Encourage you to give the July 2010 Department of Defense Logistics Strategic Plan a read-through if you had not seen it before. It’s well worth your time.

Take a look at the logistics mission and vision statements:

·         DoD Logistics Mission: to provide globally responsive, operationally precise, and cost effective joint logistics support for the projection and sustainment of America’s warfighters.

·         DoD Logistics Vision: a logistics enterprise ready to support any combination of combat, security, engagement, and relief and reconstruction operations.

The strategic plan goes on to say that, “these (two) simple yet powerful statements remind DoD logisticians of what we do, whom we support, and how we need to improve our logistics enterprise.”  So well said, there’s absolutely nothing more I could or should add!

Also take a look at the “Developing and Implementing Enterprise Solutions” section, which reiterates a number of key areas of interest to our community. Two in particular to take note of are:

·         Life Cycle Management — Weapons System Acquisition Reform-Product Support Assessment (WSAR-PSA). The DoD Product Support Assessment identifies implementable recommendations to drive the next generation of product support strategies to achieve aligned and synchronized operational, acquisition, and sustainment communities working together to deliver required and affordable Warfighter outcomes.”

·         The Management of Human Capital. “Equipping DoD logisticians with the knowledge, skill, qualifications, and training needed to succeed in today’s — and tomorrow’s — environment. The DoD Logistics Human Capital Strategy envisions an integrated, agile, and high-performing future workforce of multi-faceted, interchangeable logisticians able to succeed in a joint operating environment. The foundation of this vision is competency-based management of the DoD’s logistics workforce, enabled by creation of a logistics career development roadmap. Once operationalized, this roadmap will provide the future logistics workforce with the right mix of function-specific subject matter experts and multi-faceted enterprise logisticians.”

Others of importance to this community include (but are by no means limited to) Life Cycle Management — Item Unique Identification (IUID), Prevention of Counterfeit Materiel in Supply Chains, Maintenance Improvement and Excellence (in particular Condition Based Maintenance Plus ), and Asset Visibility — Radio Frequency Identification (RFID).

Finally, take note of Goal 3, which is to “ensure supportability, maintainability & costs are considered throughout the acquisition cycle.” Success Indicators for this goal include:

·      Life cycle management principles will be key decision factors throughout the acquisition, maintenance, and sustainment processes.

·      Life cycle management principles will be enforced throughout the acquisition and sustainment processes, based on achieving key performance parameter and key system attribute targets.

·      Core depot maintenance capability will be identified, sustained, and funded in Service baseline budgets.

·      Use of Service depots will be optimized to meet enterprise maintenance requirements.

Measures are the “percent of major programs meeting established DoD sustainment metrics” and not at all surprising (at least to regular readers of this blog), the two key initiatives for achieving this goal are to:

·         Establish program governance and DoD sustainment metrics reporting (materiel availability, material reliability, total ownership costs) in accordance with DoD lifecycle management policy

·         Implement the 2009 DoD Product Support Assessment recommendations to apply next-generation sustainment strategies to achieve affordable weapon system readiness.

To achieve the long-term success outlined in the logistics mission and vision statements, the department has yet again reiterated its strongest support to the principles and practices of life cycle management, product support and sustainment, and DoD logistics workforce professional development.  The DoD Logistics Strategic Plan is unequivocal in this. Our own personal and professional commitment as life cycle logisticians must be just as clear and resolute.