremony at Fort Gregg-Adams, Virginia (formerly Fort Lee). Erik was selected as the new Product Manager Mounted Positioning, Navigation and Timing, which is part of Program Executive Office Intelligence Electronic Warfare and Sensors (PEO IEW&S).

Mr. Kevin Curry, project manager of our DIBS portfolio, will host the ceremony and a farewell luncheon for Erik. The new product manager will be announced later this summer, with an assumption recognition to follow. Thank you to Erik for his great service to GCSS-Army and PEO EIS, and continued success at IEW&S!

WESS Change of Charter

Finally, our Wideband Enterprise Satellite Systems (WESS) product office, part of our Integrated Enterprise Network (IEN) portfolio, will close out the month of June with a change of charter ceremony at the Heroes Auditorium at Fort Belvoir on June 30.

Lt. Col. Scott Davis has led the program for the past couple of years, during which time WESS has seen great success — including delivery of three Modernization of Enterprise Terminals (MET), the most advanced satellite terminals within the government sector, at Fort Meade, Bahrain and Camp Arifjan in Kuwait. These terminals provide long-haul, strategic satellite communications capabilities to users that range from the White House to the warfighter on the battlefield, and they increase the capabilities of military SATCOM to the Department of Defense.

The incoming product lead, Mr. Jason Morneault, comes to us from PEO Special Operations Force, Acquisition, Logistics & Technology (SOF ATL), where he was the product lead for Information Operations. 

Thank you to both of these great leaders for your commitment to this important program!

New Assistant PEO

Finally, at the headquarters, I’m excited to share that we’ll be welcoming back Rob Schadey as the new assistant PEO later this month. Like a few of our teammates, Rob just finished up a year at the Eisenhower School, and I look forward to his joining the team in a position of greater responsibility.

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENT

AFCEA Belvoir Scholarship Luncheon

This month, we are once again proud to join the AFCEA Belvoir team for their annual scholarship event, where they will award scholarships to deserving STEM students, followed by the June luncheon. Deputy PEO Bill Hepworth will provide the keynote — his first as deputy — on June 21.

OBSERVANCES

Army Birthday

This year, our nation celebrates the 248th birthday of the United States Army.

June 14, 1775, is the birthdate of an Army older than the nation it serves, authorized for formation by the Second Continental Congress a full year before the Declaration of Independence.

This year, PEO EIS will be holding an Army birthday cake-cutting at PEO EIS headquarters. The small ceremony will take place following ARDAP’s summer social on the lawn on June 14 — the Army’s actual birthday.  As is the tradition, I will be joined by our oldest and youngest Soldiers, signifying continuity of service.

You can visit army.mil/1775 to learn more about the establishment of our Army.

D-Day

On June 6, 1944, 57,500 Allied Soldiers stormed the beaches of Normandy, as 13,000 others dropped in gliders or parachutes. The events of D-Day — or Operation Overlord — liberated France and very likely turned the course of World War II, allowing for an Allied victory.

At the time, the D-Day invasion was the largest naval, air and land operation in history. By August of that year, all of northern France had been liberated, and the Allies declared victory in the spring of 1945. 

D-Day is deeply personal for many of our workforce members who had family that served during World War II — some of whom were on the beaches of Normandy or overhead on that infamous day 79 years ago.

We remember the brave Americans and Allies who fought and secured peace for future generations.

Juneteenth: Freedom Day

While President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation went into effect Jan. 1, 1863, it was another two and a half years later, on June 19, 1865, that Gen. Gordon Granger and his Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War had ended and any enslaved people were freed by executive order.

Celebrations began soon thereafter, with church-centered community gatherings spreading across the South and into the 20th century. During the #CivilRights movement of the 1960s, the celebration of Juneteenth was somewhat eclipsed by the struggle but grew again in popularity in the 1970s with a focus on African American culture and heritage.

Via legislation enacted in 1979, every U.S. state and the District of Columbia formally recognized Juneteenth, and it became a federal holiday in 2021.

Our diversity is our strength, and our strength is in our unity.

Pride Month

In June, the Army recognizes LGBTQ+ service members and civilians for their service to the Army and the nation. Pride Month is a nationally recognized observance celebrating the LGBTQ+ community, its advocates and allies by promoting community, unity and pride.

IN CLOSING

A reminder that June is also National Safety Month.  Many preventable injuries and deaths occur during the summer months, and I encourage you and your loved ones to be mindful and to prepare as you make your travel and outdoor plans for the summer.

You matter, your family matters — Have a safe and fun-filled June, and Happy Army Birthday!

Connecting the Army. Working for Soldiers.

Ross Guckert, Program Executive Officer